Educational Technology

I am enrolled in the James Madison Ed. Leadership program to obtain my administrative license and this semester I am taking the Community Relations class. I interviewed my administration to discuss a potential community relations projects. From that conversation, I volunteered to take on the school Facebook page to create a better social media presence. My principal liked the idea and believes that Facebook is heavily used as a source of news and information in the Staunton River zone of Bedford County. I put into place three main ideas. I will post a Thought for the Day which will include famous inspirational quotes, thoughts on volunteering for the school, as well as local announcements.  I will use FlipGrid to record prompts from both teachers and students. I will infuse technology either by embedding it into the site or promoting all the wonderful technology infused/inspired lessons that are happening in classes.  How is it so far? I am about one month in and the Fl

The debate over how and when to use devices in the classroom has been long-standing. On the one hand, smartphones and devices promise to connect us to a wide variety of experiences and knowledge. On the other hand, they are also a distraction, scientifically designed by some of the world's top companies such as Apple and Facebook, to make us feel compelled to look when they ding or buzz. In a recent article written by Anya Kamenetz, she spoke with four professors, a high school teacher, a psychiatrist and a technologist to get a range of different views on how cell phones, electronic devices, and laptops should be limited in a classroom environment. The answers vary widely. But, one of the most interesting answers was to “fight technology with technology” using FlipD , a phone app that limits the use of your phone. You can set a timer to lock yourself out of all functions except for basic texts and phone calls. Rather than instituting a ban, the company encourages pro

Try BoostEdu to reflect on your teaching with technology. I recently read a great article by Matt Renwick called  "Busting Myths, Telling Truths" , where he states that we, as school leaders, need to reassess our need to include technology in our daily lessons and instruction. At the same time, I was introduced to a great resource site called  BoostEDU . I believe that pairing this article and website will create reflective teachers who are looking for the best ways to use technology and integrate it properly into the classroom.  BoostEdu is a program developed by +Meagan Kelly  that supports teachers in transforming their traditional lessons into 21st-century lessons through an inquiry-based self-assessment and guided lesson design process. In simple terms, it is very important for teachers to reflect on their use of technology. Therefore, I highly suggest logging on the  BoostEdu  website  and self-assess to see how you use technology on the SAMR scale.  Techn