entrsekt - January 2017

Where learning, technology and community meet.

FUTURE

OR FAD? BRINGING THE NEW REALITIES OF AR, VR TO THE CLASSROOM

+TOTAL

TRANSFORMATION

WHAT FULL-SCALE CHANGE LOOKS LIKE – AND HOW TO GET THERE

DITCHING THE DESKS

FLEXIBLE LEARNING SPACES FOCUS ON HELPING STUDENTS BE PRODUCTIVE, COMFORTABLE entrsekt

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January 2017

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Technology-charged learning starts here You’re pushing the boundaries of education by harnessing the power of technology to advance learning and teaching. Connect with other innovative educators and take your own skills to the next level at the world’s largest ed tech meeting of the minds –

the ISTE 2017 Conference & Expo, San Antonio, Texas, June 25-28. isteconference.org #ISTE17

SAVE THE DATE!

entrsekt

15,000 educators

500+ companies

1,000 sessions

43days

Creating Real Change in the Classroom

Manage student evidence, administer professional development, facilitate PLCs, and so much more in just one platform. The LSI Tracker provides one central place to collect, document, and share data—and it’s all available whenever and wherever you need it.

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contents tm

January 2017 Volume three Issue three A quarterly magazine

Where learning, technology and community meet.

10 inquire

Tim Shriver Special Olympics leader says it’s not about helping the marginalized, but learning from them.

16 feature

Total transformation What full-scale change looks like – and how to get there.

30 feature

Ditching the desks Flexible learning spaces focus on helping students be productive, comfortable.

24 cover Future or fad?

Bringing the new realities of AR, VR to the classroom.

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contents

6 about us

7 invigorate

A year overflowing with opportunity

8 engage

We are made for story

15 worldwise Global learning lets students take

on the world’s greatest challenges

39 dispatch 40 salute

Ixchell Reyes For her students, language leads to deeper understanding, social change.

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Lend your voice to the 2017 ISTE Standards for Teachers

44 backstory

The magical tools of a change agent

letters Letters to the editor in response to content in entrsekt are welcomed. Email your letters to entrsekt@iste.org.

Dear Editor article ignites a conversation on citizenship, civilit y Thank you, entrsekt and Jennifer Snelling for the timely article “A Culture of civility: The new tenets of connecting in the digital age.” In a highly contentious election-year atmosphere, I really appreciate having at my fingertips the research, examples and reminder that “Civility and

citizenship come from understanding alternate viewpoints and being able to have conversations and respectful debates.”

I think an important point from the article to share with students is that having access to multiple and differing viewpoints is an essential component in building empathy, listening skills and global understanding – and may require ramping up their online search skills.

When iste released the 2016 Standards for Students, I was delighted to see digital citizenship as an integral component. In reading “A Culture of Civility,” I was struck by the connection between the Digital Citizen and Global Collaborator standards and how both promote “vital skills to empower students to thrive in an uncertain future.”

The article is a wonderful resource for igniting conversations on creating

a culture of civility within and beyond the classroom.

Gail Desler Technology Integration Specialist Elk Grove Unified School District Elk Grove, California

ADD YOUR VOICE

Educators worldwide have contributed valuable input to the refresh of the ISTE Standards for Teachers.

Now we need to hear from you!

There is still time to participate and add your voice.

Share your feedback on the draft of the 2017 ISTE Standards for Teachers.

Visit iste.org/TeacherRefresh

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Where learning, technology and community meet.

executive editor Julie Phillips Randles chief marketing officer Tracee Aliotti contributor Tim Douglas contributor Gail Marshall contributor Jennifer Snelling contributor Julie Sturgeon art director Sharon Adlis ad production manager Tracy Brown advertising sales manager Cici Trino cicit@aosinc.biz 916.990.9999 iste board chair Mila Thomas Fuller, Ed.D. Assistant Director of Online Learning University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign College of Education iste immediate past chair Kecia Ray, Ed.D. Executive Director Center for Digital Education

Facebook.com/likeISTE

The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE®) is the premier nonprofit organization serving educators and education leaders committed to empowering connected learners in a connected world.

ISTE serves more than 100,000 education stakeholders throughout the world. ISTE’s innovative offerings include the ISTE Conference & Expo — the world’s most comprehensive ed tech event — as well as the widely adopted ISTE Standards for learning, teaching and leading in the digital age and a robust suite of professional learning resources, including webinars, online courses, consulting services for schools and districts, books and peer-reviewed journals and publications. For additional information, please visit iste.org and isteconference.org.

Our vision. The vision of ISTE is a world where all learners thrive, achieve and contribute.

Our mission. As the creator and steward of the definitive education technology standards, ISTE’s mission is to empower learners to flourish in a connected world by cultivating a passionate professional learning community, linking educators and partners, leveraging knowledge and expertise, advocating for strategic policies and continually improving learning and teaching.

Letters to the editor. Letters to the editor in response to content in entrsekt are welcomed. All letters will be edited for length and AP Style. Please send your 200-word letter to entrsekt@iste.org.

Copyright 2016 ISTE. All rights reserved. The contents of this publication may not be reproduced by any means, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of the publisher. Published January 2017.

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ISTE.org/linkedin

Twitter.com/ISTEConnects

Editorial guidelines. entrsekt’s articles are written in accordance with the magazine’s editorial guidelines, which may be found at iste.org/submissions.

Story ideas may be submitted to entrsekt@iste.org. Articles published in entrsekt are edited for style, content and space prior to publication. Views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent ISTE policies or positions. Endorsement by ISTE of products or services advertised in entrsekt is not implied or expressed.

Subscriptions. ISTE members receive entrsekt each quarter as a membership benefit. Nonmembers can subscribe to entrsekt for $49 per year. To subscribe, please visit iste.org/entrsekt or contact our customer service department by emailing iste@iste.org or calling 800.336.5191.

About entrsekt. entrsekt ISSN 2334-2587 (print), entrsekt ISSN 2334-2595 (online) is published quarterly by the International Society for Technology in Education, 1530 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA 22209, USA. Periodicals postage paid at Portland, Oregon, and at additional mailing office. Send address changes to the ISTE membership department at 621 SW Morrison Street, Suite 800, Portland, OR 97205, USA.

invigorate

A year overflowing with opportunity

photo by steve smith

Mila Thomas Fuller ISTE Board Chair

The iste board of directors is excited and energized as we begin the new year! We’re rededicating ourselves to iste’s aspirational vision and mission, and we’ve resolved to focus on member-centric goals in 2017.

These goals go to the heart of what iste stands for. Connecting.

Collaborating. Sharing. Transforming.

Here’s a look at the board’s areas of focus: Showcasing the work of our members. With the transition of the u.s. federal government to a new administration, as well as changes at the state and local levels, 2017 presents an excellent opportunity to showcase the work of our u.s. members to gain additional resources and political support for the entire iste community. In addition, internationally, there are an unprecedented number of large educational technology deployments ready to show the global impact of our community.

The board invites members to leverage the thought leadership platform that iste has created to tell your stories and the return educational technology investments have brought to learning and teaching.

In 2017, we’ll also focus on amplifying the thought leadership of our valuable iste affiliates and iste Professional Learning Networks (plns).

Developing deeper connections.

As a whole, the board wants to connect more deeply with members because we believe these connections will help guide the work of iste. We’ll remain steadfast in our focus on the specific needs of the membership as we collectively advance learning and teaching through innovation.

This year, the board will seek to engage more members as leaders, encouraging them to act as global beacons for the thoughtful integration of ed tech. We want this engagement and modeling to reach beyond the annual conference to ensure all members are inspired and connected 365 days a year. The board sees year-round engagement as an opportunity to ensure educators are prepared to embrace the integration of the iste Standards through pedagogy.

Sharing key resources. The board is forever grateful to our dedicated members who provided key feedback in developing the 2016 iste Standards for Students. In 2017, the board will stand side by side with members to ensure deeper integration of these standards worldwide. We’re also committing our support to sourcing contributions from our local and global membership to the exciting refresh of the iste Standards for Teachers.

And we’ll be working to spread the word about the iste Essential Conditions, the 14 critical elements necessary to effectively leverage technology for learning. Not only do the Essential Conditions guide schools and districts along the path to digital age learning, they’re crucial to the successful implementation of the iste Standards at a classroom level.

Empowering teachers and leaders. Empowerment will also receive significant board attention this year.

Our goal is to empower teachers and leaders by remaining at the forefront of technologies that are game-changers in education and benefit learning and teaching. This includes movements such as personalized learning and global collaboration, along with other key areas that will be identified with the expertise of iste members.

The iste Board of Directors is committed to better understanding member needs and drawing on the collective expertise of our passionate members to inform our work. As we work to achieve the goals set forth here, we invite members to share their opinions and perspectives by contacting us at isteboard@iste.org.

Here’s to a 2017 overflowing with opportunities to transform education!

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engage

We are made for story

photo by timothy musho

By Kristin Ziemke

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Education is constantly in a state of flux. We’re redefining learning spaces, refining the curricula and adjusting our standards. Innovate, revolutionize, evolve.

I frequently hear conversations in search of the next big thing. “We’ll move from stem to steam and then FAIL to SAIL …” And while all ideas are suggested with the best of intentions, I believe the most important thing we can do for students is help them tell their stories.

Campfire conversations, cave paintings, letters mailed across the sea – the tools and times have changed, but the human condition has not. We are made for story. Today, we celebrate that we have so many more ways for students to share their stories. No longer is “write it down” the only way to capture thoughts, but we diversify the how with digital options: blog, make a movie, write a multitouch book, sing a song, share online.

When we invite kids to tell their stories, we place students at the center

of curriculum. Whether it’s videoconferencing with a classroom in Hawaii or posting a blog about an issue on the playground, we make it about them.

Questions like, “What do you wonder?” and “What’s your news?” shift the narrative away from teacherdirected learning and invite students to enter where they’re able and own their thinking. And when we ask kids to tell their stories, they lean into matters of significance.

For our youngest learners, technology facilitates new opportunities for students to create bravely.

Six-year-old Diego used his blog to tearfully communicate with his dad who was away on business travel. Kindergarten student Patrick published a video online for the very first time and watched as it was viewed around the world. Fourth grader Destinee wrote a multitouch book to address violence in her community and communicated her concern with elected officials via a classroom Twitter account.

For each child respectively, THIS was their news. These digital representations were the headlines of their day.

Communicating these stories – and

the ability to do so for themselves – mattered. And when we have the ability to share our stories, they not only belong to us, but to the world.

The affordances of technology in the classroom are endless, but frequently overlooked is the social impact of creating and sharing online. Digital stories serve as a mirror to reflect one’s own experience, a window into something different and the opportunity to walk through a gateway to something new. Sharing begs awareness, seeks understanding and has the potential to turn classroom devices into empathygenerating machines as kids interact and learn about the world.

When we invite kids to tell their stories, we immediately build in choice and engagement, and we personalize learning. Every child has a story to tell.

Digital tools promote equity because they make it easy for every learner to choose the format that works for them, be it visual, kinesthetic or audio.

And when kids can share their stories in a mode that makes sense

to them, they gain a mindset of possibility – “I’m the kind of kid who can make a movie, tweet an author, post to my followers …” Technology fuels democracy because anyone with a device has the ability to tell their story. And along the way, kids recognize that they have a voice and their voice matters.

C.S. Lewis once said, “We tell stories so that we know we are not alone.”

Today, technology amplifies our stories and connects our experiences.

Story is the truth of our head and our heart. It is recursive and it endures.

We come from story. If we can teach students to tell their stories – whatever that looks like – they’ll understand it’s not a single story, it’s not a kid story,

it’s the human story. And the power of story benchmarks time and changes the future.

A teacher of primary-age learners in Chicago, Kristin Ziemke (@KristinZiemke) pairs best-practice instruction with digital tools to transform learning in the classroom and beyond. Author of Amplify: Digital Teaching and Learning in the k-6 Classroom, an Apple Distinguished Educator and National Board Certified Teacher, Ziemke collaborates with educators around the globe as a staff developer, speaker and writer.

IF WE CAN TEACH STUDENTS TO TELL THEIR STORIES – WHATEVER THAT LOOKS LIKE – THEY’LL UNDERSTAND IT’S NOT A SINGLE STORY, IT’S NOT A KID STORY, IT’S THE HUMAN STORY.

ISTE members have access to free year-round professional development opportunities, discounts on ISTE resources – including conference registration – and a network of connected educators who can instantly provide best practices and advice.

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RDS NDA E STA NTS

IS T S T U D E FOR

Join or renew your ISTE membership

by Jan. 31 and get a FREE ISTE Standards ebook!

For details, visit iste.org/SPARKedu or call 800.336.5191 (U.S. & Canada) 503.342.2848 (International).

iste.org/SPARKedu entrsekt

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inquire

Tim Shriver Special Olympics leader says it’s not about helping the marginalized, but learning from them

By Julie Phillips Randles

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Of all the titles Timothy P. Shriver holds – so cia l le a der , educator , au thor , f il m producer, entrepreneur – one gig always stands out, no matter the audience.

Shriver has been the chairman of Special Olympics since 1996, working with more than 5 million Special Olympics athletes in nearly 170 countries to promote health, education and a more unified world through the joy of sports. He’s the man responsible for the organization’s most ambitious growth agenda ever, and for taking Special Olympics to developing or war-torn countries, such as Afghanistan, Bosnia and Iraq.

He wants people to understand that people with intellectual disabilities should not be excluded or treated differently from their peers without disabilities, which is why, under Shriver’s leadership, Special Olympics has developed programs in athlete leadership, cross-cultural research, health, education and family support. Special Olympics Healthy Athletes has become the world’s largest public health organization dedicated to serving people with intellectual disabilities, and Special Olympics Unified

Schools is a powerful new program promoting schoolbased social inclusion and unified leadership, bringing together youth with and without intellectual disabilities.

But his is also the name behind projects you’d never suspect. Shriver co-produced DreamWorks Studios’ 1997 release “Amistad” and Disney Studios’ 2000 release, “The Loretta Claiborne Story.” He is also the executive director of “The Ringer,” a Farrelly Brothers’ film, and “Front of the Class,” a Hallmark Hall of Fame television movie.

And no matter how busy his day, he remains a leading educator on the social and emotional factors in learning. He co-founded and currently chairs the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning (casel), the leading school reform organization in the field of social and emotional learning. And the New Haven Public Schools’ Social Development Project, now considered the leading school-based effort to prevent destructive behaviors in the United States? Yep, he created it.

Shriver earned his undergraduate degree from Yale University, a master’s degree from Catholic University and a doctorate in education from the University of Connecticut.

Tim Shriver says people often find the most fulfilling experiences in some of the least likely places.

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inquire

You wrote a book titled Fully Alive: Discovering What Matters Most. What matters most to you?

What matters most to me is to be unafraid of the judgment of others. Thus, to live what I consider to be my truest and best self.

You’ve had roles as an educator, a film producer and an entrepreneur. What lessons have you learned from your life’s path?

The biggest lesson I’ve learned is that to crack yourself open requires paying attention to people on the margins, people who have been excluded. I’ve learned my biggest life lesson from teenagers who are at risk of dropping out of school, people with intellectual disabilities who have no friends, from parents who feel isolated and rejected by their families.

The big lesson I’ve learned from these people is to be unafraid. In the end, no one’s judgment about you can or should determine who you are. To discover the goodness in you almost requires that you move to the margins – move beyond the popular, the convenient, the easy, the predictable. You will find your most fulfilling experiences in some of the least likely places. entrsekt

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What progress have you seen in the public’s perception of individuals with mental and physical disabilities since your mother, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, founded Special Olympics in 1968?

I think there has been a lot of progress. Institutions have closed, schools have become much more inclusive, people have begun to get jobs, most people with intellectual disabilities are living with their families and in communities.

In many ways, many of the physical barriers to inclusion and dignity have been eliminated. But like every civil rights and human rights movement, the attitudinal barriers are much more stubborn.

The challenge we have today is not to just create physical proximity in schools or in shopping malls, but to create emotional and social connection and respect – to ensure that people with intellectual differences are seen for their gifts and not just for their challenges. We have a new social revolution now getting started. It’s not about helping those who are in the margins but learning from them. It isn’t about helping people with intellectual disabilities (id) but what people with id have to teach the rest of our culture. At a time when we have made great progress, we have the greatest opportunity ever, which is in the moment when the country and the world are looking for teachers who can show us how to overcome barriers and differences. Those teachers are people with intellectual disabilities. They have that lesson to teach, and that is the next phase of this social revolution.

We need to recognize them as empowered teachers for our culture. Now, it’s not about welcoming people with id

Shriver believes the concept of individualized education plans will grow exponentially in the next 20 to 30 years.

photos propert y of special olympics international

In 2014, Shriver wrote a book, Fully Alive: Discovering What Matters Most, where he shares the life-changing impact of people with intellectual disabilities and their capacity to inspire others and to find what matters most.

Born in Boston, Shriver today lives in Washington, d.c., with his wife, Linda, and their five children.

into schools – it’s about unlocking their potential to teach in schools. This is a HUGE change. It’s not about services for them; it’s about lessons from them. It’s not about helping them. It’s about inviting their experience, their wisdom, their humor, their gifts and their trust into the culture of the school. That becomes an enormous opportunity to shift the cultures of schools, which are now tense, anxietyridden and divisive, and create a much more welcoming and inspiring school culture by following the most vulnerable kids in the school.

When you spoke with the Learning First Alliance Board of Directors last year, you shared some very personal stories about your family’s history and work with Special Olympics. What do you most want the broader community to understand about your family’s Special Olympics story?

The great thing to understand is, where the recognizable figures [in our family] have political power and fame, the actual engine of compassion and justice and equality and service was the least-known member of our family, and that was Rosemary.

I think without Rosemary, none of the political or social achievements that my parents’ generation are known for would have taken place. That, I believe, is an important story, not just for people in politics, but for people looking at role models and what matters. You overlook the person who maybe doesn’t speak well or the person who doesn’t go to the best college. Frequently, right under our noses are the people who actually have the secrets to a more hopeful and peaceful future.

Teachers and technology are sometimes viewed in the false dichotomy of “either or.” Can you share examples of how Special Olympics coaches have used data and technology to support athletes?

Here’s what we have learned from technology so far: First of all, we have learned that the data systems around the world have been able to show us just how bad the treatment of people with intellectual disabilities is. Social media and the super-empowered media technologies have revealed to us the treatment of people in institutions everywhere from Mexico to South Africa to New York to Iowa. So technology has opened our eyes to the experience of people with id around the world.

Secondly, it’s revealed to us that we can tell the stories – the heroic stories – of so many people with id and their families in countries around the world through our movement. Without technology, we wouldn’t know we have 5.3 million athletes and unified partners, 108,000 competitions,

hundreds of thousands of health screenings for our athletes, etc. Technology has allowed us to capture the stories of our athletes in South Africa; in Phoenix, Arizona; in Birmingham, England; and in nearly 170 countries around the world – athletes who are changing their culture and telling stories of what is happening in their communities. We are elevating voices that would have been hidden.

What we have not yet been able to do is create the applications and the environment where people can come into our movement and join it and participate in it and learn from it as powerfully as we would like. So we need to create new web-enabled tools that will promote fitness, community, health and access to health, learning from people, and lessons of inclusion for a new generation of people with id.

Technology has helped, but we are not where we need to be yet. Microsoft and other partners are helping us get there.

“ We are elevating voices that would have been hidden.”

How have you seen assistive technologies evolve over recent years, and how are they changing the lives of young and old?

That is not a field that I know particularly well, but when I see people who have speech issues who use assisted speech devices, I see people like Robert (Bob) Williams, a senior official in the Clinton administration and d.c. government who is able to bring his voice to bear. I see Troy Daniels, one of the iconic leaders of our movement, who gave a speech on the history of our movement using an assistive speech device.

Some of these devices and technologies have unlocked the voices of people who would have otherwise been hidden. Assistive devices certainly made it possible for guys like our athlete and employee Ben Collins to read, something that otherwise would have been impossible. The possibilities are enormous for people with visual impairments, hearing impairments, speech impairments and mobility impairments to help them with tasks like cooking, schedules, timing, how to make sure that you don’t leave the stove on, how to make sure you get to the bus on time. People are able to live independently because these types of technologies can be programmed to assist people who have challenges managing multiple tasks.

ISTE has a very active professional learning network called the Inclusive Learning Network. How can that group and other members of the ISTE community best engage with Special Olympics?

I think they should argue with us for a new era of Title ix awareness and awakening. A new era where we begin to demand that schools across this country, in addition to having entrsekt

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boys’ teams and girls’ teams, have Special Olympics Unified Sports teams in every school in America.

When that happens, we will have the means to raise a generation that respects and demands inclusion and assumes inclusion to be the norm.

You spent 15 years in the education field as a teacher and running education programs. You also serve on the board of The Future Project, an organization that helps youth discover their potential and build skills to change their lives. In your opinion, what role does technology play in youth discovering their potential, inspiring hope and building futures of promise?

The main thing is that technology has made information available to kids of any age. When I was a kid, if you wanted to learn about Greece, Rome, etc., you had to go to the school library or the community library. If you wanted to learn about the periodic table of elements, you had to go to school.

Technology is shifting the entire role of the school, in my view, which goes back to the printing press. The printing press made knowledge into something that could be printed and distributed. Schools became the last stop in that distribution chain where you would get the books and learn the knowledge. Today, that’s gone; no longer necessary. Schools have to change fundamentally, from content to connection and compassion and inspiration. That’s why our athletes are so important, because they are carriers, they are metaphors, they are wise people in the business of inspiration.

Historically, individualized education plans, or IEPs, have been reserved for selected groups of students. Now there is an emerging belief that every student should have a highly personalized learning program. What’s your perspective, and what have you learned from your background in creating personalized experiences? entrsekt

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Well, it’s true. We are a great example that was started based on providing something to kids with special needs. It’s become bigger and will become a part of culture.

Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan, his wife, have committed something like $30 billion to supporting personalized education in the future. Where did this start? It started in special ed when we realized that every kid is different. Every kid had unique gifts and needed a customized plan. That is wisdom and insight that comes from the special-needs world.

This is the future of education. A standard curriculum that’s forced on every child will not be the future. This concept of individualized education plans will grow exponentially in the next 20 or 30 years.

What is your perception of education funding levels for special needs students at the state and district levels?

What more needs to be done?

I think the additional resources that kids with special needs require will always seem like an expense. But, actually, they are an investment. They are an investment in teaching quality, in teaching the fundamental principles of the Declaration of Independence that all human beings are created equal, in teaching children the power and value of diversity, the importance of inclusion and openness, the experience of compassion and service.

If we look at it that way, as investments we need to make in supporting children with special needs in schools, this would seem like a very small investment indeed. That will require that we shift our lens from perceiving them to be cost centers to seeing them as valuable assets. If we see them as big assets for schools, we would get closer to understanding their importance in the overall structure of funding their education appropriately.

“ They are an investment in teaching quality, in teaching the fundamental principles of the Declaration of Independence that all human beings are created equal, in teaching children the power and value of diversity, the importance of inclusion and openness, the experience of compassion and service.”

worldwise

Global learning lets students take on the world’s greatest challenges Mali Bickley

mali bickley is a retired cl assroom teacher who currently works as a cl assroom coll aboration specialist at takingitglobal. she believes in the power of connecting students globally and hopes that all learners have the opportunit y to make positive change by connecting and learning with each other.

Our world and our classrooms are becoming increasingly interconnected. It’s a movement I’ve seen firsthand as a teacher when I worked with students on authentic lessons that resulted in powerful global messages on topics like climate change.

How can teachers create learning environments that foster the skills needed to become caring, contributing and creative global citizens? As educators, we have the opportunity to embed global learning opportunities while meeting curriculum goals supported by the 2016 ISTE Standards for Students.

Global learning enables students and teachers to harness the power of technology to develop relationships with their global peers while addressing complex and important global issues. Many of these issues – peace, water and food security, climate change, refugees, child labor and lack of education – are at the forefront of today’s news. With global learning, students can engage in meaningful discussions to solve some of these challenges and create action plans. They discover different perspectives from their global peers and are encouraged to think critically and develop real-world plans to creatively contribute to positive global change.

The new ISTE Standards for Students provide a framework and support for integrating global issues, projects and collaborations in classrooms. Several organizations offer global projects that empower students to become aware, investigate and involve classrooms in global learning.

The following projects are excellent examples of standardsbased activities classes can engage in to foster global learning and global citizenship: Commit2Act (commit2act.tigweb.org) Designed by TakingITGlobal, this program encourages students to create and commit small actions to help the planet. Students often become discouraged, thinking that their one small act will not create change. Through this program, students can track their personal actions, for example, eating a meatless meal, and observe how their action contributes to a wider global impact.

Students are empowered by creating individual challenges while contributing to a wider global movement. Teachers have the option to design action challenges within classes locally and globally.

Global Youth Debates (globalyouthdebates.com) Global Youth Debates creates opportunities for students to critically examine a global issue while exploring a variety of perspectives.

The Global Youth Debates Project invites classrooms, through the Flat Connections Project (flatconnections.com) to debate topics such as climate change, global peace and equity.

During debate preparation, classes in diverse parts of the world examine varied points of view to present to their global peers. Students use digital resources to research topics while developing the ideas they want to present. These live online debates are designed to encourage student leadership for community action.

International Learning Circles (globallearningcircles.org) The International Education and Resource Network’s (iEARN) Learning Circles are incredible opportunities to learn with classes from a wide range of countries. Issues explored include the My Hero Project, global education equity and environmental concerns.

Learning Circles are facilitated by experienced educators who guide classrooms through a unique learning process.

During the 16-week cycle, students use online forums to share their perspectives and ideas about the topics. Each class is then responsible for creating a digital artifact to address each issue.

During the creation process, classrooms connect in virtual classes to provide peer-to-peer feedback. Students can create videos, websites, develop apps or write blog posts to share online at the culmination of the project. Each learning circle integrates several curriculum areas, including sociology, science, government, history and economics.

As a global educator, I am excited to recognize how the new ISTE Standards for Students have become indicators for successful global education initiatives. The new standards validated what I already knew: addressing global issues embedded in meaningful, real-world scenarios, promoting connected learning and goal action fosters the development of global citizens.

Students benefit immensely by participating in global projects and they develop a deeper understanding of global issues, broaden their perspectives and discover opportunities to work together to tackle the world’s greatest challenges. entrsekt

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feature

TOTAL TRANSFORMATION What full-scale change looks like – and how to get there

By Gail Marshall

It was a searing message from its own students that awakened a transformation using technology in one Alaskan school district.

“A few years ago,” says Superintendent Mary Wegner of the Sitka School District, “high school students approached the school board and said they were not being prepared for the future.”

What? This was a district whose students scored well in academics and assessments.

But these ambitious students knew they were going to need to reach a much higher plane to succeed in the global economy they were entering.

They described “a pervasive lack of technology in the schools – so much so that the school didn’t even have a wireless network,” Wegner says. “The students knew they needed to be fluent in digital literacies to be successful in their lives, and they needed the school district to enter the 21st century.

“And the school board listened to the students.” entrsekt

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TOTAL TRANSFORMATION

The best way to cultivate a culture that is open to accepting your new ideas is to be open yourself.

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Excellent start.

What followed was textbook leadership: The board, which oversees the district administration serving 1,300 k-12 students, set the goal of technology fluency and committed to a sustainable budget to support this goal.

The district created a vision of engaged student learning. Administrators identified financial resources, hired a consultant and came up with a plan to build professional learning communities so teachers could help each other learn and teach with the new digital resources. Thus began their journey.

And so it is with schools today, of all sizes and locations, that have plugged into the power of technology to transform learning and teaching.

That is not to say that all of it, perhaps any of it, is easy.

“The secret of change is to focus all your energy not on fighting the old but on building the new,” said the ultimate educator, Socrates. Imagine trying to convince your board that the Greek gods are not omnipotent.

Fortunately, we don’t all have to face a hemlock cocktail if our ideas don’t catch on. Now there’s iste, a place to gather around the campfire with other seekers.

The perfect place to start is with the iste Essential Conditions, the 14 critical elements necessary to effec-

tively leverage technology for learning, found at iste.org.

Another is to use the famous method of Professor Socrates and his students: Ask questions. Discuss.

How did you get started?

While Sitka’s districtwide transformation emerged from the bottom up, across the country in Maryland’s Baltimore County Public Schools, Superintendent S. Dallas Dance started at the top – with himself.

He found that the best way to cultivate a culture that is open to accepting your new ideas is to be open

yourself. His advice is to be open in all senses of the word.

Be curious, honest, inquisitive and listen to others first before sharing your ideas. When other people see that you are invested in their ideas, they become invested in yours. Set up meetings, host town halls, visit schools and remain active on social media.

Be accessible to colleagues, students, teachers, families, community members. Being accessible opens the door to honest conversations that benefit the school system.

At the Rowan-Salisbury School District in North Carolina, which has 20,000 students, Superintendent Lynn Moody says the key to starting the engine for any major transformation is by first answering the big question: Why? Educators, for example, deserve a thorough explanation about why instructional change is necessary.

“Specifically,” she says, “we worked with how education needs to evolve to fit an environment that is now so information rich. Teachers can no longer be the dictators of knowledge but facilitators of learning all in the common pursuit of knowledge. We believe that ensuring that educators understand why there was a need for change helped curb the adage that the initiative was ‘just another educational fad.’”

Dance, a member of the iste Board of Directors, leads a district of 111,000 students and18,000 employees with a budget of about $1.6 billion. The Baltimore district has 173 schools, programs and centers, and about 47 percent of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunches. Students speak almost 90 languages and hail from more than 100 countries.

Before developing his strategic plan, Dance and his team held more than 200 gatherings, meeting with almost 2,000 people from across Baltimore County. Folks were asked what they wanted to see in the future for the schools and how best to achieve those goals, taking steps to ensure that everyone involved felt supported as they moved through the conversations.

“Through that kind of collaboration,” Dance says, “we not only brought awareness to why change was necessary, but also developed a plan that balanced the needs of the organization with the capacity of those who would help to carry out the changes.”

From all of these voices, Dance discovered a common concern: equity.

Moody, from North Carolina, made sure that transformation through technology wasn’t just a top-down message. Educators were encouraged

to “go and see” other successful models around the country.

“We strongly believe that seeing is believing and that for educators to truly transform the way they teach, they must be able to see it work firsthand. We’ve sent staff members on buses to schools up and down the Eastern Seaboard to see transformation in action. Additionally, we’ve sent over 400 educators to iste conferences in the past three years to learn and bring back best practices for transformation,” Moody explains.

When other people see that you are invested in their ideas, they become invested in yours.

How did you do it?

“Technology is a key leverage tool for facilitating learner-centered environments across the district,” Dance wrote in The Baltimore Sun. “Through stat, or Students and Teachers Accessing Tomorrow, educators there

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TOTAL TRANSFORMATION

When it came time to implement its plan, this district may have set a tech speed record.

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are using a dynamic digital curriculum and materials. The bcps One online portal helps teachers organize flexible groups and assignments and facilitates easy parent and student access to grades, assignments and added communication. All the elementary schools and seven middle schools have placed 1:1 devices in students’ hands

to better engage and motivate learners,” Dance explained.

Instructional digital conversion schools at bcps, known as Lighthouse schools, are systemwide at grades 1-3, schoolwide at 10 previous pilot elementary schools and in grade 6 at pilot middle schools. A self-paced online program is supplementing fourth grade Spanish instruction at 25 schools to give students the advantages of second language profi-

ciency by graduation. Last year’s 10 pilot schools have begun Spanish at grade 5.

Moody says her district first established funding to ensure sustainability of their goal to embrace digital and instructional transformation.

“Priority was placed on examining current budgets to find areas for

repurpose. Administrators used zerobased budgeting strategies to examine how every dollar is spent, including down to the number of crayons purchased each year.

“After examining all 35 schools and district budgets, budgetary emphasis was placed on ensuring that educators had the support to transform their instruction. Additional instructional staff members were placed at all schools. Now, each school has both an instructional technology facilitator and literacy coach to support teachers with just-in-time and job-embedded professional development,” she says.

When it came time to implement its plan, this district may have set a tech speed record. The staff had to do

it; their district was on the state’s list of low-performing schools.

The idea of a 1:1 program was approved by the board of trustees on June 4, 2014, teachers got their laptops at the end of the school year, and they rolled out 17,000 laptops to their students with less than eight weeks of preparation.

“We are saying, ‘We need to be doing this next year,’” says Andrew Smith, director of digital innovation for Rowan-Salisbury Schools. “We really want to have transformational change, and we can’t wait. We can look at our test scores, and we can tell you we have a problem. It doesn’t take any time. We’re going to basically put our problems out front. Everybody knows

what they are. We’ve got to find a solution, so we created this sense of urgency that this needs to be done now.”

How do your schools look different from other schools?

Moody says that the digital transformation of her district has changed the look of the physical classrooms and the instructional practices within them.

• All students have access to MacBook Airs in grades 9-12 and iPad 4s in grades 4-6 for take-home use.

• Students in grades k-2 have carts of iPads for classroom use.

• Libraries are now “knowledge

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commons” that include makerspaces, collaborative seating arrangements and coffee shops that mimic real-world collaboration spaces.

The district completely redesigned learning spaces to include collaborative, flexible learning environments.

Student work is focused on authentic learning tasks that are collaborative, connected, relevant and personalized.

Schools partner with local industry experts to provide innovative coursework that prepares students for real jobs when they graduate from high school.

The students work together long distance on projects, sharing equipment and other resources, just as modern corporations do.

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TOTAL TRANSFORMATION

“We really want to have transformational change, and we can’t wait.”

At Sitka, among the many physical changes beyond classroom devices, interactive whiteboards, document cameras and projectors, the team created a fabrication and design lab, known as the Fab Lab. Sitka partners with other districts in Alaska, Washington and Oregon to model real-world skills while solving real-world problems.

The students work together long distance on projects, sharing equipment and other resources, just as modern corporations do.

On a YouTube video, you can see a student working with a businessman to invent a way to prevent cargo from shifting in an airplane on takeoff and landing. Their invention was designed and even fabricated in the Fab Lab

using modern equipment. Without prompting, the businessman said he would be delighted to hire the high school freshman right now to join his company.

Their career-technical education (cte) addition for the high school is something you won’t see everywhere, with students inventing, designing and building equipment.

They are even constructing a house inside, protected from the severe Alaska weather.

Wegner points out that the contractor who was hired to build the cte addition is a graduate of the program.

Likewise, many of the employees the contractor hired were also graduates of the cte program.

There are direct and indirect economic benefits to having a strong and relevant cte program, and the cte building expansion is one such example.

Other grade-level schools in the district have duplicated the Fab Lab on a smaller scale. This was made possible by providing professional learning opportunities for teachers in the district.

They also recently started a Full steam Ahead initiative that includes a mobile makerspace cart and a portable planetarium to bring learning to life.

How do you know it’s working?

“We transformed from having no vision about the role technology could

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And now, it’s time for a party. On Sept.1, 2016, Moody confirmed that the district received impressive state assessment scores. Best of all, RowanSalisbury was removed from the state’s list of low-performing school districts and received positive indicators in literacy across all grade levels.

play in the learning process,” says Wegner, “to a comprehensive understanding of the role.” And they discovered how to define learning competency in the bargain.

“Sitka Schools is now a proud member of the League of Innovative Schools, and we continue our journey of transformation for our students’ sake.”

The league is a project from Digital Promise that connects and rallies the most forward-thinking leaders of the nation’s school districts, collaborates on shared priorities and partners with entrepreneurs, researchers and education leaders.

At Rowan-Salisbury, they ’ve moved the needle far in the past three years.

The plan, says Moody, is to set “ambitious, innovative goals to provide students with world-class experiences.” These include providing all

20,000 students with an Apple device in less than six months; instituting a new framework for literacy; and adopting an “audacious” goal to have 90 percent of students reading on grade level by 2018.

“From technology to instructional goals,” says Moody, “Rowan-Salisbury Schools has dreamed big and implemented with fidelity. The work of redesigning schools to provide authentic, personalized and engaging experiences is impacting students throughout Rowan County.

“Over the past two years, administrators have seen a positive instructional shift in student work. Students now complete authentic learning experiences where students have choice, differentiated assignments and engaging lessons.”

Consider the numbers: • 96 percent of k-6 schools met or exceeded growth in reading.

• 91percent of schools increased their performance.

• Schools exceeding expected growth jumped from 3 percent to 23 percent.

• 71 percent of schools increased in science.

• 74 percent of schools increased their growth index.

• College scholarships doubled to $18.4 million.

• 88 percent of school performance grade scores increased.

• 24 percent of school performance letter grades increased.

At Sitka, among the many physical changes beyond classroom devices, interactive whiteboards, document cameras and projectors, the team created a fabrication and design lab, known as the Fab Lab.

In Baltimore, there have been many advances, awards and accolades that point to the district’s success, but to Superintendent Dance, one defining moment said it all.

“A few years ago, this third grader came up to me at church. He was holding his mother’s hand. He said, ‘I am so glad I have my own device! Now I can figure things out on my own. I am performing at fourth grade level!’” gail marshall is a writer and editor for the fresno bee, a major metropolitan newspaper in california. she also owns and operates a freelance business, marshall arts communications consultants.

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FUTURE OR FAD? Bringing the new realities of AR, VR to the classroom

By Jennifer Snelling

B

etween Google Cardboard and Pokemon

Go, access to virtual reality (vr) and aug mented reality (ar) have exploded within

the last year. vr and ar are undoubtedly cool, but as with any new tech, it’s not the tech itself but how it’s used that will determine its success. Tools that go beyond just replacing paper and pencil to actually improve and transform learning are the ones teachers embrace in their classrooms.

Do vr and ar have the potential to transform education on the scale of laptops and Google Apps?

Certainly vr has the potential to take students everywhere from the bottom of the ocean to inside the human body, but is it more than a fad that will be left behind once the novelty wears off? The potential is huge to engage a variety of different learners, but if the technology leads the pedagogy instead of the other way around, it will be hard for it to evolve beyond its origins as a game. entrsekt

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FUTURE OR FAD?

Contributing to the appeal of bringing VR into the classroom is the fact that more and better content is being developed all the time.

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Grant Lichtman, author of #EdJourney: A Roadmap to the Future of Education and The Falconer: What We Wish We Had Learned in School, says it’s time to learn how to leverage vr to transform education.

“Technology enables education; it doesn’t drive education. Adopting vr is just another one of those changes that requires a growth mindset, a school culture that expects innovation,” he says. “Otherwise, it’s a real failure because the technology is going to be on us before the understanding of how to use the technology is there.”

VR basics

vr has been around for a long time, primarily in the gaming world. The reason it’s taking off in homes and schools is because companies have developed affordable hardware, most notably, headsets like Google Cardboard.

Teachers and students can access 360-degree videos on any computer, although the experience is enhanced by using headsets. Google’s popular Cardboard headset is available for as little as $6, but more sophisticated devices, such as Oculus Rift, htc Vive, Open Source vr and Samsung, can cost between $300 to $1,000 each. Although 1:1 devices are ideal, byod or connecting to a smartboard can make the technology available to everyone in the classroom.

Many teachers are most familiar with ar , which allows students to interact with the images they see.

Pokemon Go is a popular example of this, although Aurasma is one that many teachers use because it allows

them to do many things, including use qr codes or bring students’ artwork to life. To access ar, teachers need a tablet or phone with a camera to allow students to see the image and trigger the interaction.

Contributing to the appeal of bringing vr into the classroom is the fact that more and better content is being developed all the time. Maureen Brown Yoder, professor of education technology at Lesley University, says, “There isn’t anything wrong with using vr games as a reward for students, but that’s not reaching the potential it has. Now that the content is better, students can tell a story or view locations and places they couldn’t go to otherwise. If you get nasa or National Geographic and companies that are really good at producing this content, most of it free, paired with inexpensive viewers, you can have vr in your classroom for less than $20.”

The value of VR

Given vr’s ready availability, the question is, what can it contribute to the classroom? The most obvious benefit of vr is the ability to give students experiences they otherwise wouldn’t have access to. Through nasa, kids can take a virtual trip to the moon, or using Google 360, they can walk the streets of Paris.

Janice Mak, an instructional coach and teacher from Phoenix, says vr can help level the playing field. She’s taken kids on virtual field trips under the ocean, to the rainforests of Borneo and to the cern in Switzerland.

“It’s that equity in access. I’ve taught in Title I places where kids have never traveled outside of Phoenix, even to the Grand Canyon,” she says. “vr has the ability to really bring the

experiences to students everywhere at very little cost.”

Besides making learning fun, vr can be helpful for a variety of learners, particularly visual ones, says Elissa Malespina, iste member, presidentelect for iste’s Librarians Network and librarian at Summerville Middle School in New Jersey. Subjects such as the plant process, human biology or geometry can be hard for students to visualize. vr allows students to go inside the human body, watch the process of a plant growing or visualize 3d concepts in geometry. “ar has a great potential, especially for kids who are growing up in the age of the internet and becoming much more visual learners,” she says.

There is also potential to help students be more open-minded about experiences they’ve never had, such as scuba diving, or help kids empathize with the plight of children in other parts of the world, such as Syria.

Of course, with a game-like appeal, vr and ar are a natural way to gain and keep kids interested in a particular topic. Patricia Cloud, the technology associate at Grand Oak Elementary in North Carolina, uses vr with third, fourth and fifth graders through Minecraft. Cloud considers vr to be any time kids are working in another world.

While her fifth graders are studying American history from the Colonial settlers through the Civil War, Cloud has them build their own Jamestown, from the animals to the forts. She includes questions that require students to give thoughtful answers, such as a question about slave quarters. Once they’re done, teachers

use those builds for a mathematic unit on area and perimeter, to learn about ecosystems in science or generate stories in language arts.

Cloud also capitalized on the popularity of Pokemon Go by having students write down locations of Pokestops and gyms in the game, then use Google Maps to create their own Pokemon Go map. Students used Google Maps’ satellite view to put their markers on the map, which uses ar to show the stops.

“The buy-in is there. They’re ready to go. I have to slow the kids down so

they can get the background to work,” she says. “Put those little imaginations into that virtual world and you need to channel that into what you’re focusing on.”

Ideal versus reality

These examples are much closer to ideal than reality, says iste member Marialice bfx Curran, founder and ceo of the Digital Citizenship In-

stitute and co-author, with William Jenkins, of the iste DigCit pln Pokemon Go Report.

The report includes curated articles about the Pokemon Go phenomenon, ideas for educators, safety advice and thoughts on digital citizenship.

While working on the report, Curran and her 9-year-old son, Curran Dee, spent the summer playing Pokemon Go around their home in Connecticut.

Through the game, they visited Fenway Park, historical sites across Boston, Niagara Falls and Cape Cod. Dee, in fourth grade this year, developed his

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FUTURE OR FAD?

The great power of VR is allowing students, as a class, to transcend bricks and mortar.

own Pokemon homework assignment for their mother-and-son website, DigCitKids.com, that encourages students everywhere to learn about their communities through the game.

In contrast, at the end of the summer, Dee returned to a classroom that does not use computers at all. This is a situation he and his mother are working to change for students everywhere.

Dee has given a TEDxYouth talk, and spoke this fall at Twitter headquarters in support of technology in education.

“When you look at those opportunities for Dee it’s amazing, but when you see the disconnect at school, it’s heartbreaking. As a mother, I think it’s great he has these opportunities, but as an educator, my heart breaks that all children everywhere don’t have these opportunities.”

In fact, Mak argues that if educators are open to it, vr can be a great

equalizer among students, allowing them to share experiences with each other that only a few could experience in real life.

The biggest obstacle to vr is not equipment or finances – it may be convincing stakeholders to see it as more than a game. Curran says at Dee’s school and many other schools, “blocked and banned” is the attitude toward technology.

“The teachable moment for educators is that we have an opportunity to take something that’s happening outside the classroom, focused on community, and bring it into our classrooms,” she says. “People will say Pokemon Go is a fad, the flavor of the week, but you’ve got to look beyond the tool and look at it from the sense of building community. It’s not just working with students, teachers – it’s working with an entire community.”

Convincing parents is a big part of the equation. As with any innovation, open communication and proceeding carefully is important. Cloud says she generally has good buy-in from the parents in her district, but once while working in Minecraft edu, she ran into another school where the kids were talking to each other inside the virtual world. The experience caused her to be more cautious, especially with young children in interactive worlds.

This is one of the many new challenges that will become the norm as vr goes from a novelty to commonplace. “The lines are becoming even more blurred for kids as the virtual world comes into the real world,” she says. “You may be a superhero and leap tall buildings in your virtual world, but it’s still you. You have to practice digital citizenship all the time.”

Transformative technology

The great power of vr is allowing students, as a class, to transcend bricks and mortar. But, as with all technology, says Mak, the key is not the tool but how it is being used. While it’s easy for teachers to introduce vr in the classroom as a way to take virtual field trips, if that’s where it ends, there is a lot of wasted potential to transform learning.

“It’s always about pedagogy first and technology next. I try to emphasize creative thinking, writing and logical thinking, creating with technology rather than just consuming it.”

Of course, vr and ar are changing so quickly, resources and professional development for teachers are quickly left behind. Cloud suggests teachers start by playing around with vr themselves. If you don’t understand it at first, ask a student to help you. entrsekt

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Malespina’s book, Augmented Reality in Education: Bringing Interactivity to Libraries and Classrooms, is a wealth of resources, and she has created a webinar for the iste Librarians Network.

While the technology and available content continues to grow at a quick pace, the 2016 iste Standards for Students can guide educators in using these new tools for meaningful learning. For example, students can use vr and ar to analyze data sets and represent data in various ways to facilitate problem-solving and decision-making, which is part of the Computational Thinker standard. Or they can create original works or responsibly repurpose or remix digital resources into new creations, which is part of the Creative Communicator standard. The possibilities within the

new student standards are enormous.

Cloud says it’s about taking whatever you’re doing to the next level. “Are they going to have to think about what’s going on and how they can communicate it in a new and different way?” she asks herself. “It’s not just substitution. They’re transforming how they’re looking at the subject.

When they’re building Jamestown, they’re not just reading about other people’s experiences. They’re having their own experience and having to solve problems. What if there aren’t a lot of trees around? What if the land isn’t flat?”

The power of vr is that it allows students to have interactive and shared experience with each other, their teachers and, potentially, people in other parts of the world. “vr allows us to transcend time and space that limits learning to the walls and school day,” says Lichtman.

And that’s vr’s long-term impact.

He describes a world where a teacher can walk into the classroom in Indiana and say, “We’re going to study water resources.” Today, students get online and look for resources, but in the near future, those students will take a virtual tour with a water researcher in Mumbai or a hydrology engineer in Washington. “That’s a very different type of learning,” he says. “With a much richer potential.” jennifer snelling is a freel ance writer who writes for a variet y of publications and institutions, including the universit y of oregon. as a mother to elementary and middle school-aged children, she’s a frequent cl assroom volunteer and is active in oregon schools.

While the technology and available content continues to grow at a quick pace, the 2016 ISTE Standards for Students can guide educators in using these new tools for meaningful learning.

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Ditching the desks Flexible learning spaces focus on helping students be productive, comfortable

By Tim Douglas

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Ditching the desks

Flexible learning spaces and classrooms that create active learning environments are gaining in popularity.

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Believe it or not, Jeff Spicoli may have been onto something.

“I’ve been thinking about this, Mr. Hand. If I’m here and you’re here, doesn’t that make it our time? Certainly, there’s nothing wrong with a little feast on our time.”

Spicoli may have been a fictional character who delivered this classic line in the 1980s movie “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” to explain his view of classroom dynamics to his teacher, Mr. Hand, but it makes a great deal of sense today: Instruction time belongs to both teacher and student.

But what about the environment? How has the use of classroom space changed since the ‘80s, or for that matter, over the past 100 years?

SPACE TIME OVER FACE TIME

The most effective and efficient boardrooms, offices, factories and fields allow a certain freedom in getting the work done. We are better in groups, particularly when we have a choice in how and where we handle the job. This certainly

applies to classrooms as well. Instead of teachers delivering the daily lessons to rows of students, what if instructors trusted their students to choose their places? Instead of demanding to see faces, what if teachers stressed spaces?

Flexible learning spaces and classrooms that create active learning environments are gaining in popularity.

Around the world, educators are moving away from seating charts and toward overstuffed chairs and alternative furnishings. Many are also saying goodbye to the teacher’s desk.

In fact, the movement has its own hashtag: #ditchthedesk.

To ditch the desk, however, requires understanding all that comes with this classroom transformation.

“Classrooms are time stuck,” says Kayla Delzer, a third grade teacher at Mapleton Elementary in Mapleton, North Dakota, and a recognized pioneer in the flexible learning space movement. “I showed two pictures [to a colleague] of two classrooms. One was shot in the 1950s. The other was taken just recently. The only difference? One was in black and white. Our education system has been OK, but we can do better. The world is full of change, yet classrooms aren’t.”

THE COMFORT ZONE

There is much to be said about being relaxed and content.

There are comfort foods, comfort clothes and creature comforts. We’re more likely to be more productive when we’re comfortable – and that applies to adults and students.

Words of wisdom from Meredith Douglas, a sixth grader, at Garfield Elementary School in Clovis, California. “Why should we just sit there? It feels better to move around. We’re students, not statues.”

Comfort is but one component. Shifting to a flexible space requires thought, intention and meeting the ultimate goal: helping students achieve and learn at the highest level.

To begin, teachers need to be mentally ready. It’s important to understand the “why” when making this shift.

“People get too wrapped up in the furniture piece,” says Ilsa Dohmen, a sixth grade science teacher at Hillbrook School in Los Gatos, California. “This is about shifting a mindset and teachers giving more control to students. As adults, we have a sense of how we work best, yet we govern kids.”

Giving up the governance takes faith, but a key mechanism for improving schools nationwide and globally can be described in a single word: relationships, which require trust. Going from a controlled environment that is run by

one person to one that may appear at times to border on bedlam takes buy-in from beyond the classroom.

It’s not only the teacher and the students who need to trust each other. Administration, district leaders, parents and families all need to be on board, and teachers need to remember they’re not giving up everything.

In an email, Chris Johnson, interim director and assistant professor with the Educational Technology Program at the University of Arizona South, and an iste member, says that individual educators can begin by realizing they do have control of the components of their classroom, such as the instructional activities. However, teachers can’t assume they will do this in a vacuum. “I would make sure I had talked to my principal … to discuss how this will change my instruction and improve student learning. I’d do this after researching the impact of space on learning and have a general idea of what I wanted to do,” Johnson writes.

Shifting to a flexible space requires thought, intention and meeting the ultimate goal: helping students achieve and learn at the highest level.

KEEP IT SIMPLE

Dale Basye, a content developer at Clarity Innovations, a company that “matches promising technologies to the needs of education,” says to keep it simple when creating a flexible learning environment. entrsekt

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Ditching the desks

There’s no need to attempt to make every change at once.

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“When you think about it, all classrooms start empty,” explains Basye, author of Get Active: Reimagining Learning Spaces for Student Success. “So educators can begin by thinking about an empty classroom space: imagining it without furniture, with blank white walls, no lighting, etc. Then start thinking about how that space could better support learning.”

Schools and teachers can also proceed at their own pace.

There’s no need to attempt to make every change at once. A simple pilot program is one way to start, where rows become circles for a day. Flexibility can take many forms. A teacher might allow a student to go outside without asking permission or to get a drink or to stand up. The only limits are the imagination and being mindful of all the resources.

“Another key step in designing an effective classroom is gathering information from students: the most important users of the learning space,” Basye notes. “Ask them what makes them feel comfortable and productive.”

INVITE PEOPLE IN

As teachers proceed, it’s a good idea to share in order to maintain trust among all the stakeholders.

“The easiest way to make [flexible learning environments] the norm is to invite people – everyone – into the classroom,” says Bill Selak, director of technology at Hillbrook. “At our school, we say, ‘hey, come in and see

like, ‘hey, I’m thinking of doing this ... has anyone else tried it?’”

A MATTER OF MATERIALS

Once a teacher has adopted the mindset, there is a matter of materials. Again, creating flexible learning spaces and classrooms that allow for active learning is not about the furniture, but teachers do need some tools.

The shopping list needs to be practical, not pricey.

Teachers and schools need to keep in mind the end goal is to educate students effectively, and, preferably, economically.

Without tremendous thought and foresight, an expensive

Sharing also enhances professional development and encourages collaboration.

photo by k aia lea

for yourself.’ And this is where technology is so important.

We send pictures of students engaged and learning through Instagram or Snapchat, and it’s painfully obvious how effective it is.”

“I want to make this process, this new environment, as transparent as I can,” Delzer says. “I post every day. Technology allows us to have an incredible open door policy, and we need to take advantage.”

Sharing also enhances professional development and encourages collaboration.

“Reaching out and including others works very well,” writes Johnson, who also chairs the iste Learning Space Network. “The pln is a great place to post a question

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photo by k aia lea

Ditching the desks

Chairs that encourage students to fidget.

Couches. Children lying on the floor.

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piece of furniture is just that, and doesn’t move the needle for a teacher’s classroom or the student.

“Raising a table is free or taking the legs off a table is free,” Delzer says. “I strongly endorse standing – my students have a lot of energy – and to provide comfortable standing space is free.”

Dohmen, who is also the director of professional development and the director of the Center for Teaching Excellence at Hillbrook, and her students are advocates of the TenJam: large, cylindrical, high-density foam shapes that her students use in a variety of ways.

“They will put it on a table and sit on it, or on top of a chair and sit on it,” she said. “The biggest thing is giving kids a choice, and that goes back to trust. [Trust] is free if you allow it.”

At Hillbrook, there are some staples – the whiteboards on wheels that are actually tables and “wiggle” stools that let children fidget easily – but the emphasis is on creating the room together.

“It’s not a one-size-fits-all approach, and more importantly, we don’t have names attached to our classrooms,” Selak says. “Multiple adults have access to each space. It’s a feeling of ‘our space,’ not ‘my space,’ with our students.”

Chairs that encourage students to fidget. Couches.

Children lying on the floor. Surely this isn’t comfort. It’s chaos, right?

Selak, who works closely with Dohmen, tells the story of one student who was videotaped “on the green squishy thing (the TenJam), and if you just saw the tape without the audio, you would think this kid was out of control. He’s really mov-

ing and squirming, but he’s actually hyper focused and really involved. His engagement was off the charts.”

GO FOR ENGAGEMENT

“Flexible doesn’t mean lack of structure.”

photo by k aia lea

On the other hand, students shouldn’t abuse the comfortable environment. It’s a new classroom contract being created on the fly.

“I don’t know if there’s an answer or a formula to make sure a class doesn’t go off the rails,” Selak says. “But what if this is what engagement really looks like? It’s noisy, but it works.”

“Letting go of some control is key to giving students more ownership of their learning,” Basye writes. “There is this fear that students will go crazy if the teacher can’t see

them at all times … active learning spaces require students to make ongoing decisions about which particular spaces match their individual needs. With the right amount of support and practice in how to monitor student performance, students will begin to develop their own self-management skills, which is a vital life skill.”

In many ways, this is how the real world works. It’s messy, far from perfect and demands pragmatism. The new classroom is a testing ground for what’s in store for students, but teachers still have the ultimate oversight.

“Flexible doesn’t mean lack of structure,” Delzer says.

“Work isn’t a choice, but where you do it is.”

Allowing students to design their own flexible learning environment offers the added benefit of addressing the Innovative Designer standard within the 2016 iste

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Ditching the desks

But do flexible spaces actually improve learning?

Those who’ve created learning environments say “yes.”

Standards for Students. That standard expects students to “use a variety of technologies within a design process to identify and solve problems by creating new, useful or imaginative solutions.”

But do flexible spaces actually improve learning? Those who’ve created learning environments say “yes.”

Delzer compared the math test results of her students in an environment they created together vs. those of students in a traditional classroom. Delzer’s students scored 15 percent higher than the other group.

Nearly four years ago, Hillbrook implemented this practice in one classroom. It was so well received, the entire campus is now flexible. While there is data that supports the complete switch at Hillbrook, the move was really based on personal feedback.

“We wanted to be really intentional about changing the space throughout,” Dohmen said. “So we conducted interviews with teachers and students, and in interview

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photo by k aia lea

after interview, we heard how this was freedom and that it felt more real. It was then clear to us what we needed to do.”

What works for Hillbrook or anywhere else may not be a good fit for another school, but space exploration in the classroom may be here to stay as trendsetters push for evolution in education. Teachers and students share time and space – this isn’t likely to change much in the coming years – which means education is really about relationships.

“There is online learning and online classes and some who think classrooms are going away,” Dohmen says. “But I think we will have schools for quite some time. Learning is fundamentally social. I think we all know that, and anything that improves our ability to be social in the classroom, that will stick. Flexible spaces are here to stay.” tim dougl as is a former television news producer who also served as a senior media consultant for several speakers of the california state assembly. today, dougl as is a freel ance writer who covers a wide range of topics.

dispatch

Lend your voice to the 2017 ISTE Standards for Teachers

photo by steve smith

Carolyn Sykora Senior Director, ISTE Standards

Th e r e f r e s h o f t h e i s t e s ta n d a r d s f o r teachers was launched at iste 2016 when more than 100 educators attended an initial feedback session.

Now, six months later, the revamp is in full swing.

Toolkits to guide discussions about the new standards are available for use at schools and conferences. A website landing page (iste.org/TeacherRefresh) provides all you need to know about the myriad ways you can provide input to the new standards, including Twitter chats, attending iste affiliate events, hosting events and participating in our survey. In addition, the initial draft of the new standards has been posted for comment.

In other words, thousands of people have been hard at work contributing ideas, best practices and inspiration into what informative, aspirational standards for the teaching profession should look like. And the process has been amazing!

Along the way and across the various informationgathering sessions, some overarching themes for what the new standards might include have emerged. I call them the “3 Es,” and although they are still being fleshed out, I think you’ll agree that they touch on some key aspects of what teaching and learning in the digital age should look like.

Empowerment. Teachers need to know how to empower students, but they also have to be able to empower themselves. This plays out as acquiring the skills needed to teach and lead in the digital age; knowing how to leverage technology to provide creative, effective and engaging learning opportunities for students; and becoming a teacherleader who can support peers, advocate for the effective use of ed tech to district leaders and have a voice in decisionmaking. Powerful concepts for sure.

Equity. The concept of equity is all about the role teachers can play in closing digital gaps and ensuring that students – no matter their cultural background, socio-economic

status, sexual orientation, location or living arrangements – have the opportunity to succeed. So there’s the aspect of ensuring learning and teaching is culturally relevant, as well as the practical aspect of teachers’ work to help close the digital-use divide. This theme recognizes that today’s classrooms are more diverse than ever before.

Empathy. This theme hits at ideas like challenging our biases, providing social-emotional learning, embracing all students and modeling that inclusion. Empathy also targets dispositions like curiosity, perseverance, tolerance for ambiguity, monitoring student voice, connectedness and the recognition that effective learning happens when the individual learner knows that the teacher identifies with these concepts. More big ideas mixed with inspiration.

Another thing we’ve heard quite often as we worked on the teacher standards is that there might be some value in these standards mirroring the new student standards.

As you likely know, the 2016 iste Standards for Students identify seven personas – descriptions of the various aspects of digital age learners. Empowered Learner. Global Collaborator. Digital Citizen. Creative Communicator. Knowledge Constructor. Computational Thinker. Innovative Designer.

Perhaps there’s corollary for teachers – an approach that helps us share exactly what digital age educators know, do and stand for.

One thing I know for sure is that we’re off to a great start, but there’s still more work to do on these invigorating standards for teachers. We want to hear from you. Lend your voice. Get involved. We’re counting on your input – and so are your students.

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Ixchell Reyes knows she has to prepare her students for a world where they must convey emotions and ideas accurately.

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salute

Ixchell Reyes For her students, language leads to deeper understanding, social change

photos by allen zaki

By Tim Douglas

A s children, many of us were absolutely convinced what we would do for a career .

Doctor, teacher, professional baseball player, senator, circus clown. You name it, the die was cast. Then, somewhere along the way, things changed and our rock-ribbed decisions became internal debates.

Not so for Ixchell Reyes. Her career chose her, and there was never a course correction.

“I’m from Mexico, and English is my second language,” says Reyes. “When I was learning English, I started to see the difference in the languages and what it all meant. I was obsessed. I love words.”

Words are her world, which she shares with … well, the world. As a lecturer at the University of Southern California International Academy, she specializes in teaching English as an additional language to students who hail from all corners of the globe.

She enjoys the work immensely, but her vocation takes on a bit more importance to her and to her students. Given the various backgrounds of her pupils, she knows she needs to prepare them for a world where they must convey emotions and ideas accurately. It’s simply not enough to cover grammar and sentence structure.

“Everything boils down to effective communication,” Reyes says. “I have students who come from countries where women aren’t allowed to drive, citizens can’t criticize their government or access information without fear of persecution. I want my students to see that language shapes thinking and that thinking shapes behavior. This can lead to social change.”

Reyes is well suited to make her points. She’s studied several languages, including Arabic, Mandarin and French.

She speaks English and Spanish fluently and can communicate in elementary Japanese (she taught in Japan for four summers and trained teachers). She can also hold her own in American Sign Language. Additionally, Reyes earned a master’s in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (tesol) from California State University, San Bernardino.

But with this extensive expertise, there is one language that has a special place in her heart: Serrano.

Not very long ago, this Native American language was endangered, slipping away day by day. Reyes, and others, however, got the chance of a lifetime. They worked with a tribe in Southern California to keep Serrano alive and help it thrive. Reyes was part of a team that recorded and entrsekt

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”

salute

Ixchell Reyes

For Reyes, it’s not enough to teach – she has to reach her students and help them see that what they’re learning matters more than they may think.

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catalogued tribal elders speaking, then transcribed the material to create a dictionary. She then put together a series of lessons to teach Serrano to the tribe’s children.

“It was very difficult … I was an outsider and the language wasn’t written down. I had to earn their trust in order to teach,” she describes. “But there is no greater reward than having young students come into the classroom, say ‘hello’ in their language, then let me know that they are sharing [Serrano] with their families and friends.

I am so fortunate to be able to have this experience. I got to affect history.”

Meanwhile, she’ll continue to impact the present and future through not only teaching but advocacy. In addition to her current career, Reyes is a board member for the California Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages in the Inland Empire in California (catesol). She’s also a media technology team coordinator for the organization, where she uses social media to raise catesol’s online presence and increase membership.

Reyes, who was recognized in 2014 as an emerging leader, hopes that her story informs people about the value of English as a Second Language (esl). “We just don’t have the resources for esl programs like we do in other areas,” Reyes says.

There’s no doubt that her commitment to her students and her passion for languages are intense. She doesn’t want to waste words – “the true art of communication is being able to use every single word precisely to create a clear picture”– anymore than she wants to waste an opportunity to make a difference, but she is able to strike a balance.

She loves her cats, digital photography and social media.

And her idea of a great day – taking pictures of her pets and creating memes for them in the many languages she loves – combines all three.

Her students, though, are her No. 1 priority. The calling she received as a little girl is as loud now as it’s ever been.

For Reyes, it’s not enough to teach – she has to reach her students and help them see that what they’re learning matters more than they may think.

“Words are extremely powerful,” Reyes says. “Wars have been fought over words. As a teacher of English as an additional language, I need to prepare students for the world. I plan and develop my lessons very carefully. Words and languages connect us.”

And for some, they are ikigai, a Japanese concept that means “reason for being.” tim dougl as is a former television news producer who also served as a senior media consultant for several speakers of the california state assembly. today, dougl as is a freel ance writer who covers a wide range of topics.

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FREE MEMBER GUIDE:

Digital Citizenship Defined

ap lazer 800.585.8617 aplazer.com Back cover

mcgraw-hill education 800.437.3715 mheonline.com/roadmap Inside front cover

hovercam 858.750.3499 thehovercam.com Page 21 learning sciences international 877.411.7114 LearningSciences.com Page 2

southern california edison 800.634.7999 edisoncarriersolutions.com Page 22

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Download it today! iste.org/DigCitGuide

Learn it today.

Teach it tomorrow.

Need inspiration for tomorrow’s class? Visit the ISTE EdTekHub, where you’ll find content and resources full of ideas for implementing ed tech to help students excel.

New content added daily and it’s absolutely free.

Visit iste.org/EdTekHub

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backstory As kids, change was as easy as the instructions for our magic kits. You reached into the plastic hat, flipped the hidden hatch and pulled out a card. Or a scarf. Or your mother’s favorite earrings.

As adults, it’s not as easy as saying, “presto, change-o” to get a dazzling result.

But you can still rely on a bag of tricks to lead change in your organization:

Hope

Clear vision Who needs a management title if you can see the big picture?

Not you. See it, communicate it, move toward it, and others will follow.

THE MAGICAL TOOLS OF A CHANGE AGENT

Feeling hopeless, discouraged, pointless?

Hide those negative conclusions behind your back. Emotions are contagious, so spread good vibes.

Predictability Change management comes with simple instructions: Use the “3 Cs” in every part of your career. Be clear about your vision or task at hand. Communicate often.

And be consistent in your behavior.

Patience And a pinch of persistence. You embracing a new world isn’t enough – the other person has to hug it, too.

And that takes time – your time.

Strong relationships Trust is the magic word that transforms you from a talker to a motivator.

Tough questions When you pull out an open-ended, difficult question for folks to ponder, you foster their ownership in the answer and the solution.

Entrepreneurial spirit When you approach an issue like it’s yours to solve rather than the next guy’s, you use that flexibility muscle that change requires. Consider this your magic wand that creates something from nothing.

Old friends, young pals Multigenerational relationships get you out of your comfort zone, which is where new ideas are born.

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Technology Fondness may be optional, but being knowledgeable enough about technology to test it and engage with it is not. This is not your IT guru’s territory any longer. Ta da! It’s yours, too.

By Julie Sturgeon

ISTE Awards

Exceptional educators honored here.

Calling exceptional educators. Stand and be recognized.

You’re changing the lives of students every day. The annual ISTE awards have been honoring exceptional educators in our community for 25 years.

Visit iste.org/awards to learn more about the award categories and apply for an award today.

Nominations open through Feb. 28. (Open to members and nonmembers).

For more information, visit:

iste.org/awards

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LEADING THE WAY

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