Tips and Reflections on Technology Integration in the Classroom

One Door Closes Another Opens:  Although the semester might be coming to end, this blog will go on.  The experiences that I have taken away from this opportunity has been one of the best professional growth experiences I have had in my college career as well as my professional career.  The tools that we have developed throughout the semester have been instantly applicable to my classroom.  Even though it is the last week of the course I wanted to once again push my boundaries and try something that I think I am going to continue in my professional career as an educator.  I would like to introduce the first episode of 21st Century Classroom: Hosted by Mr. Braun.  Take a listen you can download on your favorite Podcasting stations.  I hope you enjoy and please subscribe lets make this a thing.  21st Century Classroom: Hosted by Mr. Braun

Badge of Honor:     Two weeks ago I wrote a blog about presenting a lesson on the importance of Digital Citizenship but this week I would like to refocus on the importance of becoming a digital citizenship educator.  Our students are growing up in a world that is completely different than the one that most likely you and I had the opportunity to do.  Our students today have access to the world at their fingertips and the opportunities for exploration and discovery can be limitless.  As an educator of this 21st century classroom my main job is to guide them on this path to discovery, encouraging and fostering opportunities for growth as they set out on this journey.  However just like our students have direct access to the world, the world also has direct access to our students.  This can be a very scary situation if not properly prepared to navigate these often murky and dangerous waters.  This is why digital citizenship is so critical t...

Podcast 101:   Podcasting is an open sourced modern radio talk show.  It has been around since the creation of broad band internet however it didn't become popular until around 2004 when former MTV host Adam Curry and software developer Dave Winer collaborated to developed a way to download radio broadcast shows to personal devices like the iPod.  This opened the doors to limitless options and an infinite amount of shows that did not have to abide by the Federal regulations that public broadcasting radio does.  Now you can find a podcast on almost any content you can think of ranging from news, to crime dramas to even ongoing episodically shows like "Lore, The Blackout, or Wolverine The Lost Trail. Podcasting has become so popular it has even led to the creation of award ceremonies dedicated solely to the medium of podcasting.   With the increase availability of personal devices new forms of communication are beginning to flourish.  Harne...

Gamifying Your Classroom: The advancements of technology has brought about many new opportunities for us as teachers to develop fun and engaging lessons for our students.  Yet we often find ourselves competing for their attention with the games that they have readily available on their devices.  When we went one to one devices with our students this year one of the most common questions/ challenges was, "How do we get them to not play games on their devices?"  Although it is a valid question, it is also one worth exploring a little more.  Why are students choosing to play these games instead of being engaged in our lesson? Is it because the game is fun? Or perhaps is it because they are competing against a friend, or trying to beat a certain mission so they can level up their character or unlock a prize.  Is it because they want to escape and imagine themselves in another world where they can be who they want to be?  Or is it because those lessons that w...

Digital Drivers Ed 101:   21st century learners have so many advantages with the use of technology.  The increase in technology has led the way to new opportunities which no other generation of students have ever had.  Yet there are some unintended consequences which this generation is also being exposed to.  The constant social connection, high demands of an increasingly faster pace life style, and the continual criticism and ridicule which has created a new monster known as cyber-bullying.  Many argue that these social strains are adding to an increase in anxiety, depression and even suicide among our adolescents.  Our adolescents have been given the keys to these technological devices but have never taken a drivers ed course in how to make sure they are safe behind the digital steering wheel.  This is why it is it critical that we take the time to properly train our students in the best practices of being a 21st century student.  Common Se...

A Picture is worth a Thousand Words:    As 21st century educators we are constantly on the look out for tools which can help transform our classrooms into a powerful and engaging educational experiences for our students.  Everyday new apps, websites and programs are being developed to market to the education market which can be very helpful for our classes, but at the same time can be very overwhelming.  However every once and a while something stands out like a beacon of light radiating above all the rest, and to me that new beacon is called Thinglink .   What is Thinglink? What better way to learn about Thinglink to see it for yourself.  Below is a tutorial of how to use Thinglink.  Click on the icons that you see throughout the image to learn more about what it is and how it works.   The Power of Thinglink: Info-graphic created by: Lenora Haranaka The user friendly interface of Thinglink allows for countless op...

Video In the Classroom: 21st century learners have grown up in a digital age.  Most of our students have experienced visual stimulus since their eyes first opened up into the world.  Growing up, many of them have grown accustomed to the satisfaction of short video clips for their personal entertainment.  Weather it is cartoons on their Ipad, or funny clips or how to's on YouTube, or even the story boards on Instagram and snap-chat, our students are very familiar with how to use videos for their own personal use.  We as teachers can utilize a very powerful resource by tapping into an already existing interest, and provide amazing educational experiences with the use of videos in our classroom.   How to Get Started: The first step in introducing video into the classroom is to figure out what goal you are trying to accomplish.  Do you want to use a video to deliver content, to purpose an insightful question, do you want student to critique the vi...

Digital Escape Room: A Fun Formative Assessment Escape rooms have become an increasingly popular activity and for good reason too.  They are fun, exciting, challenging, and can test your mental strength.  This concept translates extremely well for our 21st Century Classroom.  Design a digital escape room activity for our students can hits on the four Cs of our modern learners.  In order for students to be successful in completing their mission, the activity should promote collaboration as students work together to solve the clues which unlock the digital mystery it promotes communication among each other.  The clues should also be challenging and promote critical thinking skills as they work to find the key to unlock the answer.  Lastly when done correctly the escape room should also promote creativity, to think outside the box and to promote an engaging and immersive learning experience.  The digital escape room can be a great way for students to d...

How Formative Assessments can allow Teachers to Address the needs of Each Student in the Classroom: This week I wanted to focus on just how critical formative assessment tools are for ensuring that we are providing the best learning experiences for our students.  Formative assessments provide teachers with a quick glimpse in the minds of our students.  When used correctly formative assessments can provide pivotal information on what concepts students are understanding and what they are not.  Not only can we analyze the data of an entire class to see if our instruction is matching up to the concepts we want our students to understand, but we can also dive a little deeper to have a better understanding of the individual needs of our students.   Google Forms: The Ultimate Formative Assessment for Google Classroom Teachers: The video I provided here discusses why and how Google Forms is a great way to check for student understanding.  This video fo...

Evolution of Education: We are currently living through an extremely exciting moment in the transformation of public education.  The origins of public education in America stems from a pivotal period of American growth.  Our society was evolving from one which was based off of agriculture, to one which massed produced products using an innovative technique called the assembly line.  Our school systems ran very similar to those items being assembled in the booming factories across our great nation.  A predetermined end product was established and students went through a series of steps, we call them grade levels, where one part was assembled at a time.  As the students advanced through their assembly line of education, they should all emerge just like the Model T did, gleaming bright and exactly the same.  It doesn't take educators long to discover flaws in this system when it comes to education.  Our students come to us with all different types ...

Why Google Slides is one of the Best Google Apps for Education: As a teacher who embraces technology integration in the classroom, I must admit I was extremely excited when I found out that my department was going to get to pilot a new Google Classroom program within our school.  This pilot program was offered to us four years ago and I can't say enough how much it has not only improved our content deliver but has enhanced our lessons.  Google Apps for Education has given our students more opportunities to learn and develop the skills they need as 21st century learners.  When we first piloted the program we were a BYOT (Bring Your Own Technology) school which was equally exciting but also a tad bit frustrating.  We didn't know what devices our students were going to have, if they had any devices at all.  The first year of technology integration we were learning as much, if not more, about it than the students were, but it was a start. The Google Toolbox:...

Why use HyperDocs from the mouths of our students: HyperDocs is one of the million new tools that can be added into our digital arsenal of resources that 21st century teachers can use to deliver content to our students.  However a tool is just a tool unless we understand why or how it can be used.  When thinking about this weeks post about creating and using HyperDocs I decided to take a slightly different approach.  Instead of focusing on the how, which I did last week check out my post titled Hyped about HyperDocs , I wanted to focus on the why.  Why do we use HyperDocs?  I believe two of my students, Campbell and Logan explain it better than I can. I encourage you to listen to their thoughts and reflections after using a HyperDoc activity in class just this week.  Grab some popcorn and enjoy!... What I learned from my Students:   As a teacher the power of the HyperDoc is simple, it's the flexibility and ease of linking sever...

The Hype about HyperDocs: HyperDocs is a term which has been a buzz word for some time now in regards to leveling up the classroom experience with word documents.  I first heard about hyperdocs three years ago at the 2016 VISTE conference in Roanoke Virginia.  The Virginia Society for Technology in Education (VISTE) opened up my eyes to countless possibilities with technology in education.  One of the sessions that I attended at VISTE was a session on what she refereed to as "HyperDocs", something I never heard of before but was curious to attend because of the description of the session.  What is a 21st century  worksheet?  That phrase caught my attention on the schedule of events and so I stopped in to find out more.  As the instructor started to explain the ability with in Google Docs to insert hyperlinks, embed videos and sound clips, and directed us to other google apps for education like slides, and sheets.  I could instantly see the powe...