Randy Stall is one of the "big wigs" in my district. Littleton Public Schools is well respected in Colorado for using technology in the classroom. I am enrolled in a cohort program with my district called "flipping the classroom" and "inspired learning." Mr. Stall conducts these professional development opportunities within our district and is well respected because he makes "house calls" and will help teachers create meaningful lessons using the technology resources that we have available.
It was a pleasure to interview him and ask him about what his job entails. I learned that he has been in the educational technology field for 23 years and is a lifelong learner. He is constantly researching new endeavors in technology and knows that technology is ever changing. He and his team are current in all the trends of technology.
Since I am in the BYOD group, I felt that it was a necessity to stray away from my interview to pick his brain about this particular topic since I work in the district. Or neighbor, Englewood Public Schools are participating in the 1:1 program/BYOD for reading. Another neighbor district participates in BYOD but have no purpose and leave the devices at school. Randy thinks that BYOD will only work if there is purpose and meaning behind the 1:1 program. The students should be allowed to bring their device to and from school in order for this to be truly effective.
Ever since I have started this program, I have argued against distance education for primary elementary students. I have also feared that distance learning may replace teachers and maybe subconsciously I have chosen this program to solidify a career in education. When I spoke to Randy it was comforting to know that technology won't replace teachers and distance learning should be age-appropriate. I appreciated this advice from a veteran professional and discussing this topic put my mind at ease.
In terms of a career in educational technology, I feel that if I play my cards right I could work for Randy and the technology team. I feel that Randy knows that I have a lot to offer and I would provide primary teachers valuable professional development experiences.
Here is a link to our interview:
Randy Stall and Maggie Ward's interview
Please advise there were some background noise and the camera angle is weird....I need to work on editing!
Hey Maggie!
ReplyDeleteI'd love to see a video post of you next week :) You have such personality....
Do you think there is hope for BYOD with primary students? Why or why not?
Doc
Hi Dr. Courduff,
DeleteI think BYOD is a great idea on how to integrate technology in the classroom. I think there are a lot of challenges because of the different types of devices and programs that are out there. Technology in the primary classroom is a challenge in itself and is quite limited from a development perspective. I feel the biggest challenge for BYOD in the primary classroom is convincing the parents to let their child Bring in their device. Teachers would have to have a purpose and be able to explain the rational decision for this to get parents on board. Downloading the appropriate apps will be the easy part because the teacher/technology coach will need to do this.
Hi Maggie--
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your post.
As a member of the BYOD group, I also asked my interviewee what she thought about the movement. She mentioned that it is hard to establish firewalls for all students because if someone brings a device with a virus that others are vulnerable to getting it unless they have certain software. I was glad she mentioned this because I had never thought of it before. Whose responsibility would it be to ensure that all devices are equipped appropriately to prevent the spreading of viruses? The owner of the device (if its BYOD), or the school system? I think this gets kind of tricky and ethical and I am not even sure what I think about this.
I look forward to hearing your thoughts!
Thanks,
Tai
Hi Tai,
DeleteThank you for your post. I think BYOD has great intentions but there are so many outlying principles in the BYOD program that it makes me question if its truly worth the effort. I would think that we as educators would have to have permission for us to download programs (especially anti-virus software) on their computer, or this is part of a requirement the for the families. I would expect some authorization between home/school for this to truly work.
Check this site out; it has great resources for teachers on BYOD
http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2013/01/excellent-resources-on-beyod-for.html
Maggie, I couldn't agree more with Mr. Stall's emphasis on not letting money control his decisions and making professional development a priority. It is also wise not to abandon the basics because we have added the tools of technology. My greatest concern is the abandonment of memory work. If we don't "train the brain to retain" we will end up with a population exploding in focus issues more than we already have and suffer a paralysis of thinking unless a device is present. Do you still have students memorize math tables; history timelines, or geography anymore in your district?
ReplyDeleteHi Debra,
DeleteI think you make a great point. I did like how Randy said that using "low-tech" tools and letting go of technology is still imperative. The ability to "memorize facts" has proven not to be truly effective. I agree students need to recall information but in my experience I've memorized times tables and dates and I still have to recall the information by logical thinking. For example, I still have to recall what 6x6 is in order to think what 6x7 is. I know that may sound stupid at my age, but that is the type of thinker that I am. I have to recall information that I already know in order to recall past information. Does that make sense? I don't feel memorizing things is always the answer. Thank you for your post;-)
Hi Maggie,
ReplyDeleteI left you a video reply. Here is the link.
http://youtu.be/Rrw5vRn-vTo
God Bless,
Celeste