The field of education has changed drastically over the years, especially when it comes to the ideas surrounding educational curriculums and learning frameworks.
When focusing specifically on technology implementation, a few frameworks stand out from the crowd.
Frameworks
A top choice is always The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) standards include a variety of competencies for learning, teaching, and leading in this digital age. They even include alignment with UNESCO’s Sustainable Development Goals and are available in eight different global languages.
Another well developed system includes Digital Promise's EdTech framework. This includes an entire step-by-step process for helping education leaders and technology developers implement technology learning successfully. There are many resources and research for assisting with each and every step of the process. This is great for schools just beginning to develop a tech use and coaching program.
Still curious for more? Consider my own teaching and learning philosophies HERE and how they may also impact or influence a learning framework.
Design Practices
In order to create lessons that include high levels of participation, motivation, and engagement, there must be careful planning and consideration for each learner within every environment.
UBD
To design specific lesson units surrounding a particular standard or essential question, Understanding by Design (UbD) is one strong method for deployment throughout a school district. Ensuring motivation can, therefore, be planned directly into the learning unit creation itself.
Further explanation and a full example can be found HERE including my research and understandings surrounding this planning method.
The actual UbD template I created and utilize with my own teaching in my classroom is also one of my top downloaded items on Teachers Pay Teachers. It feels great to share this understanding with others to assist with their lesson creation and planning.
A three-column table can also be used alongside UbD to support content and assessment planning. An idea of how this would look can be found HERE from examples I have assembled.
Blended Learning
If a focus is more on the way in which classroom lessons are taught and structured, then Blended Learning is a wonderful way to guarantee engagement.
Blended Learning creates personalized and competency-based learning, educational efficiency, increases content and contextual relevance, authenticity, and provides opportunities for individualized differentiation, remediation, and extension. More about how I would personally explain and implement Blended Learning can be found HERE.
Upon thinking ahead to the unknown future of education, HERE is my explanation considering why Blended Learning is a wonderful tool for classroom structures.
My full literature study surrounding the positive perspectives and aspects of Blended Learning can also be found HERE at this link.
A Design Team
Teamwork makes the dream work.
Before BIG changes in technology use can be made throughout any school, several steps should be taken to guarantee that everyone is in the same boat!
One way this can be done is by following the four disciplines of execution (4DX) model and working together with stakeholders to form a plan. The strategy example I created HERE explains each key action for implementation and also breaks down every stage of change.
After a plan is made, I would also encourage the use of a flexible and adaptable rubric for common language. This will ensure that administrators, teachers, and coaches all know and understand the expectations for executing the whole-school rollout. Digital Promise elaborates upon this measurement tool's benefits on their website. Their tech-based example rubric for formative reflection and assessment explains steps for successful and impactful technology use. I would suggest that each teacher begins by selecting ONE criteria of strength and one of weakness. This way, coaches can provide specific assistance to areas needing growth while celebrating areas of distinction.
21st Century Skills
When educators leverage the power of technology by supporting the “Cs” of 21st Century Learning, they can construct magical worlds for innovation. Applied Educational Systems explained a breakdown of these ideas by exploring additional skills and investigating how and why they are essential.
Creative thinking, communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and citizenship work hand-in-hand to support the use of digital tools for student learning and achievement. Below, a list will be created providing a few technology tools and web-based examples for implementation.
i. Creative thinking
Canva for Education is a powerful digital design and creation tool. It allows students to produce visually stunning designs for all subjects or for any age level. Students can create their own designs from scratch or choose from their library of over 60,000 high quality, educational templates.
Minecraft: Education Edition has online features built specifically for creative learning environments to support collaboration, assessment, coding, and beyond. There are over 600 cross-curricular and standards-based lessons pre-made and ready to use for engaging any student.
ii. Communication
Flipgrid is a video discussion platform that helps educators see and hear thoughts from every student in class by fostering a fun and supportive social learning environment. The creative ways to use this website is nearly endless. It's great for amplifying all voices within the classroom and allowing every students to feel heard. Students have unlimited "retries" to film their video clips, allowing for less stress and ease of accessibility.
Padlet is an app and website that allows for creative communication using a range of different mixed media sources. In real-time or across time zones, students can contribute videos, images, and comments on a virtual corkboard. Each student can comment or reply to the work of another student or add a new strand on the topic that is introduced.
iii. Collaboration
Diigo is a social bookmarking and annotation web extension that provides teachers and students with a safe space to organize, customize, and share digital content while learning about a variety of subjects. Any web page or online article can turn into a collaborative conversation through digital sticky notes, highlighting, note-taking, bookmarking, researching, and sharing.
Google Drive productivity apps are industry standard tools making classrooms around the world more collaborative. From Google Classroom to Google Docs, Jamboard, Forms, Slides, Sheets, Keep, Sites, Scholar, Translate, Cardboard, and beyond, there are almost infinite ways to allow students to work together while learning. Additionally, there are many simple tools that are easy to integrate such as the Pear Deck add-on for Google Slides.
iv. Critical thinking
Newsela is an online platform that brings together engaging, accessible reading content with integrated assessments, digital note-taking capabilities, and insights to supercharge reading comprehension and engagement for any grade or subject. Content on Newsela is relevant, differentiated, connects to core curriculum, and is aligned with state and national learning standards.
Code.org is a gamified way to learn the ins and out of coding. Forever free, this non-profit company creates scaffolded technology lessons, motivating videos, and engaging pop culture-inspired games. Students have the freedom to create as they wish while working through tough challenges and a spiralled curriculum.
v. Citizenship
Common Sense Education's Digital Passport teaches 3rd – 5th grade students digital citizenship skills by using fun, interactive web-based games, videos, and modules. As students master six levels based on various digital citizenship topics, they work their ways towards earning their digital passports. Common Sense Education's Digital Compass gamifies digital citizenship learning for 6th – 8th grade students. It's choose-your-own-adventure style is aimed at helping young teens learn how to make appropriate choices while online.
BrainPop also explores 20+ mini video lessons geared directly toward understanding a wide range of aspects concerning digital citizenship. This website offers creative projects prompting students to think critically and apply new thoughts to their understanding in addition to playful, game-like assessments. This rich educational platform meets students’ varying needs in effective, fun, and meaningful ways.
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