November 30, 2013 - In This Issue:
UPCOMING EVENTS

December 7, 2013

December 7, 2013

January 25, 2013

January 28, 2013


CORPORATE PARTNERS

Engage, Enhance and Extend Learning!

Liz Keren-Kolb

Find out what these words really mean when you integreate technology into your lessons.

 

Educators often say that technology is more than a gimmick or add-on, and that it should engage, enhance, or extend learning in ways that traditional tools do not. Yet we seldom stop to define these terms, and they can be confusing, especially for teachers and preservice teachers.


Recently, I collaborated on an English language arts and technology integration assignment with a literacy instructor. We asked a group of our student teachers to create technology-enhanced performance assessments for eighth graders who had been involved in book clubs. We told the student teachers that the technology must "engage, enhance, or extend" the learning in some profound way that traditional strategies could not.

 

After the performance assessments were handed in, we found the student teachers' definitions of engaged, enha

nced, or extended learning varied greatly. For example, one student teacher wanted to have his eighth graders create a Prezi where the students would pick a character from a novel and use quotes from the book to explain the character's position on technology in society (the book club's ove

rarching question was about technology in society).

 

The student teacher explained that this was "true" technology integration because the eighth graders were "engaged" in the excitement of using an innovative tool like Prezi to create their presentations.Continue reading...
Republished from Learning & Leading with Technology, May 2013, with permission from ISTE
Using TIM to Support Your Integration 
Sometimes it can be tricky to know where to start when trying to engage, enhance, and extend learning with technology. Fortunately there are many resources out there to help you! A great place to start is to look at a technology integration matrix. Both Arizona and Florida have Technology Integration Matrices. Each one has models of how technology can be integrated throughout instruction in meaningful ways at different levels with sample lessons and videos. 
ICE Leader You Should Know: Maureen Miller

Maureen Chertow Miller has been an educator for over 20 years. She started using technology in the classroom when she was student teaching and hasn't looked back. Maureen's eyes are always future-focused, with a vision for using technology to help all students exceed their learning goals.

Currently the Director of Instructional Technology for Township High School District 113, working specifically with Deerfield High School, Maureen has led initiatives for Google Apps, Web 2.0 focused professional development, interactive whiteboards and iPads. Maureen's passion for technology and her love of learning are evident to all who know her.

Maureen was one of the first seven Illinois educators to receive CoSN's Certified Education Technology Leader Certification and has recently passed all qualification exams to be a Google Certified Trainer. A leader at heart, she currently serves on the Illinois Computing Educator's (ICE) Conference committee, Northern Illinois Computing Educator's (NICE) Governing Board and has recently been elected to serve as Secretary of the Illinois Chief Technology Officers (ILCTO).  

 

Follow Maureen on twitter at @mmiller112.

 Have you taken your pulse lately?

Margaret Johnson, ICE Executive Director

The stated mission of Illinois Computing Educators is to lead the educational community in enhancing learning through technology.  This month's featured article, Engage, Enhance, and Extend Learning, reminds us that enhancing learning can mean different things to different people.  Searching for clarity and direction as we strive to meet our students' needs is an ongoing process that my favorite Superintendent called, "taking our collective pulse."  It seemed fitting that a data point directly connected to a teacher's heart would best measure good teaching!

 

There are a number of models or frameworks that can be helpful for an individual teacher or for an entire district to use to assess the progress of new initiatives involving technology.  Liz Keren-Kolb's article above offers a rubric to determine if a given classroom scenario is engaging, enhancing or extending learning.  TPACK is a framework to understand and describe the kinds of knowledge (content, pedagogical and technology) needed by educators for effective practice in a technology enhanced learning environment.  My personal favorite is the SAMR Model designed by Dr Ruben Puentedura.   The SAMR model is a useful tool for helping teachers think about their own tech use in classroom instruction.  Those who use this model seem to find it fairly easy to apply to what goes on in actual classrooms.  I like that the emphasis is on progress and the efficient use of digital tools appropriate to a given task.  

 

As you scan the session descriptions for ICE 2014, you may see references to these models as well as new tools and apps.  Don't miss an opportunity to reflect on your instructional practice and to "take your pulse" with other reflective educators at ICE!

 
 

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