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How you set up and lead one-to-one is based on your vision for one-to-one. So, what's your vision? Why 1:1? How will students use the tech? For what? The purpose of one-to-one is to give the students ubiquitous access to learning. The device itself is not the purpose of one-to-one -- augmenting students' learning is. Therefore, it's essential to know what change you want to see in your district/school that one-to-one can support. What learning do you want to see, and how will technology make that possible? What does that look like?  How will the students use the technology to accomplish those goals? For me, it's simple, I want to see students using their critical thinking to create, collaborate, communicate, and contribute as digital citizens. How does 1:1 connect to and support other district or site initiatives? One-to-one is a learning initiative, and not a technology program. It should not be treated as something separate or as an add-on . ...

In this post, my focus is sharing some of the math resources that I heard about during "Core technologies for the Common Core" by Kyle Brumbaugh and Elizabeth Calhoon at #ISTE2014 . I'll also add a few ideas of my own. Math in the real world Students should be able to apply mathematical concepts to real world issues . In the real world , math doesn't come in a box labeled, "Today you will only use your multiplying with fractions skill." In the real world, students must use critical thinking to solve problems. As math is taught, it must be relevant to our students by connecting to the real world. Technology can assist in relevancy by giving students access to real-time data, current information, interactive tools, and audiences beyond the four classroom walls. Use appropriate tools strategically  Students are asked to choose appropriate tools strategically when solving math problems. Appropriate tools include traditional tools such as ru...

One of the #ISTE2014 sessions I attended was "Core technologies for the Common Core" by Kyle Brumbaugh and Elizabeth Calhoon . They had a great introduction to the Common Core and a plethora of helpful tools. In this post, I will share some of what I learned from them , and add in a few more resources, ideas, and tools. ELA Text Complexity Readability levels are an important ingredient for figuring out text complexity . Reading Standard 10 specifically states that students must read complex text, "Read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently." Text complexity reminds me of a s'more. It contains three main parts, and while you can talk about each ingredient separately, it's not really a s'more until you put them all together. Tools for readability Have you ever wondered if the text on a website is the appropriate reading level for your students? Here are some tools for assessing the quan...

One of my favorite conferences is ISTE Unplugged / Hack Education . The schedule of the discussions is decided the day of the conference based on the interests of the participants. What is appealing to me about Hack Education is the small group setting that fosters deep discussions, and the organic nature of the conversations that are completely based on the group's expertise and ability to ask probing questions. I always feel like I walk away smarter. My notes for some of the sessions are illustrated below as sketchnotes with thinglinks/interactive links, bullet points, or as the main points I Tweeted out. Personalized Learning - facilitated by Barbara Bray Click here to view above image with thinglink 1:1 Deployment Click here to view above image with thinglink Smackdown Official HackEd Smackdown sharing. Tracy's HackEd Smackdown notes. Community, Global Connections using tech to build relationships Click here to view abov...

What skills are most desired by employers? On most lists , communicate effectively is the number one desired skill. How do we communicate? We communicate face-to-face, in writing, through various technologies, and multimedia. What is does it mean to be literate? Being literate is being able to effectively communicate. Therefore, every classroom must teach digital literacy as part of literacy, and not something separate. Original image by Andrea Hernandez Why have technology-rich writing? Writing is a huge piece of literacy. Writing should occur across content and grade levels. Common Core writing requires students to create and publish writing online, and to interact and collaborate with others. Writing Anchor Standard #6 : Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and to interact and collaborate with others. We must design lessons that incorporates digital mediums for students to communicate and collaborate with others. "(St...

There's a lot more to Chromebooks and Google than meets the eye! I've been learning as much as I can about Chromebooks, the Chrome Web Store, and Add-Ons since we are a Google Apps for Education district and have Chromebooks as our One-to-One devices at our high school, and have many carts at our other campuses.  How are Chromebooks different? Chromebooks have a web based management council. This means they: update themselves; boot up in less than 10 seconds; cannot have software installed on them; can install apps and extensions through the Chrome Web Store (including a plethora of Educational Apps); can do most anything online via the Chrome browser; and, start up by logging onto the computer with their Google password, then straight into Chrome. What do we need to know about the Chromebook hardware? There are different types of Chromebooks. The one we are using in our district is the Samsung . They are light (2.42 pounds) and have a battery life of approx...

What does it mean to be literate? Traditionally, being literate meant the ability to read and write, a trademark of being educated. In essence, it meant the ability to communicate face-to-face and in writing. The Internet has changed what it means to be literate because communication; writing; and how we retrieve, share, critically evaluate, and synthesize information includes digital fluency, which requires a new set of skills . Originally adapted from: opensourceway via Compfight cc The development of this new skills set affects online reading comprehension and literacy ( Coiro, 2007; Leu et al., 2005; Leu, Zawilinski, et al., 2007 ). Those who harness the power of the Internet have increased reading comprehension online relative to those who lack online reading skills regarding locating, critically evaluating, synthesizing, and communicating information ( Coiro, 2011 ). Therefore, we need to change how we teach literacy . Literacy must include sophisticated Inter...