Empowered Learner - October 2017 Issue

october 2O17

A PUBLIC ATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL SOCIET Y FOR TECHNOLOGY IN EDUC ATION

NEW ERA, NEW LANGUAGE STUDENTS SOLVE PROBLEMS WITH CODING

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WORLD CHANGERS

STUDENTS USE TECHNOLOGY TO DO GOOD IN THE WORLD

STANDARDS SPOTLIGHT

USE DIGITAL CURATION TO UNLOCK KNOWLEDGE CONSTRUCTOR, CREATIVE COMMUNICATOR STANDARDS

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THE EPICENTER OF EDTECH

The ISTE Conference & Expo is the place where educator-tested strategies come together with proven resources for transforming learning and teaching.

Immerse in leading-edge topics, practical tools and messages from inspirational speakers – all designed with educators like you in mind.

The epicenter of edtech is at ISTE 2018, June 24-27, in Chicago. Be there!

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LSI’s professional development for the new Marzano Focused Teacher Evaluation Model is the best I have ever experienced. Our district is excited by the possibilities for teacher and student growth because the model provides support for standards-based classrooms that deliver results.

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©2017 Learning Sciences International. This form contains Learning Sciences International’s (LSI) copyrighted and proprietary content. This form and its contents may not be copied, reproduced, displayed or distributed, in part or in whole, for any reason without the express written permission of LSI. Learning Sciences International reserves the right to modify its products. 08-07-17 #MC06-07

EMPOWERED LEARNER

CONTENTS

October 2017 Volume one Issue two A quarterly magazine

4 about us

5 iste in action

Lend your voice to the Administrator Standards refresh

6 member voices

Change at scale: The 1:1 movement in Iowa

8 interview

Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden

13 global focus

Maker Mornings move parents from observers to co-learners

26 cover

New era, new language

14 feature

World changers

23 what works

Camp trains students to be assistive tech ninjas

33 standards spotlight Use digital curation to unlock

Knowledge Constructor, Creative Communicator standards

38 member profile

Rafranz Davis

41 take action

When it comes to advocacy, don’t wait, don’t whine – work!

44 community voices

What are your favorite resources to share with parents to explain digital learning?

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executive editor Julie Phillips Randles director of editorial content Diana Fingal contributors Kate Harris Nicole Krueger Jennifer Snelling art director Sharon Adlis iste ceo Richard Culatta chief learning officer Joseph South iste president Mila Thomas Fuller, Ed.D. Assistant Director of Online Learning University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign College of Education iste past president Kecia Ray, Ed.D. Executive Director Center for Digital Education empowered learner advisory panel Trina Davis, associate professor, Texas A&M University, College of Education, College Station, Texas Patricia Brown, instructional technology specialist, Ladue School District, St. Louis, Missouri

The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE®) is a membership 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 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 — as well as the ISTE Conference & Expo — the world’s most comprehensive edtech event. 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 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.

Subscriptions. ISTE members receive Empowered Learner each quarter as a membership benefit. Members can purchase additional subscriptions for $49 per year. Nonmembers can subscribe to Empowered Learner for $100 a year. To subscribe, please visit iste.org/EmpoweredLearner or contact our customer service department by emailing iste@iste.org or calling 800.336.5191.

About Empowered Learner. Empowered Learner ISSN 2573-1807 (print), Empowered Learner ISSN 2573-2137 (online) is published quarterly by the International Society for Technology in Education, 1621 SW Morrison Street, Suite 800, Portland, OR 97205, 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. Copyright 2017 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 October 2017.

Ben Smith, educational technology program specialist, Lincoln Intermediate Unit 12, York, Pennsylvania

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Michael Graffin, STEM makerspace and robotics teacher, Iona Presentation Primary School, Perth, Australia

For information on advertising in future issues of Empowered Learner, please email advertise@iste.org.

Adam Phyall, director of technology and media services, Newton County School System, Covington, Georgia

Stay connected iste.org

ISTE IN ACTION

photo by s te v e smith

Carolyn Sykora on how educators can participate in the update of the Administrator Standards.

Lend your voice to the Administrator Standards refresh Carolyn Sykora Senior Director, ISTE Standards

More than 200 educators gathered at ISTE 2017 to begin the work that will lead to the new ISTE Standards for Administrators, coming in 2018. The session provided us with tremendous input, high-level thinking and a critical starting point for the makeover.

Since the conference, the ISTE Standards team has also met with principals, administrators, digital learning and superintendents groups. And schools and districts have begun to host comment forums and participate in other refresh efforts as part of the open feedback period, during which we’re collecting data to inform the first draft to be released in November.

You, too, can lend your voice – in fact, we’re counting on it (bit.ly/2uyuAJ8). And to get you thinking, I’d like to share a bit about what we’ve learned so far.

Empowerment. Over the past two years as we updated the Student Standards and the Educator Standards, we found that agency and empowerment were key to deep, active learning and teaching. What we’re hearing from the field as we work to refresh the Administrator Standards is that the new standards must include competencies for operationalizing empowerment for students and educators.

Leadership and culture. With that

in mind, the new Administrator Standards will likely identify how school leaders can empower staff and students, assisting them in creating a culture that builds a growth mindset for teaching and learning with technology. If we set that bar high, we need administrators to know and understand how to support staff and students in reaching those goals and provide a prototype for what that looks like in practice.

Innovation. Whether the term is innovation, vanguard or pioneering, those who have provided input so far are keen on the idea of incorporating cutting-edge thinking (and thinkers) in hiring practices, curriculum and system problem-solving.

Equity. Recognizing that leaders will play a significant role in ensuring all students have access to technology, digital content and skilled staff, equity will likely be at the forefront of the new standards. We need to stay committed and conscientious of access issues and recognize that today’s learners are more diverse than ever. So we’re asking, “How can administrators solve for equity?”

Alignment. Many voices have noted that the ISTE Standards for Administrators should align (perhaps an even better term is

harmonize) with existing education leadership standards. The idea is to think of the ISTE Standards for Administrators as a value-add that identifies the competencies and responsibilities of digital age leaders while working in harmony with other standards.

As you digest these initial concepts, I encourage you to lend your voice to the refresh of the Administrator Standards, keeping in mind that we’re not designing these standards for today, but rather for the competencies that will be needed over the next seven to 10 years.

Ponder questions like “How will learners and learning be different in 10 years?” and “How do you see schools and systems changing in the next decade to support new learners and teaching practices?”

Then weigh in. Participate. Get involved.

Help ensure that empowerment is a certainty for students, teachers – and administrators.

Don’t miss the ISTE Standards for Educators booklet, included with this issue of Empowered Learner.

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MEMBER VOICES

photo by s te v e smith

Scott McLeod talks about how to branch out from isolated pockets of excellence.

Change at scale: The 1:1 movement in Iowa

By Scott McLeod

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After my technology leadership center, the Center for the Advanced Study of Technology Leadership in Education (CASTLE), and I moved to Iowa State University in 2007, one of my first meetings was with the School Administrators of Iowa (SAI), the state administrators’ association. Soon, we were collaboratively hosting regional 21st century leadership academies all across the state.

Within a few years, approximately 400 Iowa administrators participated in six to 12 days of future-oriented professional learning. Armed with new understandings and commitments – and resourced and connected with each other – they began to move.

By October 2009, the number of 1:1 school districts in Iowa had grown from six to 15, and a dozen districts’ superintendents, principals, technology coordinators and curriculum directors met on my campus for a day of role-alike conversations. The attendees that day in October pleaded for an opportunity for their teachers to learn from each other.

CASTLE agreed to host the event if the districts agreed to fill up the session schedule, and if we allowed other educators who were considering 1:1 initiatives to attend and learn from the early adopters. We reserved

the Iowa Events Center and called the event the Iowa 1:1 Institute. Since the institute was completely participant-driven, it was amazing. Our two rules for presenters – focus on the learning, not the tools and no “sit and get” – helped make it awesome.

The following year, the number of 1:1 districts in Iowa tripled to 45, and every year after the total continued to grow: 90, 135, 180, 220 …. Within six years, we had gone from just a handful of 1:1 districts to two-thirds of the state.

The institute became an annual event – exactly six months apart from the Iowa Technology & Education Connection (ITEC) state educational technology conference – and has grown from an initial 660 participants to between 1,000 and 1,300 attendees annually.

I think there are a few lessons from this heartland tale of innovation that are worth sharing. First, no matter how big or small your territory – school, district, or state – you always have individuals and groups who are ready to run. The key is to network those leaders together to form a critical mass of change-makers.

The regional academies, boot camps and annual institutes were enough to begin

connecting Iowa’s educational innovators together and start building shared excitement and movement. Our regional educational service agencies, SAI and ITEC, were critical partners with existing networks who helped bring Iowa’s leaders together and connect them to new ideas.

Second, once you have some momentum, keep feeding new resources to the early adopters while simultaneously helping and honoring the next wave that is traveling a similar journey. In Iowa, that happened by strengthening the regional educational technology conferences and by initiating EdCampIowa (which, with five simultaneous locations, still may be the nation’s largest edcamp event).

Early-adopter districts helped the ones that were a year or two behind them. And as districts got comfortable with the technology and began moving from replicative use toward deeper learning, we designed and began disseminating the Technology-Rich Unit Design And Classroom Observation Template (TRUDACOT) discussion protocol to help educators move their technologyinfused instructional units and activities toward student agency, higher-level thinking and authentic work.

Finally, it’s important to enable, coordinate and share the contributions of everyone. CASTLE and I didn’t have all of the answers and neither did the early-adopter districts. But we did have a willingness to support each other, connect ourselves to resources and outside experts, and create what didn’t exist yet.

For instance, the statewide 1:1 map created by Area Education Agency 267 allowed districts to see which devices were being used in which grades and schools across the state, an invaluable resource for connections and questions. Iowa is a fairly close-knit state, with mostly small school districts that are more than willing to help each other.

Although individual district capacity may be

One community after another, supported by its neighbors, deciding to invest in powerful learning tools for its children even in the face of state-level apathy and lack of support. It was an incredible honor to watch it all unfold and to help nurture the movement along the way.

What can you do to move beyond isolated pockets of excellence to scale?

low, the state’s collective capacity proved to be enormous once unleashed.

Today, you can visit almost any district in Iowa and be confident that students have access to powerful learning technologies.

Ubiquitous 1:1 computing has allowed instructional conversations to move beyond basic access and toward robust learning and teaching.

Many of the early-adopter districts are now leading the way again regarding inquiry- and problem-based learning, standards-based grading, competency-based education, micro-credentialing, flexible scheduling and redesigned learning spaces.

CASTLE and I are proud to have helped facilitate what we think may be the largest grass-roots 1:1 movement in the country.

scot t mcleod, j.d., ph.d., is an associate professor of educational leadership at the universit y of color ado denver and is the founding direc tor of the universit y council for educational administr ation (uce a) center for the advanced s tudy of technology leadership in education (castle). in 2016, he received iste’s award for outstanding leadership.

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INTERVIEW Carla Hayden plans to use her role to grow more scholars.

Carla Hayden Librarian of Congress seeks to expand treasures, make library more relatable

By Julie Phillips Randles

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Carla Hayden is an anomaly. She’s not only the first woman and African-American to hold the Librarian of Congress position – she’s actually a librarian, too.

That makes her the second in a string of 14 historians, lawyers, even a poet who have held this post by presidential appointment.

Hayden’s personal love of books goes back to the days when she had to sacrifice buying a hamburger to pay her late fines when she forgot to return Marguerite de Angeli’s Bright April to her local library branch in Queens, New York. Today, her focus isn’t on giving up as much as giving back as she oversees the Congressional Library, with its wealth of knowledge and treasures that include Wonder Woman comics, Lincoln’s Bible and the original lyrics to “Do-Re-Mi” from “The Sound of Music.”

Her role as curator in chief of the written word? To assist Congress in locating its research targets among the 164 million items and hundreds of miles of bookshelves, and overseeing the U.S. Copyright Office. The latter means that Hayden is the person who, through 2026, will determine whether particular works are subject to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act for technological access protection.

In her spare time on the job, she’s also responsible for naming the U.S. Poet Laureate and awarding the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song.

But, as she told The New Yorker, supporting legislators and scholars alone falls short of her dream for the institution. “We want to grow more scholars,” Hayden asserts. After all, her theme during the year she headed the American Library Association was Equity of Access.

“If you can absorb information yourself and make your own decisions, that’s a freedom,” she added in an interview with The New York Times Magazine.

While earning her master’s degree in library science from the University of Chicago Graduate Library School in 1977, Hayden was an associate/children’s librarian in the Chicago Public Library system. After a stint teaching at the University of Pittsburgh School of Information, she returned to the Windy City to serve as the deputy commissioner and chief librarian at her old stomping grounds.

photos by shawn miller

Carla Hayden refers to librarians as "the original search engines."

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INTERVIEW

“ Books can be windows to other places, and they can also be mirrors, reflecting ourselves back to us.”

But by 1993, Baltimore lured her away to serve as the executive director of its Enoch Pratt Free Library for the next 23 years.

Only a request from personal friend Barack Obama, asking her to dive into the national scene, was powerful enough to say “yes” to relocating her office an hour south on I-95.

Although she isn’t one who takes her politics public, Hayden did earn Baltimore citizens’ respect from all sides when she insisted on opening the Pennsylvania Avenue branch after the Freddie Gray riots, and joined her staff in helping provide a refuge during those troubling times.

She’s also publicly disagreed with Washington bureaucrats over granting the Justice Department and the FBI access to library user records under the Patriot Act. Her ac-

Hayden avoids recommending specific books, saying she "just wants people to read."

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tion earned her Ms. magazine’s Woman of the Year honor in 2003.

We sat down with her to discuss her vision for the library and for learners.

What is something in the Library of Congress’ 164 million-item collection that might be of particular interest to today’s educators? And what about to students?

The library’s primary source materials are so wonderful for the classroom. Thomas Jefferson’s first draft of the Declaration of Independence lets students see the edits and notes to our founding document in his own handwriting (bit.ly/2tGUZUX).

The personal papers of Rosa Parks, which the library recently put online, include a letter she wrote reflecting on her

arrest and really is an example of history coming to life in a very personal way (bit. ly/2uUdgh0).

The Chronicling America newspaper collection (bit.ly/1fC1n1G) is an extraordinary resource that enables students and teachers to search millions of historic newspapers from all across America and read accounts of historic events.

There are so many things, and these are just a few places to get started.

What book would you recommend to today’s students?

I just want people to read, so I try to avoid recommending specific books. Books can be windows to other places, and they can also be mirrors, reflecting ourselves back to us.

The book that first resonated with me in a huge way was the latter, so for young readers, I hope they can find books that allow them to see themselves a little bit.

Also, there’s a book called A History of Reading that includes a chapter I believe is very important about forbidden reading. It talks about what happens when reading is suppressed. It’s important for everyone to understand reading is not something to take for granted.

What changes do you hope to bring to the Library of Congress during your tenure?

I want to build on the legacy of librarians before me by expanding access to the treasures of the library and making the institution more relatable.

There is something here for everyone and every interest – from historic documents to baseball cards. I want to digitize as many unique collection items as we can, and also do more programming that surfaces collections that are a little more unexpected.

We just had a pop-up exhibit of comic books, for example. Lynda Carter of television’s “Wonder Woman” spoke and we had a cosplay contest. It was not only great fun, but exposed the library and its collections

Hayden describes today's libraries as "opportunity centers."

to people who maybe weren’t sure there was anything there for them.

You were the head of the American Library Association, the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore and you worked for the Chicago Public Library. How did those roles prepare you to be the Librarian of Congress?

They are all really special places, and I had the opportunity in all those cases to combine leadership and public service.

When I was asked about becoming Librarian of Congress, I was asked if I “would serve,” and that was really important to me because I wanted to consider how I could bring that public service role of running a public library to this national institution.

When you left Baltimore, a high school librarian was quoted in the Washington Post calling you a rock star. How do you think you earned rock-star status and how do you feel about that description?

I love that, because librarians don’t necessarily have an image like that, and they should!

How has technology – particularly the internet – changed the role of libraries?

It’s no longer just a place to check out materials.

It’s interesting there is this perception that just because you can search for things on-

line you don’t need libraries, and in fact the reverse is true.

I often refer to librarians as the original search engines. These are individuals who have dedicated their lives to organizing information and becoming experts on the range of resources that exist and how to find them.

Libraries and librarians serve a role of helping distill information, of helping patrons figure out the authority of different sources, and offering computers and technology that helps equalize access to information for many people.

What is the role of the community library today?

This really ties back to your previous question, because libraries today are more like “opportunity centers” in many communities.

It’s the place where many people connect with not only information, but have access to computers and online resources.

It’s where many people go to fill out job applications or access health information.

They are also places for connecting with others in the community through book talks and poetry slams and other events. Libraries today are actually, in many cases, having to create quiet spaces because there is so much activity.

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INTERVIEW

What role do libraries have in teaching media literacy and digital citizenship?

To be media literate, people need access to information, they need to know where the information comes from, and they need to know how to make sense of it. Libraries play an important role in each of these areas.

In your role, do you have plans to address information literacy and what students and educators need to know about traditional online sources?

The Library of Congress has an excellent team in our Educational Outreach division that develops wonderful primary sourcebased materials for classrooms.

The skills students develop as they are taught to analyze primary sources are the

same skills associated with information literacy in the digital realm, and topics we help teachers with frequently during our Summer Teacher Institutes and through our online resources.

These are skills like critical thinking, questioning the source of information and determining the validity and reliability of sources, pushing students to consider bias and point of view, and helping students realize the importance of multiple sources.

How has access to primary source documents, thanks to technology, deepened learning?

Technology provides such a wonderful opportunity to connect students directly to pieces of history. I mentioned previ-

Hayden is charged with naming the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song.

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ously the first draft of the Declaration of Independence. Any student with an internet connection can see that – on a phone, on a classroom tablet or a computer at the local library.

The library is using technology to connect students in other ways. For instance, we have created about 20 Student Discovery Sets for Apple devices on topics ranging from women’s suffrage to scientific data to Thanksgiving. These sets combine photos, maps and other primary sources in various formats, enabling students to draw, make notes and answer questions.

GLOBAL FOCUS Fanny Passeport on how a maker initiative created new bonds among students, parents and educators.

Maker Mornings move parents from observers to co-learners

By Fanny Passeport

tween educators and parents, and between families of different cultures.

Parents described the sessions as “very engaging,” “energetic” and “full of enthusiasm.” They acknowledged that proper direction was given to help them create something “meaningful,” and that the inquiry approach for children as well as parents was “involving.” They also mentioned that “everybody was relaxed and learning happened in a spontaneous way.”

During those times, the students were proud to showcase their critical-thinking and problem-solving skills by teaching their parents! They became experts and felt empowered as they could not only show their work but could guide their parents and peers. A few older students could also help plan and co-lead the events, showcasing how student agency was not just an idea but a reality.

Each time, the maker sessions were planned around an inquiry approach and involved building something: creating green screen movies, coding robots, making cardboard instruments connected to Makey-Makey and coded on Scratch. We also provided opportunities for the group to share its work through social media to experience authorship and learn how to share responsibly and creatively online.

Slowly, we observed that parents grew their own interest in being part of a proactive community of learners and leaders who wanted to impact the school positively. For instance, a parent decided to write an article for our weekly newsletter about how “tinkering” was an essential 21st century skill. A few other parents got involved in creating digital

citizenship challenges for middle schoolers as part of another project. And we see strong engagement for regular families hooked on the Maker Morning idea.

Through those Maker Mornings, we clearly improved our communication with parents and enhanced the common understanding about our edtech vision of what empowerment truly signifies for our school. They also allowed us to model best practices to develop the new ISTE Standards for Students.

photo by s te v e smith

When I joined Mercedes-Benz International School in Pune, India, as the first edtech coach, I started to draft a vision to get the community on board with technology. My ultimate aim was to shift mindsets in order to have every stakeholder embrace technology as a way to not only engage, but also empower learners and develop self-directedness.

In our edtech vision, we set out “to develop a community of digital lifelong learners who aspire to make a difference in the not-yet-known-world.” To achieve our goal, we are committed to integrating technology to enhance the learning and teaching environment.

We engage our learners in solving challenging problems and puzzles, thinking critically and enhancing their creativity. We provide learning experiences that are connected with pedagogical purpose, encourage collaboration and provide a window for expression and reflection. We recognize the importance of digital literacy and use technology to develop responsible and empowered individuals.

One of the radical projects we undertook was “Maker Mornings,” events organized once a month on a Saturday mornings where parents come to tinker with their children at school. These community outreach sessions, centered on the makerspace theme, helped parents move from the role of observers of their child’s learning to co-learner: experimenting, creating, making mistakes and failing forward through collaboration.

Those Maker Mornings were a hit from the first day because they were authentic experiences for everyone, irrespective of ages or backgrounds. It created a strong bond be-

fanny passeport is a pk-12 edtech coach and teaches french and theory of knowledge at mercedes-benz international school in pune, india. she received iste’s 2017 outstanding young educator award.

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FEATURE

World changers Students use technology to do good in the world

By Jennifer Snelling Which math problem sounds like something eighth grade algebra students would find engaging: Graphing how many bunnies farmer John had on his bunny farm over 10 years or analyzing body image by age and gender?

The second one, right?

Yep. Algebra teacher Sara Jenson thought so, too.

In addition to being more engaging to the student, the second math problem was chosen by a student, allowing the 13-year-old dancer to investigate a subject she was already interested in. Instead of using a traditional graphing calculator, the student used one found online, Desmos, to demonstrate her findings, which she shared with her school and community at a culminating project fair.

All these elements together create a project that engaged the student in several ISTE Standards for Students, including Empowered Learner, Digital Citizen, Knowledge Constructor and Creative Communicator. The element of the assignment that elevated it above others? Relevance.

Jenson, who teaches at Spencer Butte Middle School in Eugene, Oregon, asked her students to

use statistical analysis to describe the association of two quantitative variables related to an idea of social justice or relevant to the community.

Other student projects included analyzing nutritional values of food versus the cost, the number of terrorist attacks by white Americans versus the number by foreign-born Muslims and high school graduation rates in different parts of town.

“Social justice is a topic that the students are not always comfortable with, but they are ready to have thoughtful, sometimes challenging conversations about,” says Jenson.

Naturally engaging

A 2016 Student Gallup Poll found that 42 percent of students in grades 5-12 aspire to create something that makes the world a better place.

“Kids are yearning to participate in this way,” says ISTE member Suzie Boss, author of the ISTE book Reinventing Project-Based Learning: Your Field Guide to Real-World Projects in the Digital Age. “Social justice projects resonate with kids on a different level, kids who might not feel engaged in school, and show them the need for what

“ Social justice is a topic that the students are not always comfortable with, but they are ready to have thoughtful, sometimes challenging conversations about.”

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World changers

Sometimes, the most meaningful problems are right in our own commmunities.

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they’re learning. Beyond that, the skill set kids are developing is not just learning something in the abstract, but applying those skills to a specific problem.”

Middle school science and math teacher Rebecca Newburn integrates socially relevant projects into as many units as possible. Her students at Hall Middle School in Richmond, California, start by creating a public service announcement (PSA) or seed saving tutorial for the national One Million Seed Savers campaign. Students learn content about the science of seeds and then present it in a professional way using digital tools, such as Adobe

Spark, Canva and Piktochart. The PSA, “Small Seed, Big Future,” was a success and featured on the campaign’s website.

The project led to the creation of the Richmond Grows Seed Lending Library, where community members “borrow” seeds and learn about gardening and seed saving.

“Our students actually do seed saving through the school garden, and they translate that into their own personal lives,” says Newburn. “That’s a transgenerational change that can have positive impacts for years to come. That’s the kind of ambitiousness we need to have when we look at

the next generation science standards. How do we support a truly sustainable and regenerative culture?”

Her students also participate in a zero-waste challenge that asks students to monitor their waste for a month and create a PSA about what they learned, and a climate change project where each student creates a digital presentation on a human community in a region of the world affected by climate change.

The culmination of the project is to pick a local task that can make a difference. One group made food waste videos for Zero Waste Marin.

Another helped improve the recycling program at the school’s lunch program. Yet another group put in a sea-level viewer camera in three places that tagged the photos with the date and time to monitor changes over time.

Projects such as Newburn’s get to the heart of what it means to be a Knowledge Constructor and a Creative Communicator. “With projects like these, students often have to learn how to communicate in a professional way, using any number of tech tools or platforms,” says Boss. “They have to create something and get it out to the world through some sort of technology with a compelling pitch or video. They have to learn which tools are essential, not just flashy and fun. It’s about knowing how to use technology for an authentic purpose, using tech in a purposeful way.”

Authenticity matters

Sometimes, the most meaningful problems are right in our own communities. In 2013, Massachusett’s Brookwood Middle School teacher Rich Lehrer asked his students to solve a very personal problem, creating a prosthetic hand for his son, Max. Max, who was 3 at the time, was born with a condition that inhibited the growth of fingers on his right hand. Lehrer saw some YouTube videos about prosthetics and wondered if he could build something like that for Max. On second thought, maybe his students could build it?

Lehrer founded the Robohand after-school club and, with help from a renowned hand surgeon at Boston Children’s Hospital and the use of a 3D printer at a nearby high school, the students had a working hand by the end of the school year.

Since then, a 3D printer has been donated to Brookwood and the journey has taken on a life of its own. Lehrer’s students use a the 3D printer to solve school and community problems submitted through Brookwood’s 3D Design Problem Bank Project.

An elective course, D-Zign Girlz, sends students out into the community to places like Harborlight Community Residences where they design assistive devices for residents.

Eighth grader Addie Loughery, who was in sixth grade at the time, solved a common problem for the elderly residents of Harborlight.

Many of them have shaky hands and spill coffee while drinking out of styrofoam cups. Loughery designed a “Noffee,” a shield that fits around the cup and prevents the coffee from spilling on the resident, causing burns.

It took a lot of measuring and several tries to get the Noffee just right, but Addie says the project was worth the extra effort. “It actually made a difference for other people,” she says. “This wasn’t just about me learning. It was about helping other people who needed it.”

Lehrer says the problem-solving nature of real-world projects makes them more valuable

“ This wasn’t just about me learning. It was about helping other people who needed it.”

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World changers

“ Kids will inspire teachers when they’re allowed to dream.”

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for the students. They’re not just trying to get an answer right on a piece of paper, they’re getting real-time feedback and having to make appropriate adjustments.

“It’s incumbent upon you to refine the solution and implement it,” he says. “We are training kids in problem-solving using an iterative cycle. Make a first stab, but go through the design cycle with a prototype, revamp and try again.”

Sounds a lot like what it means to be an Innovative Designer and a Computational Thinker.

Mike Gwaltney writes about project-based learning and is head of Upper School at Rocky Hill School in Rhode Island. Before moving to Rhode Island, Gwaltney was at the Oregon Episcopal School in Portland, where homelessness is a prob-

lem students see every day. His students wanted to address the issue, but he was concerned they would go down an unrealistic path and learn the wrong lesson ... that there are some problems we can’t fix or that individuals can’t do much.

Instead, he asked students if they could make a dent or change the situation for just one person.

His students decided to build a tiny house and create the Homelessness Action Project by Portland Youth, a nonprofit that strives to help one or two people annually. The students find the funding and work with school leadership and partners in the community.

“Be bold,” says Gwaltney. “Kids will inspire teachers when they’re allowed to dream. Teachers will keep it realistic, but if there is 10 percent

success, kids learn a tremendous amount and are inspired to try again.”

Expanding the classroom

Technology gives students new ways to communicate and allows them to create things we wouldn’t have dreamed of just 20 years ago. It also empowers students to become truly global citizens by looking at the world though a social justice lens.

“Tech allows us to connect those kids across time and space,” says Gwaltney. “Tech isn’t the driver, but it is the essential piece that allows us to do this global citizenship piece.”

Gwaltney shares the example of the Monuments Project that started this year when an American school in Paris partnered with students in Lopez Island Middle School in Washington state to tell the unknown stories of soldiers. The history students researched monuments in Paris commemorating Washington soldiers buried in the Suresnes American Cemetery in France.

Through digital communication, the project expanded quickly and was joined by students in New York, Illinois, West Virginia and Pennsylvania, all working together to tell the unknown stories of soldiers. While technology is sometimes accused of being damaging to empathy, in this case, it’s being leveraged to teach empathy.

Leigh Zeitz, Ph.D., an associate professor and instructional technology division coordinator at the University of Northern Iowa, says global connections should be a priority. “Helping our students become aware of the incredible world in which we live should be at the top of our list. We are preparing them for today’s world as well as tomorrow’s world, which is a global society. Teachers should not be afraid to engage in this journey.”

“ Tech allows us to connect those kids across time and space.”

Bringing social justice to your classroom

Zeitz has some pointers for setting up projects in your own classroom. Make the project meaningful and simple, but remember, projects like these take EMPOWERED LEARNER

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World changers

Empower students to drive their own learning by allowing lots of room for them to come up with their own ideas.

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time. “With different cultures, different time zones and misunderstandings, you have to be ready to accept that something is going to go wrong. It’s good to have a Plan B and that can be part of the learning experience.”

Start with a problem or challenge that will connect with your students. For example, Jenson started several weeks ahead of time, talking with students about their interests, what they talk about with their families or their other classes, to help them identify what problem they wanted to graph. Empower students to drive their own learning by allowing lots of room for them to come up with their own ideas. Remember that you’re not looking for a room full of identical projects.

Rich Lehrer stresses that authenticity is important. “The more authentic, the more motivation there is for a high-quality product,” he says.

“In school, the final products don’t really matter.

But when students are working with community partners and respect the relationship, kids have an innate desire to solve problems and have solutions work.”

To help with this process, Suzie Boss suggests framing the project with a driving question. Then, create a plan for the following days and weeks that helps students find answers to that question.

Now we’re into what Boss calls the “messy middle” of the project. She suggests guiding students through this part with lots of formative assessments. Do they understand the question or do they need to go deeper?

A common refrain is that adding a big project is too difficult with so many requirements to meet with few resources. Jenson simplified things by making the graphing project the summit evaluation of the unit, rather than a test. Newburn agrees. She says her students not only had a solid understanding of the science standards, they also

took it to the next level to find solutions they can participate in.

When students are trying to solve a real problem, whether globally or within their own community, it’s an authentic, interactive, empathybuilding experience.

“This is the most important work we can be doing as educators. Working for social justice is the point of public education in the U.S. We want to inform our society and want our democracy to work for everyone,” says Gwaltney. “Teachers can see across the curriculum that is the point of their science, math or literature class; kids can do things to make society better over time. It can change society and change the world.” jennifer snelling is a freel ancer 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 ac tive in oregon school s.

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We want to highlight your work with the ISTE Standards.

If your school or district has adopted the ISTE Standards or is planning to, let us know so we can support your process and recognize your efforts!

Share your story and inspire others in their work with the standards. iste.org/StandardsAdoption

We #Act4Edtech.

So can you.

Being an ISTE member means you’re part of a community of educators protecting and promoting federal and state policy.

Your support ensures ISTE is on the front lines, working to save funding critical to your innovative work and the success of our students.

Learn more at iste.org/advocacy

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WHAT WORKS A glimpse at some edtech success stories.

Camp trains students to be assistive tech ninjas

By Nicole Krueger

Some summer camps teach archery or horsebackriding skills. The Bridges Assistive Tech Camp gives kids digital superpowers for pushing past their learning barriers.

By the time they return to middle school in the fall, campers with a variety of learning disabilities will have mastered all sorts of tools and hacks for succeeding in school.

“We’re providing them with tools that help bridge the gap in their reading and writing skills,” says Susie Blackstien-Adler, who works in professional development for Bridges, an assistive technology company in Ontario, Canada. “We help them understand which tools can help them in each situation. If I’m on the web and don’t understand the words I’m reading, what do I have in my toolkit?”

For the past six years, the company has collaborated with the Halton District School Board in Burlington, Ontario, Canada, to provide the week-long training camps for students who receive government funding for assistive technology. The program has grown to encompass 250 students in 29 camps at four locations throughout the district – with a waiting list of students eager to get in.

If student and parent feedback is any indicator, the camp has been a smashing success. “Parents tell us it decreases the anxiety their kids have around the technology,” Blackstien-Adler says. “They’re able to achieve more than they were able to before.”

Why does it work?

STUDENTS LEARN THROUGH CREATIVE PROJECTS. Students gain mastery over their assistive technology by collaborating in groups to complete authentic research projects, each of which culminates in a creative presentation in which they showcase their learning.

Last summer, they contributed to a nationwide effort to celebrate Canada’s 150th year as a country by re-

searching their local communities and posting their work on a national website created by kids, for kids.

TEACHERS MODEL TECHNOLOGY USE. In a regular classroom, many students with learning disabilities rarely see teachers using assistive technology, so they may not always think to reach for the tools that can help them. At tech camp, they’re constantly seeing these tools in action. “Teachers know modeling matters,” she says. “If we want students to be using it, they need to see their teachers using it. And it needs to be ongoing – they need to keep seeing it and hearing it.”

LEARNING IS DIFFERENTIATED. With two instructors for every 10 students, there are plenty of opportunities to personalize training for each student’s unique needs. Campers learn to take advantage of the builtin assistive tools on their Chromebooks and other devices as well as the free features, extensions and toolbars available through their Google Suite apps. They use text-to-speech to support their reading comprehension when researching online. They use speechto-text when their mind is moving faster than their keyboarding skills. They discover organizational tools like Mindomo for mapping out their writing projects.

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WHAT WORKS

To help expand the tech camps beyond district borders, Bridges now offers a training program for educators who are interested in replicating the idea within their own communities. Educators can spend a week in Ontario, observing the camp from start to finish and working after hours with instructors to create a plan and develop their own curriculum.

“When they leave at end of week, they’ll have everything they need to start their own camps,” Blackstien-Adler says.

Turning parents into technology leaders It takes a tech-savvy village to raise good digital citizens. But parents who are living in poverty and learning English may not be prepared to help their children safely navigate the online world.

Once they’ve completed the Digital Citizenship Academy created by California’s Santa Ana Unified School District, however, they walk away with the skills and confidence to support not just their children, but also other parents within their school community.

“We wanted to build parent leaders at individual school sites who can help their friends and neighbors become stronger in regard to technology,” says Nadia Hillman, Ed.D., executive director of elementary education for the Los Angeles-area district. “The academy was designed to elevate parents to be those leaders.”

It began as part of Cyber Savvy Week, a districtwide program designed to teach kids about online safety and digital citizenship. To loop parents in on internet safety best practices, the program included classes and resources for parents as well as for students.

“We want our students to be empowered to access information online – and to be critical consumers of that information,” Hillman says. “And we want parents to have the same level of capacity.”

But in a district more than 50,000 students strong, engaging a critical mass of parents isn’t easy.

Their solution: Expand their Cyber Savvy Week curriculum into a Digital Citizenship Academy that shapes parents into technology leaders. Each participant receives training, curriculum, materials and logisti-

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cal support for leading their own digital citizenship classes within their school communities.

So far, over 150 parents from 43 schools have completed the training and taken what they’ve learned back home to share with other parents. Based on feedback from principals, the academy has already boosted parent engagement throughout the district.

Why does it work?

PARENTS LEARN FROM PEERS. For parents who don’t speak English, receiving technology training from a friend or neighbor who understands their needs often makes all the difference. “These are highly technical topics that are detailed in nature, so it helps if it’s a parent they know well and feel less intimidated around,” Hillman says. “They’re more apt to be able to ask questions about technical issues.”

TECHNOLOGY USE IS INTEGRATED. The academy teaches digital citizenship concepts by familiarizing parents the same tools their children are using. “By using technology as part of the instructional program, it becomes more than just making sure kids aren’t cruising the internet on questionable websites,” she says. “It’s more about how they can use technology in productive ways in their own adult lives.”

PARENTS ARE EMPOWERED. When parents are elevated to leadership roles, no matter their background or experience, the district's entire support system is bolstered. As they discover what a difference digital proficiency can make in their lives, they’re more likely to get behind other edtech initiatives.

“Our overarching goal is to make sure students have the agency to be lifelong learners in a global society,” Hillman says. “If parents have an idea of how technology helps them connect with the larger community and the larger world, it models for students how important this is for them.” nicole krueger is a freel ance writer and former newspaper reporter. she writes about education technology and the tr ansformation of learning.

Find more strategies that work: iste.org/explore.

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COVER

NEW ERA, NEWLANGUAGE STUDENTS SOLVE PROBLEMS WITH CODING

By Nicole Krueger Teach a student to use computer and you prepare her to function in a digital world.

Teach her to program one and you prepare her to solve the world’s problems.

It’s becoming increasingly clear that understanding the language of computers is a skill all adults will need to thrive in a technology-driven future. Yet for decades, the inner workings of computers remained a mystery to all but a handful of techno wizards whose seemingly magical ability to command these powerful machines made them indispensible to the rest of society – much like the scribes who once guarded the secrets of reading and writing.

But the stereotype of the techno-wizardslash-computer-genius is about to vanish in a puff of smoke. A second enlightenment is dawning. Nine in 10 parents want computer science classes available in their local

schools, while employers from a wide range of industries are begging for a workforce armed with computational thinking skills.

We’re on the cusp of a new era in which every child will learn the language of computers right alongside the three Rs. “I think computer science is the first subject area in the STEM space that has fully broken through with parents as something they think every kid should have,” says Kumar Garg, who served as assistant director for learning and innovation in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy under President Obama.

“Parents are treating it as a fundamental competency. They sense that familiarity with the underlying language of technology, which is taking over all fields, is going to be important to their child’s future no matter what they expect to become.”

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At the moment, much of the nation’s computer science education is happening piecemeal, in after-school clubs and programs or in isolated AP classes and one-off lessons tucked into other subject areas.

The hunger for computer science education came on quickly and furiously, leaving leaders at every level scrambling to meet the demand. Back in 2010, fewer than 20,000 U.S. high school students took the computer science Advanced Placement course. This year, more than 100,000 took it – a five-fold increase in just seven years.

Globally, computer science education appears to have reached a critical mass. In just the past few years, more than a dozen countries have adopted plans to teach computer science to all students. This year alone, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, Romania and Malaysia have joined countries such as Japan, Australia and the United Kingdom at the computer science table.

“It’s not often that we have a new subject area, especially at the K-12 level, grow so rapidly in public consciousness,” Garg says.

“It’s a huge swing that’s happening, and it raises a lot of important policy questions.

How do we design an education system to meet this moment?”

Making CS universal

In the United States, where most decisions about education remain in the hands of the states, bringing computer science to every student is a bit more complicated than in many smaller countries. Over the past four years, more than 20 states have passed legislation allowing computer science classes to count toward graduation, while just a few have adopted ambitious plans to teach the subject at every grade level.

“It’s hard to change education from the top down,” says Hadi Partovi, co-founder of the education nonprofit Code.org, which offers free professional learning for teachers.

“Schools don’t like being told how to run.

But teachers resoundingly support the idea that schools should be teaching computer science. This is really a grass-roots move-

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ment that’s now winning top-down support, rather than other way around.”

At the moment, much of the nation’s computer science education is happening piecemeal, in after-school clubs and programs or in isolated AP classes and one-off lessons tucked into other subject areas. More than 100 million students worldwide have gotten an introduction to computer science through the Hour of Code, an annual event that encourages teachers to spend an hour of classroom time teaching kids to code.

But an hour a year isn’t enough to teach crucial skills like computational thinking.

“The learning needs to be scaffolded and built over time, so when students get to high school and have the ability to make educated and informed decision about whether want to take further classes,” says Ruthe Farmer, an equity and inclusion advocate for the CSforAll Consortium, which works to achieve computer science literacy for all students.

“Right now, we just don’t have that progression, and that’s where need to get.

Otherwise it’s never going to be equitable.”

Closing the equity gap

For some, teaching computer science to all U.S. students is a matter of national security, a way to remain competitive with other countries that are implementing CSforall policies. Others see it as a civil rights issue.

Students in schools that don’t offer computer science classes – often in low-income areas with large minority populations – are getting shut out of some of the most lucrative, fastestgrowing careers the future has to offer.

“It’s really important to continue to focus on equity,” Garg says. “Even as the computer science AP exam has continued to grow in size, we have not erased the equity gaps. We have a huge gulf, and if all we do is increase computer science access without

focusing on the equity piece, we’ll just increase the inequity on a larger scale.”

Many educators say it’s not enough to offer computer science as an elective in high school. Students who are underrepresented in STEM fields are unlikely to take an AP computer science class if they haven’t had any exposure to it previously. Some get informally tracked out by well-meaning teachers or counselors who are unaware of their own biases. Others are intimidated by lingering stereotypes that girls aren’t good at computers or that computer science is just for geniuses.

Schools need to start earlier if they want to reach more girls and minority students, says Talia Milgrom-Elcott, co-founder of 100Kin10, a national network dedicated to adding 100,000 STEM teachers to U.S. classrooms by 2021.

“All evidence points to the fact that if students don’t have an ‘aha moment’ by third grade, they’re unlikely to go on to major or work in a STEM field,” she says. “They need to be thinking about it at the earliest ages.

So much of their foundational knowledge is related to what happens in third, fourth and fifth grade, and that foundation is what allows them to go on and do more advanced math and science.”

Building a teacher pipeline

To bring computer science education to every student, schools need enough teachers who are qualified to teach it. And that, most education leaders agree, is hands down the biggest barrier to universal computer science education.

“Most states have a shortage of computer science teachers,” Partovi says. “Most teachers are not learning enough computer science in school. We need existing teachers who are currently teaching in classrooms to attend enough professional development workshops so they can begin teaching it.”

At the federal level, the National Science Foundation has pledged $120 million to help train computer science teachers.

Around 5,000 high school teachers have received training so far, but with more than 34,000 high schools nationwide, there’s still a long way to go.

“It’s a big space out there to try and train enough teachers for,” says Janice Cuny, program director for computing education for the National Science Foundation. “We’re still way short on teachers, and they turn over fast. It’s a continuous problem, and one school districts are not set up to handle right now.”

To bring computer science education to every student, schools need enough teachers who are qualified to teach it. And that, most education leaders agree, is hands down the biggest barrier to universal computer science education.

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“ The solution is to ensure the pipeline of new teachers coming out of universities are prepared.”

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She estimates U.S. schools will need around 50,000 computer science teachers to fill the gap – and that’s just at the high school level. Bringing computer science into K-8 classrooms, which comprise well over a million teachers, will require additional training for a significant chunk of the nation’s educators.

The good news is that a variety of nonprofit organizations such as Code.org have popped up to provide professional learning for teachers who want to bring computer science to their schools. Much of the training is even available for free, which eliminates some of the budget concerns that keep dis-

trict administrators up at night. But while professional learning can help prepare the current teaching force to meet the urgent need for more bodies teaching computer science, it’s not a long-term solution.

“The solution is to ensure the pipeline of new teachers coming out of universities are prepared,” Partovi says. “Math teachers should be able to teach computer science without needing additional training. Schools of education that are preparing teachers for the future need to teach computer science to those teachers – not to make them software developers in Silicon Valley, but enough so they can teach it to eighth graders.”

Leading with vision

Schools of education don’t turn on a dime, however. Many are reluctant to add computer science to their curriculum until they’re certain there’s enough demand to make it worthwhile. Others agree it’s important, but are waiting for their states to set the bar for certification.

States that want to advance computer science education can start by initiating a multi-year plan that defines statewide learning standards, establishes a certification or licensure process for computer science teachers, and develops partnerships with universities and other organizations to create robust teacher training programs.

It doesn’t need to be a top-down approach, either. Last year, under the leadership of Chief Innovation Officer Richard Culatta, Rhode Island set an ambitious goal to bring computer science to every school in the state. By the end of the school year, 80 percent of schools had adopted some form of computer science education, and

the state is on track to reach its goal by the end of the calendar year – all without any legislative mandate. Culatta became ISTE’s CEO in May. “This is the type of change that can be led by leaders with vision who can operationalize it and make it happen,” says Steve Osborne, chief of innovation for the Rhode Island Department of Education. “It’s something that can be done by leaders at any level, whether they’re a teacher in a classroom or a department chair in a school, a principal, a superintendent or a state commissioner of education.”

At the local level, schools and districts need to build up the infrastructure needed to support teachers once they’re trained in computer science. That means offering quality instructional materials, fitting computer science courses into the master schedule and providing for ongoing professional learning.

“The entire school community needs to think very strategically about the long game of getting to CS for all,” Farmer says.

At the local level, schools and districts need to build up the infrastructure needed to support teachers once they’re trained in computer science.

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Getting disciplined

“ While some subjects remain discipline based, computer science education needs to be discipline based as well to have a standing in the curriculum.”

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Many leaders believe it’s important for schools to approach computer science as its own discipline, with lessons that build upon each other as students progress through the grade levels, rather than focusing on teaching certain skill sets or specific tools.

“The technologies are actually irrelevant,” Farmer says. “It’s really about computational thinking. I think it’s important we treat this as a discipline, just like any other. Chemistry isn’t about beakers and Bunsen burners, and biology isn’t about skeletons. Technology gets disrupted all the time, but the foundations of computational thinking don’t.”

That’s not to say computer science shouldn’t be integrated into other learning areas. In fact, just about every discipline connects back to technology at some point, and many educators are advocating for a fully integrated curriculum across all subjects.

But until then, computer science needs an equal place at the table alongside reading,

math and other fundamental skills, says Jason Zagami, associate lecturer and coordinator of community partnerships for the School of Education and Professional Studies at Griffith University in Queensland, Australia.

“If it doesn’t have an identity as discipline, people can easily argue there shouldn’t be a particular subject area because it can be addressed in all subject areas,” he says.

“While some subjects remain disciplinebased, computer science education needs to be discipline-based as well to have a standing in the curriculum.”

As the universal computer science education gains momentum and more states enact CS-for-all legislation, it’s also important to incorporate explicit strategies for inclusion into any plan.

“What we can’t afford as a society is to build a computer science program that’s cheap and ugly and end up with a whole lot more of the same exclusionary programs we’ve had for last 30 years,” Farmer says.

“Systems are pretty sticky. If we build it wrong, it’s wrong for decades or even generations. We need to do this right.” nicole krueger is a freel ance writer and former newspaper reporter. she writes about education technology and the tr ansformation of learning.

STANDARDS SPOTLIGHT Educator Kate Harris shares what two Student Standards look like in the classroom.

Use digital curation to unlock Knowledge Constructor, Creative Communicator standards

By Kate Harris

“It gets so much harder when you get down to the last few choices. I want to include them all.”

The student speaking had narrowed down 26 images of historical documents and artifacts related to the bombings at Hiroshima and Nagasaki to six that reflected her point of view, and now she had to eliminate one more.

“I want to show that I think using the atomic bombs was a bad idea because of how dramatically it changed warfare. I like the peace sculpture [a bronze memorial of a young girl holding an origami crane], but I like Einstein and Oppenheimer, too.”

When pressed to meet the five-resource limit her teacher had set, the student decided on the image of the scientists. According to

her, “It shows that these weapons are created by humans and will hurt humans. That science isn’t perfect and has flaws.”

In a short time, she had analyzed several authentic sources, determining their point of view and synthesizing them with her own opinions. She then began to work on presenting her ideas to her classmates as an online collection, rather like a small museum exhibit.

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This is digital curation done right: Students working with authentic materials in a meaningful way – finding, analyzing and organizing to make new meaning out of the myriad materials available online.

Remember the mixtape

Students need support in all stages of the process: finding appropriate resources, analyzing their selections, citing their sources and making and presenting something new.

Did you ever make a mixtape (or a digital playlist, if you’re young enough)? The greatest mixtapes weren’t those that just included a scattered array of tunes or repeated the same radio hits. They were the ones that challenged the listener with something new – a surprising artist or an unexpected cover of a favorite song. The mixtape’s ultimate purpose was to deliver a message: declaring love, telling a story or capturing a time and place. Like any great mixtape, curation is intentional and purposeful. The items chosen are thoughtful representations and are selected to communicate an idea.

Why use curation in the classroom?

With so much information now available, it’s imperative that students develop the skills to effectively find and evaluate sources of information, categorize what they have found and create new meaning from those materials by adding personal insights or findings. More than a means of sifting the useful from the irrelevant, student curation is about adding to the conversation with original thought and determining how various resources connect.

The ISTE Standards for Students shifted to recognize the value of curation in their most recent iteration, updated and released in 2016. In standard 3, Knowledge Constructor, curation plays a prominent role as students use curation with digital tools to “construct knowledge, produce creative artifacts and make meaningful learning experiences for themselves and others.”

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ISTE created this emphasis to both recognize the increased need for everyone to have the ability to curate information and to reflect that curation can be a creative or meaning-making activity in itself.

Student curation addresses several academic and life skills. According to Understanding by Design, developed by educators Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe, “Students reveal their understanding most effectively when they are provided with complex, authentic opportunities to explain, interpret, apply, shift perspective, empathize and selfassess.” Curation draws on the range of skills described and encourages students to produce and present their own digital content.

How should we remember the A-bomb?

Diving into student curation without practice can lead to lackluster work products. Imagine students just picking images from a Google search at random and pasting them into a document. Students need support in all stages of the process: finding appropriate resources, analyzing their selections, citing their sources and making and presenting something new.

History teacher Brian Tharp at McKeesport Area High School in McKeesport, Pennsylvania, created a project on the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings that gave students the freedom to curate within a process he scaffolded to ensure great results.

Tharp preselected the resources from the Smithsonian Learning Lab – so for this first round of curation, students were not getting bogged down in the search process, but rather focused on selection.

Although the atomic bombings brought a swift end to World War II, their use has been criticized, and Tharp’s assignment allowed students to discover different perspectives on the issue as they developed their own points of view.

images cour tes y of the smithsonian

STANDARDS SPOTLIGHT

These photographs depicting events from World War II are artifacts students might choose for a research project.

He partnered with his school’s secondary literacy coordinator, Erica Guadalupe, to support student development of thesis statements about how the bomb should be remembered. As they began to put together their online collections, students had already developed a clear position and considered possible sources of evidence.

Guadalupe acknowledged the natural connection to writing skills, “You have to really focus on choosing the best evidence – there might be a lot of resources that connect, but you have to be smart about what you include.”

The Learning Lab supports such activities while making 2 million authentic Smithsonian digital resources (artifacts, images, texts, videos and more) available.

Within the free online platform, students can not only select and aggregate individual resources, but also annotate them with ques-

tions, text and hotspots. Users age 13 and up can publish their collections, which then become available in the Learning Lab for viewing and adaptation by others.

Curate your own exhibit

More than 60 Pittsburgh-area social studies teachers have been exploring the Learning Lab with their students through a grant studying how the site impacts learning.

When her seventh grade world history class was beginning a unit on Egypt, teacher Aubrey Morgan at Pittsburgh Creative and Performing Arts School tried curation from a different angle.

She knew she wanted students to explore the spectacular artifacts of that ancient civilization and improve descriptive writing skills. To meet both goals, Morgan told her students they would be guest curators

More than 60 Pittsburgh-area social studies teachers have been exploring the Learning Lab with their students through a grant studying how the site impacts learning.

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Considering what value each piece would add to the collection requires students to analyze digital artifacts and synthesize information from a variety of sources.

developing an exhibit on a particular theme of Ancient Egypt, be it “science and medicine,” for example, or “famous pharaohs.”

Because users can upload their own resources into the Learning Lab, students could include not only the Smithsonian’s digital resources, but also those of other major repositories like the British Museum.

This presented a natural opportunity to reiterate with students the importance of proper citation and credible sourcing, which is one aspect of being a Digital Citizen as defined by the ISTE Standards for Students.

Students were also required to add context, articulating how each item illustrated a concept or supported their theme.

After students completed their thematic exhibits, they presented to the class and voted on items that would best fit in a larger CAPA Seventh Grade Digital Egyptology Museum (s.si.edu/2wiYGwH) shared with the school community.

Morgan liked that the project helped students “focus on history as a job,” noting that, “the way historians study the past is through the artifacts and sources.”

Building on document-based questions

Molly Chester of Avonworth High School turned the tables on her Advanced Placement U.S. history students. Instead of having them address a DBQ (document-based question) by synthesizing information from diverse sources into a compelling argument, she asked them to create the question. Students then searched the Learning Lab for related resources, which ensured they would think about the unit’s themes and the kinds of evidence that would support an answer.

Their final collections (s.si.edu/ 2vqHqte), made according to Chester’s instructions (bit.ly/2w3PMUL), look like an electronic version of the classic DBQ:

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image cour tes y of the smithsonian

STANDARDS SPOTLIGHT

This $5 coin represents the type of currency in use in the United States in 1812.

an inquiry answered using the resources, together with students’ own knowledge.

Because Chester required the inclusion of guiding questions for each source, students had to be intentional in their choices and consider historical context, audience, point of view and purpose.

Students also had to think carefully about their search tactics. Which resources would, in their teacher’s words, “(1) illustrate some aspect of the issue, (2) add insight or outside information to the issue, or (3) challenge or call into question traditional or usual interpretations of the issue?”

Considering what value each piece would add to the collection requires students to analyze digital artifacts and synthesize information from a variety of sources (ISTE Knowledge Constructor standard, indicators 3.b. and 3.c.).

Assembling vs. curating

Curation isn’t easy, but teachers agree it’s a skill that is becoming increasingly important. At Riverview High School in Oakmont, Pennsylvania, history teacher Robert Lindeman and language arts teacher Mark Carlin have used the Learning Lab as a way for

images cour tes y of the smithsonian

STANDARDS SPOTLIGHT

This painting depicting the capture of the British ship Macedonian by a U.S. ship in 1812 and an 1819 postage stamp are artifacts that educators could incorporate into guiding questions.

students to incorporate primary sources into traditional research papers.

For them, the process to get to thoughtful curation has been long and winding.

Both Carlin and Lindeman have developed a series of formative assessments, having students first explore teacher-curated collections before starting to create their own small, structured collections.

Lindeman notes that students often assemble “random facts,” not creating “a coherent narrative” when producing research projects. He hopes that because his students are such visual learners, curating a collection will ease their way in making meaning of the resources they find. He also notes that to curate and present a narrative is a prized real-world skill, something he was often asked to do in his previous life in the private sector.

ISTE prioritizes this skill too, stating in Creative Communicator that students “responsibly repurpose or remix digital resources into new creations” (6.b.) and “communicate complex ideas clearly and effectively by creating or using a variety of

digital objects such as visualizations, models or simulations” (6.c.).

Both Carlin and Lindeman, along with the other teachers mentioned, emphasize that authentic artifacts and resources help highlight the human side of history, science and literature.

Creating collections using materials like these not only builds digital age skills, but also connects students to the real physical world of the past. Educators can use the ISTE Standards as a guide to implement deeper, digital age learning that encourages students curate and think deeply about the world around them.

Creating collections using materials like these not only builds digital age skills, but also connects students to the real physical world of the past.

k ate harris was an instruc tional coach for the smithsonian learning l ab based in pit tsburgh, pennsylvania. she visited cl assrooms in the region to observe and support how educ ators and students use smithsonian resources to enhance le arning. she currently consults on education projects for pittsburgh-based cultur al institutions. k ate harris @ k atevil anova

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MEMBER PROFILE Rafranz Davis is lending her voice to digital access issues.

Rafranz Davis She’s building equity one student at a time

By Nicole Krueger

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It was like a scene from a movie. When first-year teacher Rafranz Davis took over the eighth grade math classroom at Ennis Junior High School in Ennis, Texas, just weeks before the state exams, students greeted her by flipping their desks around, putting their feet up and turning their backs in protest.

“I walked into this class in small-town Texas where they had gang issues and there were kids who had never had any success at all since they were in school,” she says. “They’d been watching movies all year. When I walked in and actually started teaching lessons, they said, ‘Miss, we ain’t done nothing all year. What makes you think we’re going to do something now?’”

But Davis, winner of the 2017 ISTE Outstanding Leader Award, isn’t the type to give up on a single student. She’s the type who scours the internet for online tools to engage reluctant learners. She’s the type who transitions from teaching middle to high school – just to make sure one student graduates. And today, as the executive director of professional and digital learning for Lufkin Independent School District in Lufkin, Texas, she’s the type who uses her voice in education to speak up about access equity and how technology can help close the gap for marginalized students.

Teaching in a small town, Davis saw both sides of the technology divide. Her technology-rich preservice training had opened her up to exciting possibilities, from fully interactive lesson plans to sophisticated math visualization software, but lack of access in the classroom posed constant challenges.

“I came to class knowing I needed to share the experiences I’d had with technology. I knew I had to incorporate those same types of interactions in some way,” she says. “But there were so many things our kids didn’t have access to.”

She watched her students struggle without access to basic online information – unable to look up colleges, research careers or even check the latest news headlines. “You would think that would be a normal thing to do by now, but in some places it’s not,” she says.

With ideas too big for one classroom, Davis became a math strategist at Grand Prairie High School in Dallas, where she led the math department in laying the groundwork for its technology plan. Going in, she didn’t know just how big a task that would be.

“When I walked into that school, they had zero technology whatsoever,” she says.“Their version of technology was a projector that wasn’t even connected to computer – just a document camera.

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photos by s te v e smith

Rafranz Davis is speaking up about access equity and how technology can help close the gap for marginalized students.

MEMBER PROFILE

“ Having a voice starts locally.

How can I make a difference where I am?”

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EMPOWERED LEARNER

“In 2013? That was sort of the beginning of the end for me. I decided I was going to be part the movement to figure technology out.”

She started networking and presenting at conferences. She got involved in digital access issues, became active in the ISTE Digital Equity Network and started advocating for diversity in edtech. The more involved she became, the more she saw how district politics affect both educators and students of color.

“It’s the micro-aggressions we have to deal with,” she says. “I’ve sat in rooms and heard other school leaders say they didn’t want to send technology to a campus because the kids would pawn it or tear it up. White students got new technology, while minority schools got old technology. That in itself takes a different toll.”

She credits nationwide efforts such as the ConnectEd initiative for changing the conversation around equity. Davis was one of the educators who spoke during the program’s official launch at the White House three years ago, delivering a presentation on future-ready professional learning.

“It wasn’t about politics, it was about learning for kids,” she says. “It made us talk about connect-

ing, period. I can see a tremendous difference.

We’re talking about equity now. How do we get devices to kids and connect them at home? We weren’t having those conversations before.”

These days, the four-time White House guest and author of the book The Missing Voices in Edtech: Bringing Diversity into Edtech is focused on making a difference within her community. At Lufkin ISD, she’s helped pioneer a Raspberry Pi summer camp, an annual student robotics hackathon and an innovation night where students and teachers share their best lessons and projects.

“Right now, I’m really focused on local change and providing support within the communities where I have direct impact,” she says. “This country is undergoing some changes. When you think about community organizing, you have to understand what it means to have a voice. Having a voice starts locally. How can I make a difference where I am?” nicole krueger is a freel ance writer and former newspaper reporter. she writes about education technology and the tr ansformation of learning.

TAKE ACTION

photo by angel a smith

Susan Poling says edtech advocacy can't be a waiting game.

When it comes to advocacy, don’t wait, don‘t whine – work!

Susan Poling Executive Director Alabama Leaders of Educational Technology

When it comes to advocacy at the state level, who among us hasn’t been guilty of simply waiting and whining? Even when combined with sporadic email blasts, occasional legislative visits and Oliver Twist phone calls, it’s a losing strategy. As it turns out, to get any significant funding, you need to advocate with the same level of passion, smart thinking and teamwork as you would when re-establishing your network after a hurricane.

In 2013, members of the Alabama Educational Technology Association (AETA), recently renamed the Alabama Leaders of Educational Technology (ALET), were surprised to learn that a $100 million “devices” bill had been re-introduced in the state Legislature.

Still suffering the effects of the recession, AETA acted quickly to support the bill. We presented the sponsors with an award and talked it up on our annual trek to the state house. Then, we quietly returned to our busy jobs and waited. When the bill passed, but the state refused to issue a bond, we whined.

In 2014, with no funding in sight, we quit waiting. We deconstructed the bill and rewrote it, eliminating the language that was keeping it from being funded. The new version prioritized wireless over devices, stayed vendor-neutral, guaranteed every district its fair share of the funding and cut the cost in half.

We prepared for public hearings and legislative visits by gathering our own data and publishing a status report on wireless statewide.

We researched cost models, proving that the project was doable at half the cost. To this we added Alabama Speak Up survey results, showing that wireless was a top priority for teachers, parents and students. At our October conference, we held closed-door sessions for technology directors, hashing out our differences and working on messaging. Once we reached consensus, we sought out partners.

Our most valuable ally was the state superintendent’s association. The association added the bill to its legislative priorities and identified a state representative to sponsor it. Over the course of the campaign, many other organizations lent their support. Some we recruited, like the state superintendent, the state business council, the supercomputer authority and the governor’s office for broadband initiatives. We even reached out to the state student government association. Others just piled on as they learned about the bill. These included the teachers’ association and the state association for school boards. Who doesn’t like wireless?

Through public hearings, individual meetings and infographics, we made sure every lawmaker would find a reason to vote “yes.”

When E-Rate modernization happened right in the middle of the legislative session, we cut the bill even further to $15.5 million. In Alabama, where the average discount rate is 80 percent, this meant we could leverage up to $62 million from federal coffers. This made the bill, and us, even more popular with lawmakers.

The bill passed with zero “nays.” Alabama is now on the verge of every single public school having full wireless connectivity. As for the adage, “Good things come to those who wait,” when it comes to advocacy, that’s bunk. If you want something, don’t wait, don’t whine – work.

Learn more about how to lend your voice to edtech policy at iste.org/advocacy.

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COMMUNITY VOICES ISTE members share a few of their favorite things.

What are your favorite resources to share with parents to explain any aspect of digital learning?

Common Sense Media (commonsensemedia.org)

Learning Ally (learningally.org)

This is a great go-to source where parents can find a lot of information to help their children understand technology skills and more. It offers a whole section on parental concerns about issues that students face, and it highlights family topics, reviews of websites and apps, a blog and links to information so parents and students can learn together.

I work with students who have language-based learning disabilities such as dyslexia, dysgraphia and dyscalculia.

Many have ADD, short-term memory challenges, etc. It can be hard for parents to understand how to help their children. Learning Ally has over 80,000 audio books and tons of resources for parents and teachers.

Rachelle Dene Poth, foreign language teacher Riverview School District, Oakmont, Pennsylvania

Project Tomorrow’s Speak Up reports (tomorrow.org/speakup) This research project shares the voice of all stakeholders in education and provides the perspective of multiple groups in regard to what they would like to see in our classrooms when it comes to educational technology and instruction.

Nicole M. Zumpano, technology coach Coonley School, Chicago, Illinois

Microsoft Digital Toolkit for Educators (bit.ly/2jGqmc5) I like Microsoft resources because they’re very well explained and they are really excellent.

Sylvia Fojo, elementary teacher, computers Uruguayan American School, Montevideo, Uruguay

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“The Classroom Must Change” video by Lynda.com (bit.ly/2tN5uV5) This video explains the importance of technology and why education needs to be different from what it looked like when parents were in school.

Sharon Leitner-Cohen, technology integration specialist The Hillside School, Macungie, Pennsylvania

Rachael Mann, founder and managing director #TeachLikeTED, Phoenix, Arizona

Community Learning Walks (bit.ly/2tj5usg) If we want parents and community members to understand that education is different than what they experienced, we have to show them. This video shows a Community Learning Walk in our district that highlighted student-centered learning practices and implementation of educational technology.

Susan Moore, supervisor of blended learning Meriden Public Schools, Meriden, Connecticut

You spoke, we listened!

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