There is a new book on the market, that I think, is a  much needed “guide” for those that want to collaborate in their classrooms but are not quite sure how to get it done.  Julie Lindsay and Vicki Davis have provided a wonderful resource in their book “Flattening Classrooms, Engaging Minds – Move to Global Collaboration One Step at a Time.”  This is more than a book, it is designed using an interactive, action based approach that puts readers through a three part process that involves fifteen actions to give you, “a live learning experience connecting you to other learners.”

In part one -  “Meet the Flat Classroom,”  the authors will familiarize you with the concepts of flattening your classroom through solid research and examples.  You will read how to embed and enhance current projects as well using stories from educators and students that are globally collaborating.  Part two – “Seven Steps to Flatten You Classroom,” will get you involved by teaching you how to connect and build your global reach as well as communicate effectively.  The authors include information about how to sustain your projects, build relationships, while teaching digital global citizenship using what they call the “7 Steps to Flatten Your Classroom.”  Finally, part three – “Project Development,” guides the reader through the framework to create and manage their own global projects. These final chapters take the reader full circle from connecting, to collaborating, and then creating and managing your own global projects. Every chapter ends with a great summary, some essential questions, one of the fifteen challenges, a diary entry from one of the authors, and case studies. These features give great closure and application to all of the concepts that have been covered.

As I stated earlier, this is an interactive book with many great features that help educators apply what they are learning, and share them at the same time. Just about every page has a QR Code to scan, a website to visit or resources for connecting to others. For instance, they list key people to follow on Twitter under “Add Friend” or give the address of a recommended social network.  Furthermore, the ISTE NETS Standards and 21st Century Skills that are discussed can be found listed in the margin on the same page. Plus, they give you six months of free access to their PD Toolkit that is chock-full of case studies, downloadable tools, templates and assignments.

Overall, this is a great book written by 21st century educators, for 21st century educators, in a way that not only instructs, but engages that reader and gives them the tools to act and lead. I have met and spoken with so many educators that want to include 21st Century learning and pedagogy in the curriculum but feel overwhelmed and are not sure how to start. I now have a resource to point them to that is a complete and actionable resource to make them not just global collaborators, but leaders that can share what they learn and spread the “Flat Classroom” ™ movement. Or, better yet, become a Flat Classroom ® Certified Teacher!

Recently, my wife and I, purchased Leapfrog’s latest tablet device for our daughter. The LeapPad Explorer Learning Tablet is their newest offering and is aimed at children ages 4-9. This rugged little tablet comes in a couple of colors and is built to withstand the rigors of a youngsters day.

Once my daughter got it in her hands she automatically went to work using the stylus, and her finger, to set up her profile, navigate menus, draw, take photos, videos, and play learning apps. The LeapPad has many of the features of the full-fledged tablets such as a microphone, rear facing camera (stills and video), home button as well as a button for navigation. The touch screen is very responsive and the stylus does a nice job drawing and navigation. It does not connect to the Internet, no Wi-Fi card or browser, so you don’t have to worry about little ones straying into uncharted territory.

The expanding choice of learning games are where this device really shines. You have a choice of purchasing them as downloadable apps or as small cartridges. Each one of them is game based learning for improving reading, writing, math, science and life skills. The games titles include familiar characters from Disney, Sponge Bob and others. Plus, with the included software for your PC call LeapFrog Connect.  With LeagFrog Connect you can sync and update your LeapPad with apps or software upgrades.  What makes this really power is what they call “Learning Path.”  Learning Path gives parent, or teachers, the ability to track the progress of the users so they can see if they are progressing well or need any with certain skills. Also, depending on the learning app, you can make the game more easier or more challenging.  For instance, you can adjust math from single digit adding or subtracting all the way up to basic algebra and probability.  Language and reading is also adjustable.  You can do it or the app will adjust the child progresses for you.  It even allows you to upload vocabulary words that will be included in the stories and games that are currently being played.

LeapFrog sells bundles, in quantities of five, for schools to integrate into their curriculum’s. These bundles include the tables, AC adapters, headphones, cases and learning apps. For elementary school teachers these devices would make great learning centers as well as allow young students to apply creativity and learn responsibility in a familiar, game based environment.  Each tablet allows up to three individual profiles  so you can track multiple students with each unit. LeapFrog Connect is a great tool to track progress in the classroom too. The only drawback with these tablets is that they go through batteries fast, so be sure to use rechargeables or the AC adapters whenever you can.  Overall, this little tablet is a powerful and unique solution for elementary learning. See the demo to get the full story and see it in action!

Recently, Christine Wiser T&L’s Managing Editor, asked the Tech Advisors the following question:

I thought that this was a great question that would generate a lot of discussion. So, I wanted to share with you my top three and see what you have to say. After all, sometimes, the more voices heard the more progress can be made.

1.  Mobile device adoption. Especially bring your own device program implementation.

2. Getting people to really understand what is meant by 21st century teaching and learning.

“November said he was talking with a senior executive at a global investment bank recently, and he asked the executive: What is the most important skill for today’s students to learn so they are prepared to succeed in the new global economy?

“Empathy,” the executive replied—the ability to understand and respect different points of view.

Most of today’s companies do business with customers all over the world, and several also have branches in multiple countries. Chances are good that when students enter the workforce, they’ll be working with—or doing business with—someone from another nation, with its own culture and its own unique perspective, at some point in their career.
It’s not hard to find people who are smart, the executive said. What is hard to find are employees who have to ability to empathize with, and be sensitive to the needs of, people from other countries.”

So, we need to teach students skills that will prepare them to not only to be intelligent, creative thinkers, but also to have emotional intelligences to succeed in future jobs that are still to come. This is quiet a challenge, with a skill set that many educators need to learn in parallel with their students.

3. Anytime, anywhere learning.

But, what about our students? In our 21st century learning environments it would be an injustice if we didn’t teach them how to develop a PLN. If they can realize the value of the information that they can receive and share with others, as well as the collaboration that can take place, they will have a tool that will help them throughout their lives.

So, how do we do this and still accomplish our curricular goals and satisfy the requirements for standardized tests? Well, I have to say that I definitely don’t have all the answers but, if we use the power of this PLN and collaborate then maybe we can all benefit. So here are some of my ideas:

1. Be A Model – Show your students your PLN and have a conversation with them about how you went about developing it. Let them know the work you had to put in at first and, if your like me, how it just got easier as you made those connections and learned about more resources. Remember, once they get the concept, and see the value, they are going to start to get more and more ideas.
2. Start with an inside out approach – Start in your classroom. Develop a PLN amongst you and your students. It’s an easy thing to do with Web 2.0 technologies such as blogs and wikis. Start a class blog for discussion and collaboration or maybe a wiki for students to share resources or brainstorming ideas. There are a whole host of other tools out there, just think about how you can use them to start a class/course PLN. From there encourage your students to invite other teachers, administrators, or even parents to your PLN. You may be surprised at the response you get.
3. Social Networking – Of course, there is Twitter and Facebook and Ning’s, and now Google+. But, depending on the grade level that you teach, they may not be feasible. Facebook has a policy that you have to be thirteen years old to be a member, so that disqualifies most of the younger students. Some Ning’s may not be appropriate for students and Google+ isn’t widely available yet.
   Twitter is valuable if you use it appropriately. One idea is to teach your students about hashtags or create lists for them to follow on Twitter. It’s important for them to see social networking as a tool for learning.

Last week I had the pleasure to attend the annual International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) conference in Philadelphia. This was really exciting for me since the last time it was even near me, I am in Southern New Jersey, was when it came to Washington, DC. Even then, it was far enough away that the budget, both mine and the school district’s, was only able to handle one day. That day was spent just trying to make it through the vendor area, and poster board sessions.  Talk about a head spinning, overload of information!! This year was going to be different.

If you couldn’t make it this year I suggest that you check out the following resources to give you a “flavor” of what you missed.  As well as the opportunity to get some quality PD.

Here you go:

1. The ISTE YouTube Channel – It has some great videos of the key notes (see Chris Lehman’s and be inspired), interviews and overviews of the conference.
2. The ISTE Unplugged Wiki – It was created for those that always wanted to present but were not selected.  This wiki, run by Steve Hargadon, allowed attendees to sign up for spots to present to their peers. Don’t be fooled, the recorded sessions (45 of them) have some good quality PD. Check it out!
3. Use your Twitter hash tags to search out some good information that you may have missed.  Just do a search for #ISTE2011, #ISTE11 or, if you are an ISTE member and belong to a Special Interest Group SIG just plug-in the initials of your group.

As huge as this conference was it was still all about collaboration and sharing.  If you went and just wandered around this year with stopping in a “Playground,” or a poster session you missed out.  For example, I was walking through the videoconferencing playground and got a chance to stop and talk, live, with the distance learning person at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  I got a fantastic resource from a guy who was just sitting there on a computer screen waiting for someone to talk to him.  Overall, it was a chance to see the best of the best showing off their talents and being more than willing to tell you about how they do it.  That’s what it’s all about.

If you went, keep sharing and innovating. If you didn’t, try to go when you can and look for the resources that are still out there for the taking.  There are plenty of blogs for information as well as other resources from this conference.  Do some searching, it will take you a whole lot less time then getting through the vendor area.  I can promise you that!!

Are our students really as skilled and prepared as we, and they, think that they are? Overall they are used to using technology for entertainment. They need to learn how to use it as a tool to innovate and leverage for maximum benefit to achieve their goals. Students need to see that the technology that entertains is also the same technology that teaches and helps them innovate, collaborate and create.

Let computers do the computing! You are the ones that will encourage and engage your students through your passion for learning. Kids are more savvy than we give them credit for, the can sense it when we are “forcing” it. If we can learn how to do this, and use our creativity and innovation skills to get the technologies to do what we want them to do, amazing things can happen. But, this isn’t always easy since many of us see technology as an analytical tool and not a creative one.

We need to be fearless in our teaching and we need to take control of our own learning. We need to be researchers and collaborators who move forward with the help of our colleagues. Furthermore, school leaders need to build a culture that fosters meaningful integration of technology that has measurable results. We all need a “road map” for success. Sometime we just need the path drawn out for us until we can create one for ourselves.

Students need to know that the same social media that they use to connect with their friends is the same one that can teach and connect them with very well-known, and well-educated people. They can “friend’ and “follow” these experts, educators and innovators to enhance their learning. Technology has great potential to allow people to express their viewpoints that they may not otherwise share. It can unleash a great debate with minds and scholars once thought unreachable. We can’t let this opportunity pass us by!

If you have done this for any period of time then you know that technology integration is a “messy” thing and nobody has really come up with a “clean” way of  handling it. If you think you do, or even don’t, then speak up and share your thoughts. That’s why we have the “Comments” feature on this blog. So, let’s collaborate, debate and share right here and now. Our futures depend on it!

Recently, I have seen too many news stories about school budgets being voted down, federal educational technology programs no longer being funded, and the continued attacks on educators from politicians and other organizations. I know that this has been going on for a while but it has really made me reflect on where we are in terms of the state of our educational programs in this country and the attitude we must take. We are a country that is supposed to be a leader in this world and we are spending more time, and money, pointing fingers then trying to fix our problems.

As educators we are supposed to be preparing our students for their futures as wise content consumers and producers. Savvy technology users that can innovate, collaborate, and be creative with a global perspective. Yet, for the most part, we continue to feel demoralized for not being given the proper support and tools to achieve these goals.

Now that I have vented, I want to put this into perspective. I want you all to meet Moliehi Sekese, a Microsoft Worldwide Innovative Teacher Award recipient. Moliehi, from the very small and poor South African country of Lesotho, has been globally recognized as an innovative integrator of technology. Her class size is about 100 students, that is not a typo, and the school does not have electricity. But she uses her personal laptop, as long as the battery lasts, and some innovative teaching techniques to teach and integrate technology. Please take time to listen to her words in the video below and read her story on Ewan McIntosh’s bog. You can also, read more and see a longer interview on the Cool Cat Teacher Blog. She is an amazing woman who can teach us all how to be innovators in a time when we need it the most. As you will hear her say,

“Stop blaming the challenges. Use a stumbling block as a stepping stone to success.”

So, if you are feeling sorry for yourself when you are faced with the one computer classroom or you can’t get that new set of mobile devices for your school, take a minute and remember Moliehi, and what she doing to be innovative, successful and inspiring to her students and colleagues. She is certainly an example for all of us to remember when we think we can’t overcome a challenge.

I will leave you with this quote, by Dr. Martin Luther King:

“If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.

It serves as a reminder to me when I get upset or depressed about that challenges that I face everyday as I try to help the teachers and students in my school district achieve their goals to become twenty-first century workers and learners. I hope it inspires you to move forward as well. I know that Moliehi is a living example.

There are many blog posts, articles, and debates going on among colleagues around the idea of whether education, as a whole, should be run more like a business or not. I have seen people on both ends of the spectrum on this issue as well as some with no real opinion. But, I really believe that this is worth discussing within the context of educational technology. Especially since school districts are investing so much money in their technology programs and are expected to infuse it throughout their curricula. So, a wise “business” model is a good idea.

Being in the position of technology coordinator, I have to play both sides of the line on this topic since my job requires that I be part educator and businessman. I am an educator first and, for the most part, look at the educational value of a technology before I look at the cost. If its value to the students and teachers is great enough, which means it can improve on teaching and learning, than it is worth the investment (if we have the funds). With that said you still have to do your “homework.”

Besides the obvious research on-line and sales representatives coming to your school to give you their presentations. Educators really should look at the value that the proof of concept model can bring to their experience. In the economic climate that we are in educational technology vendors are clamoring for your business and, for the most part, are willing to let you “test drive” their products for a period of time at no charge.

I know that, for the most part, this is easily done with software and the ubiquitous 30-day trial version. But, doing this with hardware is of even more value and can really let you know if the technology is right for you and your students before you make your decisions. Plus, it can save your district money.

For example, my school district was looking to purchase about fifty laptops, and assistive technologies, under a federal grant for our special needs students. When approached with this project I assembled a committee of stakeholders that included teachers, administrators and technology staff. We contacted vendors and let them know our needs and usage requirements. We also attended workshops about assistive technologies and researched software and hardware solutions to gain a scope of knowledge to make an informed decision. Each vendor was of course very interested in our business. So, I felt comfortable enough to ask for some products to prove our concept and their use in an adaptive technology situation. One was a PC vendor who sent us two different model laptops to keep, for free, to test out with our students and staff. The other, Apple Computers, allowed us to take advantage of their Mac Integration Program (MIP).

We were very hesitant about bringing in a large quantity of Macs into our PC based network and had a lot of questions as to how they would integrate. So, the MIP was the best thing to do to prove our concept not only for the IT staff on the networking side, but also the most important end users, our teachers and students. The MIP program gave us a server, with an engineer to install it, as well as computers to test out for a period of one month. They came in gave us some training, and also spoke to our committee about what the computers could do for our special needs students, for no charge.

Through this experience, we were able to prove our concept that they would not only work on our Windows network, but that they had enough assistive/adaptive technologies built into their systems that we would actually realize a cost savings due to the fact that we would not have to purchase additional hardware or software. So, we really learned a lot about our choices and proved our the concept that we can make the Apple computers connect and function on a Windows-based PC network.

Since then we have repeatedly tested products under the proof of concept model and have been able to get better instructional technologies and save our district money. Our teachers are happier, more effective and learning is improving. Also, via this model we have realized cost savings by finding out that sometimes a product is too much for the actual need and a better result was achieved through a different, or less expensive option.

Case in point, we were buying $700-$800 document cameras. We are now buying $70 document cameras that give the teachers the results they desired for a fraction of the price. This allowed us to purchase more of them and get them into the classrooms faster. The teachers are very pleased and so are our taxpayers!

The moral of this story is that you really should not be afraid to ask vendors for products in order to see if they are going to work for you or not. Most will really go out of their way to help you out. You don’t have to be a technology coordinator or administrator either. You are their customer and your students deserve to have instructional technologies that will best help them learn.

Now go out there and ask for “stuff,” to prove your concept. You will be pleasantly surprised as to what you will find out.

It seems that every time I turn around I see another new, or new and improved, tool out there that catches my attention and sends my mind into the, “I gotta sign up for that,” mode. I have to admit it is very enticing when you see all of these innovative new tools coming at you fast and furious.

When you look at all of these new Web 2.0 technology offerings, making a choice can be like drinking water from a fire hose. I mean before you know it, if you lose your focus, you are signed up for a large number of sites that you find out you don’t have any time to master or really integrate into your curriculum. The best advice that I can give is to take a deep breath and do your homework while developing your own Web 2.0 “Tool Kit.” By doing this you can develop skills and lessons based around your tool kit and then grow them from there. It’s very tempting to want to try all of the new things that you come across, but you need to explore them and make a decision as to whether that will work for you or not. Don’t try to “drink” them all in, take small “sips.”

So, how would one go about developing their own Web 2.0 toolkit? Here’s my advice, and of course, I want to hear yours and what you use:

1. Take time and reflect on your curricular goals and try to pinpoint areas that could be improved by the integration of a new tool or technology. Reflection is the key here, don’t jump into the world of Web 2.0 without a plan and a clear focus on what you want yourself, and your students, to get out of it.
2. Once you have a plan start to reach out to your colleagues both in person and through any networks that you have developed via your Personal Learning Network (You are developing your PLN aren’t you??). Ask, what others in your curricular area have had successes and struggles with and filter that through your level of expertise as well as the vision that you have created in step one.
3. Once you have made the decision take “baby steps,” and make sure that you learn it well enough first before you fully implement it. Then identify a group of students that you feel would be a good group to pilot your new-found tool. Don’t be afraid to have it fail at first, let the kids teach you what they have found it can do. They may come up with an entirely new, and innovative, approach to using it. Remember they are the experts sometimes.
4. Once you have gone through the steps above stop and reflect again. I can’t stress this enough, reflection should be a part of your daily routine. If it’s not, then you are missing a very important step in your personal and professional life. Reflect on your successes and failures, as well as the feedback you received from your students and any observations that you have made.

Creating your Web 2.0 toolkit can be a daunting task. But, every craftsman has one and if you want to be successful educating our modern learners the you need your own to master your craft as well. Like real tools, your Web 2.o “Tool Kit,” will get old, and better tools will come around, so always remember to go back through the process every once in a while to see if it’s time to re-tool. Also, by all means continue to add new tools and grow it as well!!

So, now it’s your turn. How have you developed your tool kit? What implementation strategies have worked for you and what are your favorite tools? Let’s share our success and failures so we can all grow together.

Remember don’t “drink” too fast, take small “sips” and leave time for reflection!!