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4.2 Candidates will be able to use technology tools to collaborate with colleagues.
Using technology tools to collaborate with colleagues is at the heart of what EdFest was all about. While on the day itself we used tools to see what teachers could use, help them evaluate what they should use, and explore ideas for integrating technology into their classrooms, technology tools played a large part of the entire experience.
In order to gauge what teachers wanted to learn more about, we used a Google Form to collect data. This was extremely helpful as we could collect this data asynchronously, as time is a luxury most teachers do not have. Neither Ed nor I had the time to interview teachers individually, so being able to construct the format and sessions for EdCamp through the use of Forms was clutch. We made use of another Form in order to collect evaluation data after EdFest was complete, as well.
Another way we collaborated with colleagues using technology was through screencasts. EdFest sessions were designed to help colleagues see what was possible, but they were too short to have teachers become masters at tools. So we created YouTube playlists and screencasts to which colleagues can refer throughout the school year to provide reminders and tutorials. In this way, the ideas that were sparked at EdFest can continue to grow into flames even when we are not present.
8.2 Candidates will be able to plan for the future of technology in a school using models of change.
EdFest was spawned during a Technology Planning paper that I wrote for Dr. David Marcovitz's ET680 class. In that class, we explore The Perceived Attributes Model, Ely's Eight Conditions of Change, and the Apple Classrooms of Tomorrow (ACOT) Model.
The Perceived Attributes Model: This model gives innovators a basic template by which to rate their communities to see if they are ready and willing to engage in innovations. This model gives me the opportunity to put MSJ under the filter of Perceived Attributes to help me understand where we stand as a school in terms of innovations and whether or not PPD may be an innovation that MSJ would adopt. The five attributes described by this model are Relative Advantage, Compatibility, Complexity, Trialability, and Observability.
Ely's Eight Conditions: Donald Ely’s Eight Conditions seek to determine how well technology innovations might be implemented within a community. Like Rogers’ model, Ely’s model has multiple conditions that each examine a different aspect of a community but that work together to estimate a level of success for technology innovation. I examined the conditions and rated MSJ on how well the school fulfilled each one. I then interviewed a number of stakeholders who may be of some help to PPD to get their views on conditions that were met and others that were not.
ACOT Model: The Apple Classrooms of Tomorrow (ACOT) Model rates schools and individuals on how their beliefs and practices of teaching evolve when they have access to technology. The five stages are Entry; Adoption; Adaptation; Appropriation; and Invention. These five stages roughly relate to the SAMR model so popular in education and seek to assist innovators in fairly critiquing and changing the methods teachers use in the classroom.
Each of these models provided a basis for EdFest, but especially Ely's Conditions and the ACOT Model. We found, in our EdFest participants, a number of educators who are prepared for change, as proposed by Ely. They may be at the lower level of the ACOT Model, as evidenced by the results of the teacher technology survey we took, but they are ready to Adapt and Adopt more technology tools and make a difference for their students. The goal of EdFest was to foster this sort of growth, and in that area, I would say that EdFest was a resounding success!
Specifically, under the Perceived Attributes Model, Trialability found a home through EdFest. In showing participants a number of technology tools, the goal was to help them determine what would work in their classrooms. They accepted this challenge and are now looking at technology as something to explore and test, in order to see if it will help their students. Sme of the comments we received on our evaluation support this. One participant wrote, "With OneNote I am not sure if I will use but I may do some testing because it is pretty robust piece of software." Another responded, "So glad I got to get a better handle on GSuites, Microsoft Sway and OneNote and Anchor Podcasting." A third cannot wait to begin using "ReCap and using the live screen capture lecture [Screencastify]." In each of these participants, Ed and I have created adventurers ready, through trial and error, to find what could be integrated in their classrooms.
We also saw the ACOT model at work. As mentioned above, many participants could be classified in the Entry stage of ACOT. We received comments such as, "Honestly, I needed all of them!" when asked about the variety of sessions. Many of our participants' classrooms have been devoid of technology in the past, but they were willing to learn. Quotes such as those in the paragraph above support the idea that, in their engagement with Trialability, these participants will be working through the Adoption stage of ACOT and perhaps even move into the Adaptation stage, where they find a tool that works for them and their students and they begin manipulating it to make it their own, moving beyond the Substitution stage of SAMR.
Ed and I cannot wait to follow up with these participants throughout the year to see how their journeys are progressing. We feel we have a strong group of technology neophytes who will become technology leaders in the future!
10.2 Candidates will be able to demonstrate the ability to lead technology initiatives at the school or district level.
If EdFest wasn't a technology initiative, then I don't know what it was! Ed and I spent so much time making sure this day was as beneficial and rewarding as possible, and having completed the experience, I would say, maybe for the first time, that I am comfortable calling myself an EdTech leader at my school. I feel I have the colleagues who trust me to guide them; I feel I am someone to whom they can turn if they have a question or a concern. Preparing and leading EdFest was a gigantic step, for me, to becoming secure in my position of tech leader at Mt. St. Joseph High School. I am confident as time goes on that I will lead more initiatives to make the teachers of MSJ more comfortable with technology and help them ascertain which tools may be integrated in their classrooms and which they should let fall by the wayside. EdFest was not about just putting on a day of PD for me; it was about gaining the confidence to lead even more endeavors in the future. Mission accomplished!
14.1 Candidates will be able to create screencasts for instructional purposes and/or professional development.
While EdFest was an amazing live experience where colleagues were able to collaborate, Ed and I found that screencasts were necessary to continue the learning. In many of our sessions, we discussed the philosophy of specific tools and helped teachers evaluate whether they could and would be able to integrate them seamlessly into their classrooms. For a nuts and bolts approach to using the tools, we used screencasts so colleagues could access them whenever they had the time and inclination.
We kept these screencasts as introductory as possible, in an attempt to help colleagues master the basics and learn the tools before diving into more advanced features. Overall, I feel the screencasts are helpful and they will be made available to all teachers, not just those who participated in EdFest, next school year.
18.1 Candidates will be able to locate a variety of technology resources, evaluate them for classroom use, and assist colleagues with this process.
Throughout the Loyola EdTech Master's Program, Ed and I discovered new technology tools and evaluated whether or not they would work in our classrooms. We were guided in this process by our instructors and our understanding of what would best aid our students. Personally, I feel a technology tool must be almost transparent, integrating with the content in such a way that it enhances what already goes on in the classroom but is never an obstacle. For two years, we labored with these choices.
With EdFest, the time has come to help our colleagues ask the same questions. The whole point of EdFest is to have colleagues bring more technology into the classroom, but not at the expense of their pedagogy or just to say they are using more technology. Thus, we questioned our colleagues before EdFest, asking them what they wanted to learn more about. On the day of EdFest, much of our conversation and exploration was to discern if the tool would actually be applicable in the classroom or if it would cause undue stress, problems, or equity issues. Helping our colleagues understand that some technology is better left out of the classroom may seem counter to our Internship, but the truth is the exact opposite. Helping our colleagues learn to evaluate for themselves what will work seamlessly and what isn't worth the effort is what EdFest is all about. It is about getting the appropriate technology into teachers' hands, not just any technology. In this respect, Ed and I did a wonderful job, engaging instructors in serious conversations about what role they would like to have technology play in their classrooms and then guiding them toward this sort of appropriate tool.
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