Re-designing Learning Spaces for a Laptop Environment

One of the things that I love about my job is that I never really know what my next project will be. This past year I became involved with furniture design. Not in the "lets start with wood and glue" kind of way, but in the "how do we make our open spaces more accommodating to students with laptops" way. We needed to rethink what defined a "learning space" and how we could make the open spaces of our building collaborative areas for students to work. We also wanted to re-think our Media Center space and how that could be made more collaborative.



One of the easiest and biggest changes we made was adding additional power. You could see students all huddled around the power outlets to charge their many devices. We added 16 outlets to each of our atriums - the large gathering spaces in the foyers (i.e. atriums) of our building. This was probably the biggest investment we could have made. We immediately saw students using these areas more.

We then had to think about furniture in those spaces. It needed to be multi-functional (we have "social" events there) and movable, but not so movable students would walk away with it and furnish their dorm rooms with it. In the end we decided on a large collaborative table (seats 6) at cafe height (see how I use those designer terms - I tell you I have a new calling) that had lamps that could be removed and be transformed into a serving buffet. Then we set-up one Atrium to be more comfortable, with lounge chairs and the other atrium with more tables and chairs. On the two-top tables we added plug extenders and lamps that I used zip-ties to attach the cables to the table pedestal. This allowed for cord management, but provided just a bit more of a deterrent for would be thieves. The four-top tables are movable and can be reconfigured to fit our needs. Overall for the past few months we have seen students using the area in all the ways we have intended  and nothing has gone missing!

The Media Center I was less involved with, but just as proud of. They did an excellent job of creating collaborative spaces for students to work together on projects as well as keep places for individuals to do homework or study. My favorite spots are the meeting areas that allow for six laptops to be connected and then switch between users. It truly demonstrates what a 21st century learning space can be!

I'm proud of my faculty OR How to start a 1:1 Laptop Project

When I was in college Wake Forest University & UNC required laptops. I had friends that complained about having to turn in their homework "online" in something called "WebCT." AT the time I was so thankful that NC State did not require laptops, why did you need one when we had such great labs? We didn't have wireless, we had 14.4 modems - computers were great, but they weren't exactly portable, nor connected devices. I had better luck lugging around my Zip disk reader and zip disks than a laptops.

But two years ago (and possibly longer) the idea for a real 1:1 ubiquitous computing initiative at our college really started to flourish. I started investigating other Colleges of Ed that were using laptops with their pre-service teachers, as well as our sister institutions in the state. I found little to no implementation plans that went beyond hardware specs and connectivity issues. (The one standout from this is the University of Texas at Austin) The Friday Institute's 1:1 initiative and local middle school going 1:1 truly served as a catalyst to getting this project going. But, what we are hearing from the K-12 initiatives, that is absent in most of the Higher Ed initiatives is the importance of not only technology support, but workshops on how to teach differently with laptops. That is is a pedagogical shift, not just a technological one.

Starting this Fall we will be "strongly encouraging" (more on that wording later) all of our incoming Freshman to have laptops by their Sophmore year (most of our classes don't start until the sophomore year). But what I am the most impressed with are my faculty and administration. This isn't me trying to push something through, this is truly a collaborative effort. So when we have a meeting about what kind of technology workshops to hold to support this initiative I was struck by the outcomes.

1. My faculty volunteered to teach the majority of the classes.
2. The focus is on pedagogy, not technology
3. They respect my ability to teach technological pedagogical strategies, nit just how a program works.

Can I just say how proud I am to be apart of this project. That everything that I fight for in the future of education is embodied in these statements. That we should be changing pedagogy, not just adding on technology in our classes, that it needs to come from the faculty, not just administration, and that yes I may not be a content expert in your field, but I can show you successful technology integration strategies. This is an instructional technologist dream.

So what are these workshops you say? Well the list is:

Wednesday May 12th 9 - 11 1:1 in a New Learning Ecology John Lee
1:1 computing environments are prompting a new learning ecology, which takes shape given four unique conditions. This session will provide a hands-on opportunity to explore these conditions as well as five related strategies for 1:1 teacher professional development.
11-12 Panel of current K-12 Teachers in a 1:1 Environment
Hear from the front line what it is like to teach in a 1:1 environment. How did their teaching change? What do they wish they had been prepared for in university? What should our upcoming graduates know about teaching in a 1:1 environment?
1-3 1:1 Classroom Management Strategies Angela Wiseman & Carol Pope
Classroom management can look drastically different in a 1:1 classroom. How do you structure your class to work effectively in this environment? Angela & Carol will share with you advice based on their experience in transitioning to the 1:1 classroom.
3-4 Capturing and Encouraging In-class Discussion Kevin Oliver
Now that your students have laptops how do you use them to encourage digital discussion in class? What types of tools exist to facilitate in class discussion? In this session we will discuss the basics of setting up and capturing a back channel discussion, as well using various online polling tools.
Thursday May 13th 9-11 Making it Work: Roundtable Discussion on Teaching in 1:1 Eric Wiebe
What does a 1:1 class look like? How can you make it happen inside your existing classes? In this session we will have a more open discussion about what your fellow faculty have done to integrate technology in their classes. Bring your syllabus and start planning for next year.

11-12 New Literacies & Project Based Inquiry for 1:1 Classrooms Hiller Spires
Project-Based Inquiry (PBI) has had a resurgence as an important learning design that can readily incorporate new literacies and media as part of the learning process. Learn how to engage students in PBI in your 1:1 class.
1-3 Collaboration in the 1:1 Classroom Angela Wiseman
How do you encourage collaboration among your students? How does this change in a 1:1 environment? Web 2.0 tools that encourage collaboration such as Google Docs will be discussed.

3-4 Grading Assignments Digitally Bethany Smith
In a paperless environment, how do you provide feedback? Utilizing tools such as comments in Word, Adobe Reader and others we will discuss the best ways to provide feedback to students via Moodle.

Friday May 14th 9-11 Top 5 Uses for Moodle in the 1:1 Classroom Bethany Smith
The best way to start using Moodle is in a 1:1 Classroom! Using your syllabus as a guide you can map out your entire semester of readings assignments and much more online in Moodle.

11-12 Facilitating Discussion in class and Online Carol Pope & Bethany Smith
How do you create an engaging discussion? How do you get your students to actively participate in online discussions? Carol & Bethany will discuss different strategies and technologies to get the most out of your students online participation.

1-3 Gathering Classroom Responses in a 1:1 Environment Heather Davis
How do classroom response systems (i.e. Clickers) work in a 1:1 classroom? Heather will discuss her experience in using Moodle quizzes, Me Too!, Clickers and the Turning Point software as an assessment strategy in her course. 3-4 Communicating with Students using Multimedia Lori Holcomb Sometimes showing students how something works can be more effective then just telling them. Using tools such as Screencasting, Web cam videos or even podcasts can serve as an important communication tool with your students.

3-4 Communicating with Students using Multimedia Lori Holcomb
Sometimes showing students how something works can be more effective then just telling them. Using tools such as Screencasting, Web cam videos or even podcasts can serve as an important communication tool with your students.

We will be Ustreaming and backchannel chatting through the three days of training. We are still building our wikispace at http://ncsuced1to1.wikispaces.com/ It will be a whirlwind of a few days, but I really feel that we can move our college forward with this project.

Moodle Resources

I spent yesterday presenting about Moodle at a 1:1 conference for NC schools that are either interested or on their way to ubiquitous computing. They were excited and scared all at the same time, but it was great that they were getting an opportunity to share that. I had agreed to do a "hands-on" session which even though I knew that would be impossible I wanted to at least talk to them about Moodle could do. I was astounded to find that most of these teachers would soon be using Moodle and had never recieved any training. Not only that, but they had never used an LMS before and this was a new concept. I quickly changed my presentation from an overview and playtime with Moodle, "How the heck do I get started?" AKA "What do I need to do first?" What scared me the most though was that I couldn't help them. I couldn't go to their schools and teach all of them and I didn't know who could. So I decided to come up with the resources I could to help them. I hope to create a wiki page soon to bring all these together.

The Three Activities You Should Use the First Time You Use Moodle (Scaffold yourself - start here then move on next semester)
1) Forums
2) Assignments
3) Resources

Online Documentation: http://docs.moodle.org/en/Teacher_documentation
Getting Started with Moodle http://docs.moodle.org/en/Getting_started_for_teachers
Moodle Teaching Certificate http://moodle.com/certification/

Moodle Training (Corporate Moodle Partners)
Classroom Revolution
Moodle Rooms
Remote Learner

GlobalClassroom.us
Provides FREE Moodle classrooms to use with your students

NC Learn - Moodle Training - Carolina Online Teacher Program

Hope to include more soon.

The NC 1:1 Learning Collaborative

Technorati Tags: 1:1computing NCSU


One of the many projects at The Friday Inst is the NC 1:1 Learning Collaborative. I blogged their initial meeting last September and have been throwing my 2cents in every once in awhile. Recently, they have asked me to help blog on their site - specifically in the Cool Tools section. Since I am such a gadget girl - it is right up my alley!

One Laptop Per Child Project

I was fortunate enough to travel to the NECC conference in San Diego last year. The Keynote Speaker was Nicholas Negopronte, whom I had admired from his work at MIT and his book Being Digital. He has headed up the One Laptop Per Child Project - AKA The $100 laptop. His idea is to put a laptop in every child's hand, and is starting with 3rd World Countries. While I was at NECC I got to play with a prototype of the machine. It doesn't have all the bells and whistles - but it has definite potential. If we are starting to think of the Internet as the new OS, why would you need a powerful machine?

It was announced this week that the One Laptop project is starting a new program. Buy a laptop from them for $400 and they will donate one to a needy child oversees (an you get a $200 tax right off). There have been thousands of people wanting to play with this new laptop and I think this was a smart marketing and fundraising tool - but doesn't it take away from part of the purpose of the machine?

I plan on writing a bit more on this subject later - including some pros on cons that I've seen as well as others.

Learning 2.0 - Shanghai

I've been following the Learning 2.0 Conference in Shanghai (since all my favorite people are there) and because China seems to be on the map these days for education conferences (There was a literacy conf this summer that a good deal of people from State traveled to). It also focused on 2 big trends - Web 2.0 and 1:1 laptop initiatives. There was also some really cool ways that they kept up with each other and the world (mostly using Twitter) that I plan on writing more about.

Gary Stager happened to be one of the keynotes and I really enjoyed listening and reading about his opinions on 1:1 initiatives. Wes Fryer had some really interesting thoughts about Gary's session and podcast of 10 Things to Do with a Laptop. After the 1:1 Conference last week (that I blogged to death and I promise to be a bit better on).

I have been trying to not only synthesize my thoughts, but also think of the practical applications of such programs. It is all well and good for me in my "ivory tower" to make proclamations of how great something is. And yet, my friend Sharon calls me her "connector" (in Tipping Point terms) and isn't that what blogging does? Connect others together to create excitement or to let others at least know the possibilities? I guess I'm feeling a bit out of the trenches in a university - and missing teaching high school.

1:1 Recap

Wow - I'm not sure if moblogging is the best idea for me. I think I write like I talk - too much! However, I would like to note a few observations:
*Everyone emphasized the importance of professional development. Yea! I am so glad that this is was so highlighted. It is such an important aspect of any new project and should not e forgotten
*That 1:1 is a paradigm shift from teacher centered learning (sage on the stage) to student centered learning (guide on the side) (This paradigm shift needs to be apart of PD as well)
*That there are different ways to implement 1:1. It is not a one size fits all solution
However
*The more you can simplify things by using one vendor, the better you are
*The Books to Read are:
Good to Great
Daniel Pink A Whole New Mind - the future of our students is in creativity
The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman
Malcom Gladwell - The Tipping Point
*That having an enigmatic speaker such as Angus King as your spokesperson is what everyone needs!

1:1 Learning Collaborative - Curriculum & Media across content areas and grades

Group discussion:
Goals for 1:1?
Increase learning thru engagement
Digital equity

1:1 has been successful in Elem Schools - attendance rates have increased and ISS has decreased.

Learn & Earn - How do we take existing PD and what more can the laptop do? How do you integrate and not add.

What kind of PD do our teachers need? and how do we start?
Tech Facilitator needs to be a nurturer
Teachers helping teachers

You need to have a firestarter that can act as a mentor. Get your firestarters together to create a core team and start building.

If the teachers are not ready its not ubiquitious - it is just laptops in a classroom.

Will tech PD supplant all other forms of PD?

You have to have some command over your tool to be an innovator - we have to teach the tool first and then teach the ways to use it.

How does this change assessment? What are our short-term and long-term measurements? Attendance? EOGs? Teen birth rates? low teacher turn-over?

I think I am blogged out......

1:1 Learning Collaborative - Greene County Schools

Steve Mazingo - Greene County Schools

Over 5 year program
Stud Achiev. 67% to 78%
Stud Grad rate 26% to 84%
2nd to 18th in teen pregnancy

OK WOW!!!!

We make decisions about school based on when we went to school - but our schools and cultures are different now

Technology as an Accelerant - Book Good to Great

3 Instructional priorities 1) Literacy 2) College counseling 3) Technology

Context - everything you should be in your context. You know your district and what they need, rural or urban, etc. You can take the best practices and see what you need.

Stay focused with Staff Development - and ongoing.

Partner with Lenoir Comm College to offer an AA degree

20th Century Skills - Blooms Taxonomy (Drill and Kill)
looking further
Preparing our students for jobs that don't even exist now - How do we do that?

21st Century Skills
Learning to learn - being adaptable
Technology is no longer an add-on. Not something to be used after your done with work.

PD is essential and they key to every success (they conduct twice a week & do individual sessions) - What would she need? as a veteran teacher?

Smartsheet - directions step-by-step to take back with them. The content is focused on in PD

You must evaluate what you do and have high expectations.

What should 21st Century Graduate look like? Every student has their picture taken in cap and gown and is placed on their computer to see their goal.

Service Learning project through Learn Serve

iChat/Blogs/Podcasts/Keynotes
iChat Reading Conferences
ESL through IM as needed
Instant Advising - chat about issues
Autobiographies as Podcasts
Group projects
Online Courses
Problem Based Learning

Cornell Notes

Getting teachers to be able to say, "I don't know how to do this." and allowing a student to answer.

Staff Development is about modeling. Deliver the PD in the format they will need to deliver it.

Its the Content not the Box.

1:1 Learning Collaborative - Don Berger

Don Berger - Cary Academy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cary_Academy
Cary Academy began 11 years ago. English & Foreign language received 1:1 in the classroom first.

Last year went to 1:1 for all subjects. 715 student tablets. Grades 6-12. Essential to outfit students, faculty AND key staff and leadership. Pilot program with toshiba laptop for teachers and switched to tablets for 1:1 based on faculty committee.

Tablets over Laptops
-Screen down mode
-Annotation
-Stylus
-Electronic notes

Tablet does add $150 to plan

Implementation Plan
-Infrastructure
-Acceptable use

*Classroom management becomes an issue. Students are tempted to use them in ways that you do not want them to. Limit access - block social networking sites. Bandwidth gets eaten up by Youtube.

Daniel Pink A Whole New Mind - the future of our students is in creativity

1:1 Learning Collaborative - Mark Edwards

Mark Edwards - former Virginia Superintendent - Henric Co. now
Largest single district laptop initiative

Success had to do with teachers and their ATTITUDE.

National Education Technology Plan

Technology can blend the art and science of teaching.
$1/day/student
The cost of giving each student a bottle of water a day is what it costs to do 1:1

Malcom Gladwell - The Tipping Point - if enough of those lights come on - it will become a standard.

The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman
65,000..............6 million
US....................China
Science finalists

Are you born smart or do you get smart? You get smart!
Requires superintendent commitment, political commitment, grade level/department chair committment

Mooresville
Sept 2007 - 400 laptops
Total development Sept 2009 - 6000 laptops

http://www.nettrekker.com/
The educational search engine

Online formative assessments for prescriptive intervention with ontime relative data.

1:1 Learning Collaborative - Pamela Bluffington

Pamela Bluffington - MISTM Education Development Center

Importance of imbedded ongoing PD. No drive by PD.

Engage teachers in teaching and learning that impacted student and learning. Strengthen pedagogical practice in Mathematics. Continue to buil dlearning community

2-year PD intervention
Online & face-to-face
Site visits for staff mentoring

Immersion model in face-to-face. Doing activities as the learner and deconstruct in terms of construction.

Online Learning Environment - tied to graduate crdit

Core beliefs:
Tech integration begins with content goals
-local learning standards
-NCTM principals
-NETS-S & T

Non-judgemental feedback. Formative assessment provided by technology. Goes beyond online worksheet with yes/no response.

Changes how students talk to each other and engage. Provides a level of exposure that students are not comfortable with - probing thinking, no rote answers.

Edthoughts - what we know about teaching and learning mathematics

Used as many online tools as possible. Cross-platform, flexible and open. Not online worksheets. National Library of Online Manipulatives

Multiple representations of content

Enhanced visualization

GeoGebra combining geometry and algebra.

Get immediate feedback along the way.

1:1 Learning Collaborative - Betty Manchester

Moblogged

Betty Manchester Director of MLTI

The worst you can do is see this as an add-on. What are you trying to do? What are your goals? and how does the technology support that work. There has to be a commitment to change. WHat needs to change at the school, district and state level.

Technology folks need to understand that the technology MUST work. They need to be educated in their role of supporting the school.

A learner centered classroom - proff dev is about the students.

Universal Design - enable students to access info in any way

Proff learning communities - engage admin and teachers. There is no magic answer. Everything is contextual.

Culture of risk-taking. We are in new territory. We are still on a journey.

Lateral capacity building by networks. It is critical to stay connected face-to-face. Created one through First Class and Maine Learns.org. The biggest fear was the teachers would not get the PD. Website supported through NEA

Virtual networks - getting info back and forth. What is working and what is not. Video conf - new level of communication.

Leadership team. Paid a stipend for a teacher leader in each school. Tech coordinator ans chool librarian. They know what is going on and how to build capacity in school for PD.

Student teams - need a student voice on the project. Developed videos, etc. help teachers and students and are part of the problem solving team.

Accountability and vertical relationships. Used 21st Cent Assessment practices. "Assessment for Learning" & "The Black Box" Student engaged in the own assessment of their learning.

MSTM project

Deeper levels of learning and inquiry. Inch thick - mile wide curriculum problem. Less is more and deeper is better.

DEPrivatization of classroom. Have teachers step outside classroom and share what they are doing. You have to be looking at student work.

Vygotsky - zone of proximal development. You want the development to be where students are.

If the building prinicpal was not on board - not a techie but sees it as important. Breakage in building is directly related to building principal. And need to expect that every educator is using technology. The principal needs to enforce this. Build teacher goals and action plans. If you let teachers off the hook it looks unimportant.

PD have to be ongoing!

mainelearns.org

Every school opted back in and the legislature voted it back in.

1:1 Learning Collaborative - Angus King speech

Moblogged....

Angus King is always an enigmatic speaker and is discussing the Maine Learning Technology Initiative MLTI.

Currently teaching at Bodgen College.

Its not about technology - its about the teacher and the tools we give them

40,000 students have laptops all day everyday
9,000 educators (middle and high school)

Steve Jobs biggest customer (yay Mac!)
Also payed $600 for iPhone :)

Every single 7th & 8th grader
20 out of 150 high schools
Starting with educators and moving to students

The laptop is the "portkey" - from Harry Potter fame. It takes students

Started with 3 insights and a lunch.
1)What is the future of jobs and economy in 20 or 30 years? What is it going to involve? For sure education and technology.
2) National Governors Meeting - everyone was chacing more jobs, higher pay, etc. all in the same way. How is Maine going to get ahead?
You don't get ahead of the competition by keeping up.
3) Everything was incremental. All innovations were small improvements - nothing a breakthru.

50-70 million surplus in 1999

The lunch - Seymor Pappert from MIT
"It is only when it is 1:1 that the power occurs." 1996

People hated the idea.
"Who will own the laptops?" The kids - the reporters referred to it as "The laptop giveaway." The political response was unbelievable.
The e-mail were 10:1 against - these were people with computers!

They pushed through with the public and legislature - took 1 1/2 years. Pilot was a private textile company that matched funds with a rural school in Guilford. You can not appreciate the power until you see it - see the ENGAGEMENT. When they are engaged you can teach them anything.

This is an economic development project - it is being able to compete. The World is Flat is the most important book written in recent history. We are sitting on the tracks with a freight train coming while we watch American Idol and play slots.

It is all about Innovation - innovation is the process of technology and education coming together

Digital equity - a statewide program. If it comes bit by bit, the places can afford it get it first.

Education is changing fundamentally. When you live through a revolution you don't know it. We are generating a mountain of info and cannot master. Thomas Jefferson was the last person in America to know everything.

Education has to be about how to find the information and how to use it. Not the mastering of information. It is about process and the computer is the key.

Not a technology project - an education project. They get hung up on the device. What can the device do?

What have we learned in Maine?
1) It is all about teachers. If you hand out computers without professional development it is not worth it. PD does not start and stop - it is ONGOING. It is about integration in the classroom. 1:1 projects that have failed without PD. It has to be everyone in the school, principals, superintendents, and tech coordinators. Everyone needs the vision.
2) New pedagogy. Old model - the sage on the stage. New model - guide on the side
3) Use a single vendor. Do a RFP. Have a variety in Pilot schools to see what works. $289/student/year 4 year lease. Includes software, hardware, network, batteries, tech support. You want one throat to choke. Your vendor better be a partner.
4)7th grade was a good place to start
Total school budget 2 billion
Project cost 4/10 of 1 percent of statewide school budget
We spend way more of that on snow blowing

Darwin - The fittest were the organisms most adaptable to change. That is who has survived. If it was the biggest and the strongest the dinosaurs would still be alive.
Gretsky - How do you score so many goals? "It's easy I skate to where the puck is going to be. Everyone else skates to where it is." also "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take."

Significant improvement in writing and math. Part of the problem is we are not testing the right stuff. Giving 1980s test for 21st century skills. Accountability is important, but it cannot run the engine.

1:1 Learning Collaborative

The Friday Inst is hosting a 1:1 Learning Collaborative. Angus King, the former governor of Maine is the keynote speaker. The new director of FI, Glenn Kleiman, who came from Boston, had worked with Maine in their original ubiquitious computing initiative. Jim Goodnight from SAS, Valerie Lee from Golden Leaf and Rep Joe Tolson are giving the opening remarks.

I will be moblogging this morning and will do my best :)