7 weeks in!

It has been about a month since I last posted and after another tough afternoon against the Vikings my Bears season has hit a new low.  I am happy to report our path in Bettendorf is trending in the exact opposite direction.  We have two weeks left in the second term, which means we have completed 7 weeks of Freshman and Sophomore students carrying their own iPad to and from school. We have some great successes, thought through new challenges, and stretched our thinking! The piece that I keep having to remind myself of is that it is really only 7 weeks.  With that being said we have some teachers seeing powerful student learning in their classrooms using Educreations, Edmodo, Evernote, Pinnacle video, Google (everything), and much much more.  As a staff we are asking the right questions.  What do we want the students to do differently and how can this device help make that meaningful learning task easier?

We have worked with the staff and families to help with the transition to a 1:1 platform as well. It has changed the dynamic in the classroom and at home and we need to help support both of these.  We have held parent meetings and worked with teachers that are having to now account for a powerful learning tool but also a gaming device in every student's hands.  The cool piece of all of this is that just like anything in education we are helping to shape student behavior.  The BYTE Squad has been a great group to support our need for increased technology questions as we have many current students in the trenches helping others students throughout the day.

A couple exciting opportunities for professional development are quickly approaching.  On December 12, we will be having cross curricular conversations about the transition and classroom practice.  We are pleased to announce that on February 16th we will be hosting EdCamp Iowa at Bettendorf High School.  We are the host site in the East while there is also an EdCamp Iowa West.  You can register at the following link:
http://www.EdCampIowa.org.  Additionally, we will be holding a Bettendorf only tech conference on April 10th featuring, The Principal of Change, George Couros.

Finally, I would like to thank everyone for their support in this effort and wish everyone a safe and happy holiday season.   

Now what? Integration, no transformation!

As I was preparing to write this post at the kitchen table and nervously awaiting the start of the Bears and Texans game I get hit with a black bean from Alice.  This broke my train of thought where I had found myself thinking, now what?  Now that we have attended conferences, gone on site visits, presented to the board, got the devices, handed them out to the staff, handed them out to the students, had professional development, presented to others, hosted a couple visits, now what?  The answers that kept circulating were all about helping support integration. How do we give time to help support integration?  How do I help the staff and support their efforts? How do we get people talking to each other?  How do we give time for people to see each other teach?  How do we get answers to their tough questions?    

These are all important and necessary, and things we need to account for and accomplish.  The problem is that this does not go far enough and that is why I think I have trouble with the word and where I get frustrated.  It is a starting point, but if we simply integrate we do not reach the ultimate goal of transformation.  This week in our Organizational and Educational Leadership class we talked a lot about transformation versus reform.  Reform involves just adjusting current practice.  This may be where we begin with our instructional design process but it cannot be the end. The technology is a driver to help us transform our instruction.  "Technology has not added something to your plate as a teacher, it has transformed your plate." Benjamin Friesen via Twitter.  This goes for anything and everything, from classroom management to how we assess our students.  We want people to feel comfortable taking risks, but I also want the staff to know this is a process.  I think this is where sometimes teachers get frustrated too, because they want to transform but aren't sure how or what this looks like. True transformation is a huge process and does not happen overnight.  

The plate is different, which means how we work on it has to be different.  We need to continue to create times for conversation, support for new learning, and resources for help.  A quick reminder on some of the resources available in our building include; LeAnne Wagner and Eric McCoy in the library, these two have functioned as true all-stars throughout the roll-out. They have a ton of knowledge and ideas.  Colin Wikan, our Math teacher that has a open period committed to helping support teachers wanting to begin steps towards integration.  He has been hosting a conversation time after school on Thursdays as well.  The staff tech team, they have representation on every team in the building.  All of these folks have received advanced training on specific tech tools.  Finally, don't forget about each other.  Just because you haven't had a lot of experience in this area doesn't mean you can't be a resource.  What you are really trying to do is think about your classroom differently.  What do you want to try?  What do you want to change?  How can technology help support that?  I would encourage you to find an area of comfort or an area that you struggle with and start with a simple change there.  The more you use it the more the ideas will come.  The point is we want to reach transformation but there is nothing wrong with starting at reform our integration.  

Thank you for all you do for our children! It's a great day to be a Bulldog! 

Find your niche!

We have had some great PD opportunities the last couple of weeks.  We had a group of staff attend ITEC in Des Moines where Chris Like and LeAnne Wagner presented Mission Possible.  This conference is always a solid event with a lot of sharing from others across the state.  Later that week a group of staff attended EdCamp in Chicago.  Ed Camp is not a typical conference, rather it is an unconference where the agenda is determined by those in attendance.  Our staff went and stepped right in and facilitated some sessions.  We will be hosting something similar in February. Please stay tuned if you are interested.  Following that Jimmy and I had the chance to attend the ISTE Leadership Forum in Indianapolis.  I was very proud of Iowa and our district.  I felt like we had as much insight to offer as many other districts.   This is a great organization to stretch your learning if you are passionate about technology as a driver of change.  Additionally, check out what it takes to be a Google Certified Teacher and an Apple Distinguished Educator if this is where you find yourself gravitating.  These are two great programs! 

With all of this being said, I think the coolest thing that I heard by far this week came from Mrs. Ahrens' classroom. She was circling around to groups in her room and noticed that one of her students that was sick for the day had Skyped into her group's conversation.  The student then asked Mrs. Ahrens's a question and was able to have it answered right there. Talk about anytime anywhere learning!  I would encourage each of you to find something you want to do different in your classroom and see how the technology can help with that. Remember, the primary concern for all of us is teaching and learning, not the tech.

Wednesday after Mr. Raso's presentation we will be discussing a few iPads specific topics and giving you some time to work on missions in Mission Possible.  Colin Wikan will be holding Thursday After Class starting this week in his room D308 to host conversations centered around teaching with technology be sure to attend!    

Please let us know of any concerns you are commonly seeing or dealing with in your classrooms.  I think the more conversations we have about this together the better.  

Welcome to 1:1

At the end of this week we will be at full implementation for freshman and sophomores.  We are happy with how smooth the process has been.  Parents have been very happy with the information they are receiving and believe in what we are doing.  After all of this I am most excited to turn the focus back to how this opportunity can help our instruction.  We will be focusing back on Mission Possible and what can be done in different content areas. Remember, we should be asking ourselves what we want to do and then looking for tools to make this happen!

Staff, please make sure to read the information on the bulletin board.  There have been some questions that have come up and I will address those as timely as possible.

Finally, this week some of your tech team members are attending ITEC on Monday where Chris Like and LeAnne Wagner are presenting about our professional development.  We are also completing a site visit and attending an EdCamp at East Leyden High School outside of Chicago on Friday and Saturday.  Be alert for news on Bettendorf hosting an EdCamp in Iowa soon!  We will be releasing more details in the near future.  We are excited for the opportunity to bring some educators together to share and learn from each other.

Thanks for all you do each and every day!

Matt

On to the sophomores!

We have around 400 of our 800 iPads out to the students.  Parents and students continue to be excited about the opportunity. This week we will begin distribution to sophomores.  Also in October we are going to begin addressing digital citizenship topics through advisory.  We believe that these are important conversations and should take place throughout the curriculum throughout the year, but also deserve to have some special attention devoted to the topics.

I have only had a couple requests for apps from teachers, remember if you have an app you want to try, complete a form and submit it to your team leader.  We will have some iPads available for checkout in the library once we get all of the devices to freshman and sophomore students distributed.  We will have some challenges with managing these devices in comparison to the ones that are personalized to a specific user.  Finally, we are starting to get some requests for visits.  We know that this is a process and that not everything will look different right away, but we do want to show and share with others our path.

Make it a great week!

Matt

Are these free?

This could have been the most humorous question I received all week.  Yes, after all of the information we put out about the iPads some students were still wondering if there was a charge they would need to pay.  As of today we have about 200 of the 800 iPads out.  The first three distribution nights have been a success as we have been able to be efficient with our time and the students along with their families are so appreciative to receive their device.  If you see LeAnne Wagner, Colin Wikan, Jennifer Like, Robert Ogan, Eric McCoy, Christina Linville, Beau Huber, and Jason Verbout please thank them for all of the help and support they are providing.

Students have been told the devices need to be left in their cases. Please do not allow them to remove the device from the case.  We are working to develop a solution for locker room storage with a concern about security.  We will keep you updated when we have something with more direction.  If you are a coach/sponsor please think through how to handle students that bring devices and where they are stored.  Please see me with questions.

A good reminder and awareness piece for all staff is that these devices all have camera, video, and audio recording capabilities.  We should always hold ourselves to a high standard and be open to anyone seeing what goes on in our building.  However, there is a legitimate concern about taking bits and pieces of what we say and editing it.  Remember, we will not be disabling any of these as that would work against where we are headed.  If you have a concern of this nature I would be happy to meet with you and talk through it.

We are excited to keep moving forward this week with the final freshman distribution nights.

Matt
     

The time is now!

The time has arrived.  Wednesday, September 26th our first group of Freshman will receive their iPads.  I am so excited that this time has come. There are so many people who have worked to make this possible and we all have been anxiously waiting on implementation!  Our student tech team, newly named the BYTE Squad received their's last week so we have went through a practice run and feel confident in the process.  You will soon be able to identify these students in their specially designed lanyards.

If you have still have freshman or sophomore students that have not signed up please direct them to the following link.  http://bhs.bettendorf.k12.ia.us/Teachers/library/ipadresources

Again, thank you to everyone that has played a part in this effort.  We could not have accomplished this without everyone working together.  This however is just the first step. The meaningful work begins now.  Please, please, please communicate your wants and needs as we continue through this process.  I hope this is a vehicle for allowing the change you want in your classrooms. Finally, we are closely monitoring the bandwidth situation and will adjust accordingly.  If something is not working be sure to speak up.  "It is truly a great day to be a BULLDOG!"

September 12 Professional Development, 12 Days Away!

Below you will find the agenda for September 12th.  On this date we are giving you time to explore and discuss with your content team and for to share content specific apps.  Your team members on the tech team have some exciting things planned for you on this afternoon with what they have learned.  Please be familiarizing yourself with LeAnne's Bulldog Bytes as they come out.  She has a lot of good resources included. We have about  35 students signed up for the Bulldog Tech Corps and will be giving them devices on September 17.  The first Freshman distribution date is on September 26.  Let's get ready!

1:15 - Meet in Fine Arts room for United Way Presentation

1:30 - Explain afternoon format
            Math - Ms. Wikan's Room - C301
            SS - Ms. Ahrens' Room - C362
            Language Arts - Ms. King's Room - D112
            Science - Mr. Bruecken's Room - D317
            World Language - Mr. Bonnstetter's Room - D264
            PE - Ms. Puglisi's Room - B208
            Special  Education - Ms. Retter's Room- D114
            Business - Business Lounge Area
            Industrial Tech - Cadd Lab - G108
            Art - Mr. Solbrig's Room - E103
            Music - Instrumental Music Office

1:35 - Dismiss to Departments for Team Time

3:15 - Meet in Fine Arts room

Make it a great week!
Matt

One Week Closer

Last week we held professional development sessions on learning management systems.  I want to be clear that our position at this time is to not choose a single system or app.  We want to explore these further before investing into one. I also believe there is value in asking the students to use different options.  With the rapid changing world we live in I believe it would be short sighted to go with just one.

There are only 16 days until we start giving out the iPads.  Please pass the word to Freshman and Sophomores that they need to be registered for a distribution night.  The link is: http://bhs.bettendorf.k12.ia.us/Teachers/library/iPad%20Resources:%20Parent

This week is the first opportunity for staff to have app and accessory purchases approved. Please make sure those are submitted by 4pm on Tuesday.  Other major steps this week will be to complete the student enrollment process for devices and to discuss wireless security options for the building and district.  We also are looking to add some additional devices.  We had about forty more freshman than anticipated this school year so we will be increasing the amount of iPads we have for check-out and break/damage scenarios.

The Bulldog Tech Corps had their first meeting this week and will be holding another session at 3:15 this Thursday in the library.  Please encourage any interested members to attend.  This group's purpose is not just to take apart computers, we will be working with all aspects of technology, so please help us recruit.

This Thursday Johnathan Wylie, from GWAEA, will be here to work with the Tech Team.  We will follow up with this work on the 12th of September at our next professional development opportunity.

Finally, favorite app that I found this week: Pulse News.  You can create your own news magazine.

Follow this blog at: http://bettendorfbulldogs.blogspot.com/

22 Days! Where are my Dogs?

Another week is gone and we are that much closer to implementing our 1:1 iPad project.

To teachers of freshman and sophomores not only would I keep exploring and working towards a learning management system, like EdModo, I would also think about how you will want your students to stay organized.  Have you tried Evernote?  It is a good free app that allows you to tag and store several notes.  We will have to teach organization on these devices just like we teach organization with folders and notebooks now.

On September 6th, we will be hosting local iPad guru Johnathan Wylie from Grant Wood AEA to work with the tech team.  We are excited to continue our learning about the iPads with our tech team and will be planning for future professional developments in the progress.  If you are on the tech team plan to bring a lesson or unit on that day that you would like to improve.

This week we will have our first meeting for the Bulldog Tech Corps. This group will serve as our first line of tech support for students.  We are excited to get them involved.  The meeting will take place at 3:15 in the library.

Finally follow this blog @ http://bettendorfbulldogs.blogspot.com/ and continue to check out the Mission Possible site for news and information.


Please note that if you have a student you can sign up at the following link: http://bhs.bettendorf.k12.ia.us/Teachers/library/iPad%20Resources:%20Parent


WE STILL HAVE YOUR EAR BUDS.  Stop and see LeAnne if you have not yet got them.

Day 1 of school + 29 school days until the iPads are out!

My post for #leadershipday12 is extremely late, so I apologize. We had our first day of school today and it was a smashing success. I say a success because our students left with smiles on their face and their cup full of school spirit.  We treat the first day different and run a completely different schedule with rotations to indoctrinate students to different parts of the building and to purposefully create a social experience for the first day.  The students always give rave reviews of this experience and are happy to leave the first day energized and prepared for what lies ahead.  As I watched students interact today I wondered how this day will be different next year when our school has three grade levels equipped with iPads.  I am certain that some of these students relationships will have grown stronger and that they will form deeper bonds with one another.  I am also certain that it will have changed the way we think and operate about our day to day activities at the school. (Already today, staff members are asking about why we have paper copies of schedules.) I am not so certain that we know just how big this impact and transformation will be.  While I am excited we have several students, staff, and parents that range from nervous to terrified, which is fine.  It is our job to educate and address these fears while pledging to move forward. This should be big think and big shift time for our district.   We just need to continue to provide leadership in this direction. Our first day of school demonstrates the spirit we have as Bulldogs, this spirit and tenacity is what will help make our 1:1 program a success.

Welcome back!

We are excited to get our students and teachers back this next week.  Within the last month we have received all of the student devices and we are working to finalize plans on our roll-out events. The plan is for families to sign up for a night and come in to get their iPad, enroll the device and go over policy.  All dates and times will be communicated out soon.  There will be a website up and running with a lot of information and answers to questions as well.

The Tech Team has received training this week on course management systems.  The staff will have time for missions during staff development time this week and we are looking to see people move through the levels of Mission Possible.  We are excited to see what our teachers have worked to change in their courses over the summer.

Finally, there are two new hashtags to check out.  #bettfuture will be mentioned when talking about educational updates and news.  #betths will be used to follow all things to do with Bettendorf High School.  Get connected with us and join the conversation!

Summer Planning

Sorry that I have been away for a while, things have not slowed down with the end of the school year.  The summer is rolling along and the school year will be here before we know it, time flies when you are having fun!  This summer we are working to finalize our professional development plan for the 2012-2013 school year which includes additional professional development opportunities for staff in August and planning professional development throughout the school year.  We are taking time to think about how our iPad deployment will look in the fall and are excited about getting iPads in the hands of our students.  We finished the school year strong and have been excited about the progress that staff members have made through Mission Possible.  We would like to see you to take advantage of this online learning opportunity through the summer.

I am hopeful that everyone is getting a chance to rest and recharge during the summer months.  You all deserve it.  We have a busy year and a tremendously exciting year ahead of us!

May 16

On Wednesday we think that it is important that you have time and options.  So if you have your iPad, have completed Level 3, and are ready for some Level 4 missions you can do it.  If you need time to see Eric McCoy because something isn't working right you can do it.  If you would like to complete your final Level 3 missions you can do it.  The day is meant to be flexible.  The Level 4 sessions are listed below.  If you are on the Tech Team we will be having Stacy Behmer here in the afternoon as well and you will be receiving a note about that schedule, it will be an advanced iPad session.

1:30-2:15 - Level 4 Missions (Pick 1) - Evernote (Mr. Like's room) or Dropbox/Cloud On (Ms. Ahrens's room)

2:15-2:30 - Break and Transition Time

2:30-3:15 - Level 4 Missions (Pick 1) - Screencasting (Mr. Like's room) or Google on the iPad (Ms. Ahren's room)

3:20-3:30 - Recognition and wrap up in Fine Arts room
                  Plan for summer and term 1

We are rolling!

Congratulations to Joe Buck who is the current leader in Mission Possible!  We began distributing iPads last week and have about 15 left to give out.  On Wednesday, May 16 we will be offering another day of START training with Mission Possible.  There will be some sessions offered for support or you can work through some missions on your own.  The last thing we need you to do before this game becomes totally self paced is to complete the last five missions of level three so that you can participate in level four missions on May 16. (You most likely have already done these, but just haven't submitted the form.)  The schedule for the day is below.  Eric McCoy will be available throughout the afternoon for tech support.  He is located in the social studies hallway now.  Thank you for all of your hard work at this busy time of year.  Let me know what questions you are having.

1:30-2:15 - Level 4 Missions (Pick 1) - Evernote or Dropbox/Cloud On

2:15-2:30 - Break and Transition Time

2:30-3:15 - Level 4 Missions (Pick 1) - Screencasting or Google on the iPad

3:20-3:30 - Recognition and wrap up in Fine Arts room
                  Plan for summer and term 1

THEY ARE HERE!

The new iPads are here.  Our technology department currently has the iPads and will be working feverishly the next two weeks to get them set up with a new management system called Casper so that our staff can begin using the devices.  All level three missions have been completed in Mission Possible and are ready for staff to begin completing as soon as the device is delivered to them.  Levels four and five have also been aggressively tackled and have several options ready to go.  Be sure to let Chris or LeAnne know if you want to create a mission to share an idea or teaching strategy. The leader board is being continually updated and don't forget to check out the Twitter feed @BHSSTART.  There is also a blog on Blogger called the BHS START Blog.  This week ten of us traveled to the Iowa 1:1 conference to learn more from other districts that have made a similar move.  It is so refreshing to hear that we are on the right track and that other districts have kept the focus on teaching and learning, which we all know is what will be the success of this movement.  Thank you again to our staff who made our professional development on April 9 a success. It was the first of many intense days of learning for us as we head down this path.

Mission Possible: It All STARTS Here!

Yesterday we held our kickoff to Mission Possible: It All STARTS Here, the name of our professional development for staff on technology integration and the characteristics of effective instruction or START.  Chris Like designed Mission Possible.  The idea is centered around the concept of gamification as we have essentially created a game for our staff to participate in.  During the day, staff completed missions centered around the characteristics of effective instruction, existing technologies, social media, PLN's, and basic technology tools. All staff members finished the day trying to complete level two.  This idea allows for us to differentiate the staff's instruction while offering it in a way that can be continuous so that when teachers are not "at" professional development they can still be collaborating with each other and advancing.  I would like to thank all of our facilitators including, Andy Crozier and Stacy Behmer, for coming and leading some missions yesterday.  Overall, I think we had a very successful day thanks to the hard work of Chris Like and LeAnne Wagner.  Without them the day would not have been possible.  Time to keep moving forward!  Bring on the iPads!

Principal of the Year Casas + START planning continued.......

Our principal Jimmy Casas was named Principal of the Year today by School Administrators of Iowa and will have the opportunity to be selected by NASSP as the National Principal of the year.  I have only had the opportunity to work with Mr. Casas for a period of 8 months, but I can confidently say he truly deserves the honor.  I have learned a tremendous amount from him already.  Congratulations Jimmy!

This week we have been gearing up for our first official START professional development day on April 9.  I am excited to start the game that Mr. Like has created with the staff.  However, I cannot wait until we can get iPads to the teachers!  I really see this as a huge growth opportunity for our school.  The next post will describe how April 9 played out.  Stay tuned.

Preparation and Staff Development

To this end we have chose to use the "New iPad" and have just placed our order for staff devices.  I am working with our tech integrationist/media specialist, LeAnne Wagner, and a science teacher, Chris Like to put together a professional development plan for the staff.  The name of our plan is Mission Possible.  Chris is the owner of this idea and it is centered off of the idea of gamification.  Our goal is to provide staff enough technology training to feel comfortable finding resources on their own and implementing them into classroom practice. We are also going to primarily spend our meeting time focused on teaching practice.  We have centered our model around the characteristics of effective instruction in the Iowa Core Curriculum which will soon be the Common Core. The characteristics are student centered classrooms, teaching for understanding, assessment for learning, rigorous and relevant curriculum, and teaching for learner differences.  Before the end of the school year we will establish a second group of lead teachers that are willing to extend their learning and acquire some new tools.  We also plan to establish a student tech team to help support this on the IT end.

The Movement - Summer 2011

When I was hired in the spring of 2011 Jimmy Casas, the principal of Bettendorf High School, said to me "I want to see our kids have the opportunities to be successful in a 21st century classroom.  To me this means we need to seriously consider a 1:1 initiative."  Throughout the summer and school year we made several visits to current 1:1 schools and attended conferences to challenge our thinking.  This school year we conducted two different pilots of devices, began training a team of teachers to use web 2.0 tools including Google, held some staff wide training, and developed the infrastructure to be ready to support such an initiative.  Finally, we made presentations to central office administration and the board of education, and were approved to move forward with our concept on February 21, 2012.  Next October all freshman and sophomores will receive a device.  Let the fun begin!