Smartphones, Do They have a Place in #FutureReady Schools?

Well, I had a lively discussion on Twitter today, and I'd have to say that I wasn't prepared for it.  A post came up about cell phones being taken up as part of the teacher's classroom procedures.  My simple reply was that we owe it to kids to teach them how to use their phone for something besides socialization.  I got some push back about whether or not we should teach kids how to use their own devices, and there were good points on the topic.  But here's my point.  I don't believe we should teach kids how to use their phones.  They know how to use a phone, but I do believe that we need to raise the bar by asking this question.

Should We Integrate Smartphones into their Learning?

There are 2 ideas that one should consider before answering this question.

Banning vs. Ignoring
In schools that don't want cell phones in the classroom, there are 2 choices school have to make, banning or ignoring them.  If schools ban them from classrooms and punish kids for pulling them out, what are we teaching kids?  Cell phones have no place in learning.  If we turn a blind eye and ignore cell phones when kids pull them out, what are we teaching them?  Cell phones have no real connection to learning.  Banning or ignoring smartphones doesn't do anything but teach kids that cell phones are bad and have no real use in learning.


Competing for Kids' Attention
Kids are digitally connected, and there's no denying that fact.  How many times have we seen kids or heck even adults mindlessly glued to their device while ignoring the rest of the world?  The real battle is not in keeping kids away from their devices.  It is in competing against kids' efforts to connect with their technology.  Notification alerts, status updates and text messages cannot be avoided or ignored.   Teachers will always have the daunting task of competing for kids' attention as long as learning environments ignore the technology walking in the door.

Since you can't beat them, integrate them

Kids know so much about the tech tools at their disposal, but often times little of it has to do with the learning they need to be prepared for a college and career future.  But let's look at the positive here.  Kids can make videos, take pictures, access links, and use social media fluently.  As educators we must realize that our students' tech-savvy skills can be leveraged in ways that can actually accelerate their learning.   Showing kids how to use their cell phones to support learning can provide relevance that exceeds traditional lessons.  Sure, kids will check their Instagram or respond to a text when you allow them to use their cell phones for learning, but hey, they're already doing that in classes where phones are banned.

We are preparing kids to be #FutureReady; therefore, we must acknowledge that smartphones will be a huge part of that future.  Kids who graduate from schools that ban or ignore personal technology will be competing against kids who are extremely competent at using personal technology in their learning and work.  Furthermore, these #FutureReady graduates will know how to use their devices responsibly and at appropriate times while their tech-deprived counterparts will not.  We owe it to our kids to provide them an education that includes meaningful tech integration, and that education must include their personal device.   After all it is their future, not ours, and like it or not, personal technology will be the future.

You Have Got to Try Mentimeter

What is your bell ringer activity tomorrow?  Why not try a poll?  How about an open ended response or a multiple choice question?  Even better, why not give students a rating scale?

But have Kids do it from their Cell Phone.

Mentimeter is a new program that you can use to engage your students in answering rigorous questions and enter their responses with their cell phone.    The instantaneous results will give you and your students automatic feedback to tell you where instruction needs to go, and it'll tell kids what they are lacking in their learning.

Try out My Mentimeters!!!

To get the full experience of mentimeter, get out your cell phone and go to www.govote.at and enter the code 84 44 64.  Then enter your response and watch the graphic below.

In ONE Word, describe a School of Excellence

go to www.govote.at and enter the code 94 02 43.

Rate all 4 Decades of Saturday Night Live 

(In honor of Dean Shareski)

Go to www.govote.at and enter the code 57 98 92.

Do you Diigo?

Do you ever wonder what happened to that article that you found on Twitter a month ago?  Me, too...  That is until I found Diigo.  Diigo is a free bookmarking tool that you and your students can use to bookmark and annotate articles, digital documents and virtually anything that you find on the web.  The cool thing about Diigo is that you can bookmark links into categories and tag keywords to the article.  Don't lose that amazing article.  Diigo it!  I also included this tutorial video from lynda.com

Whether You Like It or Not, You MUST Embrace BYOD!!!

I just finished reading chapter 9 of Eric Sheninger's book "Digital Leadership" (click here). In this chapter he talks about the different ways that technology can be infused in schools through every day instruction, but his section on BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) really spoke to me.  While I have always tried to embrace students using their personal technology to enhance instruction, I only scratched the surface of what this concept really means for students and their learning.

"As we move even further into this century, technology becomes even more embedded into our society."

Think about this. When was the last time that you left your cell phone at home? If you left it at home, did you go back home to get it? Children are bringing their devices to school everyday, so there's really not a question of whether or not to have BYOD, Bring Your Own Device.  Your school is a BYOD school because parents have equipped their children with devices, and now the question has morphed into this:  

How does your school embrace devices?

There are 3 different ways that schools embrace BYOD. 

1.  Negative Embracement

For fear that students will use their devices for inappropriate purposes, schools ban them altogether.  They institute fine systems for pulling them out in class; therefore, students learn to use personal devices in a very secretive way. The result of this form of embracement is negative in every way: time wasted correcting students and negative student perceptions of school.  Even worse, there is a negative impact on learning because kids will find a way to use their device regardless of punitive tools at your disposal. 

2. Neutral Embracement

Because school personnel know that devices are everywhere, and they can't eliminate them, they choose to put policies in place that tolerate cell phones. Students are allowed to use them at times where learning does not occur such as during class change, during lunch or during "free-time" at the end of class. In this system students are conditioned to believe that devices carry no real potential to enhance learning. They are explicitly taught that personal devices are for personal business and nothing more. The result of this form of BYOD is negligible.  Time isn't wasted, but it isn't really maximized either.  Learning isn't really enhanced either.  The status quo keeps pretty much everything stagnant. This form of embracement puts learning in neutral.

3. Positive Embracement

Since the potential found in devices is limitless, schools are finding unique and innovative ways to incorporate technology into every aspect of their system. Schools are eliminating announcements in place of using social media to communicate with kids. Research is being conducted on screens instead of in books. Technology is being leveraged.  Positive effects are abounding because with proper procedures and training for staff, students are more engaged, more connected and more focused. Their learning becomes more relevant, more purposeful and more productive. The more successful the integration, the more positive rewards students will reap from their learning.  Positive embracement of technology occurs only when technology is infused into areas where learning is expected to take place. 

So Which BYOD belongs in your School?

Vilifying and tolerating devices are virtually the same thing. They both essentially reject the notion that devices are real learning tools.  It's just that one is overt, and the other is covert.  Kids deserve an advantage in the workplace and using technology to learn is pretty much a requirement for most high paying jobs. Our kids will be interviewing for those jobs, and they won't be competitive if they don't learn the art of leveraging technology. That's not a problem that'll hold kids back in school, but it will be a problem for them in life. The choice is yours.  I hope you will make the best choice for kids and their future needs by incorporating the most powerful, yet underutilized, resources that have been sitting in America's classrooms each and everyday for the last 10+ years. 

"Draw Something" to Reinforce your Child's English Skills this Summer

I learn so much about technology from my daughters.  Right now, my middle daughter is into "Draw Something" and she gave me some pointers on why this is a great app for all parents to share with their kids.  I hope you like them.

1st - Challenge

The app has a 75 word challenge every week.  The interesting part about Draw Something is that the pictures are already drawn.  The kids just have to use their skills to figure out what each picture is.  Every week my daughter is being exposed to 75 new words that challenge her thinking.

2nd - Spelling

Draw Something gives parents an opportunity to work with their child on spelling words and teach them new words that they may not have discovered yet in school.  It is a fun way to reinforce spelling rules.

3rd - Vocabulary

Vocabulary is a huge skill that can be reinforced with Draw Something.  The pictures help students learn a new word and develop a pictorial model of its definition.  It has been amazing to see my daughter's vocabulary grow with this app.

4th - Experiences

As a parent, this app tells me what experiences I need to give my children.  From this app, I discovered that my daughter didn't know who King Kong was, so that was a great opportunity for me to give her the experience of watching this timeless classic.  Experiences are the key to comprehension.  The more experiences you give your children, the better reader and thinker they will become.

5th - Collaboration

This picture to the right challenged me and my daughter for a minute.  Was a it a concert or a circus?  We couldn't quickly figure it out.  Working together with my other daughter, the three of us figured out that the word was festival.  Draw Something offers opportunities for teamwork and problem-solving and this a a great 21st century skill that parents can teach their children.  

Draw Something Today

Technology in many ways pacifies kids over the summer, and English skills wane over summer break.  This great app gives kids a fun way to brush up on their English skills throughout the summer without even knowing it. 

Are Kids Tech Savvy or Tech Trendy?

Tech-savvy (adj.) overly-used term to describe kids who possess technology.  

This term, tech-savvy, represents a hasty generalization about the tech skills of millions of milliniels. Because every kid has a phone and uses it frequently, many naively assume they are tech geniuses, but here's the deal.  Just because kids know how to use Instagram or are glued to a screen, it doesn't automatically mean they are tech savvy. It just means they're tech-trendy. 

Sure, most kids know how to create social media accounts, and they know how to interact socially, but that's not savvy anymore. It's just a trend. Every kid in my generation had an Atari, but that didn't make us all wiz-kids. It meant that we were keeping up with the times.

So What is Tech-Savvy???

Learning in this decade is way past putting devices in kids' hands and asking them to interact. They know how to do that already because being social with technology is commonplace. What kids do with technology beyond socializing is what makes them savvy. 

Being savvy means being making an impact on others.  Social is trendy. Collaboration is savvy. Collaboration requires creativity, conversation, and problem-solving about ways to positively affect our glocal world. If kids don't learn these 21st century skills in school, their chances of being competitive in a global market are the equivalent of a horse-drawn carriage winning in the Daytona 500. 

#notverygood

My kids have a phone. They have accounts, but I want them to learn how to use that phone for something more important than finding out who's going out with who. Parents want their children to know more than how to post content on a social space. Our world needs them to deepen their knowledge and broaden their horizons with that technology.  This can only happen when instruction moves beyond trendy tech toleration and actually emulates the integrated world that they will inherit.  If we want kids to move beyond the comforts of today's technological trends, we must create learning spaces that encourage and actually empower kids to truly aspire attaining the truest definition of tech-savvy. 

So the question shouldn't be, "Are kids tech savvy or tech trendy?"  It should be this.  Are we creating learning spaces that transform superficial tech trends into meaningful learning that empowers kids to change the world today and tomorrow?

Does this make any sense?

7 Steps to Conquer Twitterphobia

I get so tickled when I'm talking to someone who says, "I don't get Twitter."  They complain about the hashtag (for old folks, the pound sign) or why there has to be an @ symbol just to talk to someone. Their pontification of pensiveness is quite amusing.

After listening to them lament over their Twitter-phobia, I ask them one simple question.  "Do you use Facebook?"  Their answer is typically, "Well, yes", followed by, "but you don't understand.  I don't get all that # stuff."

So I'm tired of listening to all the excuses.  I want to tell all of you Twitter-phobes that there are 4 reasons you should be using Twitter. 

1. 140 characters is Facebook minimized

Think about it. No one reads your Facebook posts when you have more than 140 characters anyway, and let's face it. You don't read peoples' lengthy posts on Facebook either. Anything that you can post of FB can be tweeted on Twitter. 

2. Hashtags Connect

The great thing about Twitter is that you don't have to know everybody or be everybody's friend. The # connects people around topics of interest.  For example, #satchat (Definitely click here!!!) is one of the most popular chats on Twitter for educators. On Saturday mornings, you can find 100's if not 1000's of educators conversing in this forum about really interesting topics in education. 

3. Friends are overrated

Let's face it. When you are reading Facebook there are lots of people you tune out.  After they've said the same thing over and over for the last few weeks about politics, their family, or their personal problems, you really don't pay attention to anything they say.

Twitter is pretty transparent, and it's not that personal, which is a good thing if you're trying to learn from others. I have developed some pretty awesome contacts over my four years on Twitter, and that is because of the transparency and openness that you find by connecting with other educators who you would otherwise never meet. I don't know any of them personally, but I find my closest tweeps to be extremely powerful influences on my work. Friends influence you, but strangers stretch you. 

4. You're wanted on Twitter

There are lots of people out there that want to help people new to Twitter. Chats like #NT2T (New Teachers to Twitter) created by Joe Mazza (Click Here) and Twitter leaders such as Jerry Blumengarten (Click Here) are extremely powerful resources to all tweeps, especially those that are new to Twitter. 

Following bloggers such as Bill Ferriter, Dean Shareski, Eric Sheninger, and David Culberhouse keep me up-to-date with the latest things happening, and their cutting edge thoughts influence my life as a leader. 

Are you willing to try something for me?

I'd like for you to try these 7 steps to see if Twitter is for you.  If you still have Twitter- phobia after these 7 steps, I'll give you a complete refund. (That's a joke...)

Step 1

Set up an account. It's not that difficult. In fact, here is a quick video to help you get started. 

Step 2

Find some people to follow like the people that I just mentioned. Don't worry. They won't bite. 

Step 3

Look at the people that they follow.  Check out their bio and the tweets that they put out.  If they appeal to you, follow them. If not, don't. 

Step 4

Spend some time reading and analyzing how people tweet and use the # to communicate. 

Step 5

Find a regularly scheduled chat and participate in it either by tweeting or by just watching the hashtag. It can be a little overwhelming and intimidating, but watching how the conversation works will give you a good understanding of what Twitter is all about. See Jerry Blumengarten's Twitter Chat Schedule Page

Step 6

Find some of your friends that use Twitter, and talk to them about how they use it to learn. 

Step 7

Remember that everyone was new to Twitter at some point in their life. They were intimidated. They were nervous about sending out tweets, but they got over it, and you can too.

Conquer your Fear

Technology can be a challenge, but the more you use it, the more confident you will be with it. Twitter has changed my life as an educator. It has stretched me in ways that traditional PD never could. I have learned things that I would never have learned in any district that I worked in. I was once scared of Twitter, but after taking a chance and jumping in, I realized that there was nothing to fear but fear itself.   I hope you'll give it a go and conquer the senseless fear of Twitter.

Tagxedo Spelling

Kids need new ways to practice their spelling words.  I created this video to help both parents and teachers use Tagxedo to make spelling words more fun.  Hope you enjoy.

4 Benefits of Blogging

As I wrap up my first year of having a weekly blog, I'd like to share my thoughts.  First let me say that I hated writing as a student.  The pure punishment of penmanship coupled by the brutality of bleeding red papers from the teacher fueled my awful anxiety of placing my thoughts on paper.  Don't get me wrong.  I loved all of my English teachers.  They taught me a lot, but it just never clicked for me.

My problem was simple.  My writing had no muse.  There was nothing that I was completely obsessed with enough for me to write about it.  After being in education for 17 years, 11 of which I served in leadership positions, something hit me.  I wanted to tell my story.

So I began my journey on Twitter in February 2012.  I came across an educator named Bill Ferriter, @plugusin.  (If you haven't discovered him, you are missing out.)  After participating in several chats, reading Bill's blog and discovering others just like me who were sharing their thoughts, I became inspired to write my first blog, Are You Counting the Days or Making the Days Count?. 

The exhilaration of pressing the publish button for the first time is one of the scarier things that I have done.  What if people don't like it?  What if my thoughts are misunderstood or sound unintelligent?  After surviving the first published blog, a sense of confidence was discovered.  I can write.  I can put something out there that people will read.  So after doing the same thing week after week, I have become more comfortable sharing, but I have also grown tremendously and it is because I have embraced these 4 benefits to blogging.

Build Belief in your Thoughts & Ideas

Nothing builds your belief in your thoughts and ideas better than writing them down on paper and publishing them for the world to see.  Through editing and revising your craft, your ideas are massaged to the point that they truly embody your philosophy.  The other side of that thought is that once you publish your thoughts on the world wide web, you have cemented those same thoughts in your mind.

Learn from your Viewership

Feedback is the key to building your blog.  Knowing what your viewers like is important so you can write better pieces for your audience.  I love that Blogger shows my page views by the hour, day, week, month and all-time.  I can see the pageviews of each post, and that tells me how much each post resounded with my audience.  I use this data to refine my craft and find ways to improve as a writer and thinker.

Opportunities for Feedback & Affirmation

Nothing is more affirming than having someone leave a comment on your blog.  It tells me that my words meant enough, that an anonymous person had to add their thoughts to mine.  How cool is that?  Also, it has been awesome when people tweet and share my blog posts through Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+.  When people share my thoughts through their own personal site, affirmation abounds in my mind.

Geography Lessons

I have found places that I never knew existed.  From the Isle of Man to the Northern Mariana Islands, my words have been viewed on every continent except Antarctica (obviously).  While the USA views my thoughts the most, I am amazed that the countries of Canada, UK, Russia, France, Germany, Australia, India, Turkey and Jordan make up my Top 10 pageviews by country.  It is so awesome to know that my words are impacting places and people that are beyond my realm of reality.

So Why Should You Blog?
Why would you not share your thoughts?  Why not solidify your thinking?  What's the worst that could happen?  At worst, not many people will read your blog.  At  best, you could write a post that could go viral!  But at the very best, you will grow in your confidence about your beliefs and improve in your own capacity as a leader, thinker and person.

How Google is Strengthening our Learning Community

School is about to start and even though I haven't seen a whole lot of people over the summer, I really feel connected to my school community.  I have been in contact more with new teachers than ever.  Parents have been able to stay informed more than ever, and I owe this all to Google.  Here are the awesome tools that I am using to strengthen my ties with my entire learning community.

Blogger

Blogger has been the very best service to keep everyone informed with detailed information.  I use my Principal's Page to communicate weekly information to my parents and the community, and I push it out through my Twitter and Facebook accounts.  This year, I am replacing my normal staff email with a staff blog so I can encourage more dialogue through the comment feature.  I also have teachers that will be implementing blogs to improve parent communication

Reasons to Use Blogger

• Comments - Strengthening your community means encouraging dialogue.  This will do that for you.
• Gadgets - Gadgets are the coolest thing ever because they connect parents and the community to their personal social media preference of staying informed.
• Follow by Email - Parents can receive your posts by email each time you publish them.
• Share - Parents can share your posts by Facebook, Twitter, Google+, etc.
• Translation Feature - This dropdown feature is AWESOME for your non-English speaking parents.
• Embed Hyperlinks & Videos - You can't do that on a paper newsletter.
• Blog Archive - This feature keeps your posts in order for easy reference when looking for a past announcement.
• Popular Post - This feature keeps the top read posts at the top of your feed.
• Multiple Authors - Instead of multiple people sending multiple emails that eventually get lost, overlooked or never read, why not have the same multiple people author one blog so your readers only have to look to one source for all of the information that they will ever need. 

Blogger has been a huge life-saver for me this year, and it has really made parents and the community feel like they are a vital part of our learning community.

YouTube

I use my YouTube channel to flip my communication to parents and staff.  This past year I have flipped many things like: 

• Parent pick-up procedures 
• Our discipline management system
• Promoting our Summer Learning Connection program
• Showing staff how to set up a Blogger and Twitter account

This Google tool has cut down the amount of time I have to spend communicating to the learning community, but it has massively increased the effectiveness of my communication.  I plan to use this tool a whole lot more this year.

#SmarterNotHarder 

Google Docs

Google Docs are an awesome way to collaborate with minimal conversation.  Using Google spreadsheets and word docs in our learning teams and with our administrative team has increased our collective efficacy because more people are in the know about exactly what is happening.  From placing staff in specific teams to creating tools to monitor student performance, multiple people can look at the same document, edit the same document, and comment on the same document in real-time.  This is the smartest thing that teams and campuses can do to focus on learning and maximize collaboration.

Google Forms

What a great way to gather information from people!  If you want to get everyone to sign up for an event, create a google form, send it out through your blog and your social media outlet, and let a Google Doc spreadsheet collect the information for you.  The data entry is done for you by the people that complete your form and then you can export the form into a MS Excel spreadsheet.  From there, you can mail merge for labels, sort by column or do anything else that will help you strengthen your learning community.  I have used Google Forms for the following:

• Staff Favorite Drinks from Sonic (#Homerun)
• Parent Sign-Up for Summer Learning Connection
• Staff Sign-Up for Twitter and Blogger Training

It's so easy, even a caveman can do it. 

Why Google?

Why not?  Google has taken the middle man out of communication, the student.  Let's face it.  When we send a piece of paper home with a child, there are many factors that determine if the paper will reach the parent's hands.  If I believe that it is important enough to copy and send home, I want to guarantee that parents will receive it.  Sure, some parents don't have access to technology, but that's not a good enough reason to not utilize this valuable tool.

For staff communication, Google removes the barriers of miscommunication and misunderstanding that teachers face when they read an email from the principal.  Email cuts out the paper concern, but doesn't remedy the factor of clarity.  Each Google tool has a specific purpose to eliminate ambiguity from communication.  The only question becomes this. Which tool do we use to remove which barrier to clear communication?  You learn that by actually using this tools regularly over time.

So what are you waiting for?  Take a chance. Get started.  The worst that can happen is that your community will know a little more than they knew already.  If you truly believe in your learning community, you should also believe that your moral responsibility is to do whatever it takes to build the strongest learning community possible.  That is why you should strengthen your learning community with Google.

Give a Hoot about Parent Communication

Does your organization care about parent involvement or it is just another mandate that you fulfill? Schools are so focused on meeting governmental marks that they lose sight of what they are truly designed for, changing the world one kid at a time. How can schools change the world if they leave out their most important ally, the parent? The reality is that schools can't change the world until they start giving a hoot about parent involvement.

Some schools continue to view parent involvement in the 20th century: parent meetings, PTA organizations and getting things signed and returned. This effort, while still very important in schools today, fails to meet most parents where they are now, in the 21st century.

Schools must make the change and here are some ways to bring your parent communication into the 21st century.

Facebook

Most every parent has a Facebook account, and they look at it daily. Every school must have a Facebook account and use it to share links, videos and make announcements on a daily basis to educate parents on current issues that affect their child and his learning. Facebook encourages dialogue with the school and other parents. Parents can also message you or have discussions through the comment feature and this is a great way to gauge what issues parents need more information on. 

Twitter

Twitter is a another great way to send short messages less than 140 characters along with pictures, links and videos to parents. Twitter accounts can also be linked to your Facebook account so that you can reach more people in multiple ways. Some schools create hash tags so they can have Twitter chats with parents to communicate with multiple parents at once. At first, Twitter can be intimidating to beginner users because of the language used, so training may be recommended on the lingo that your campus would use.

Hootsuite

This tool is amazing, and it brings all of your social media together and allows you to send one message over multiple accounts. You can also schedule your messages days, weeks or months in advance so that you dont forget to send that very important message to your parents at a time when the message is most pertinent to them.

YouTube

Having a YouTube account makes it easy for you to create videos and share videos through your Twitter & Facebook accounts as well as email. Parents can learn campus processes and procedures,  see exactly what's happening in your school as well as learn new information through a short video, Video is a powerful communication tool to show parents what learning looks like in the 21st century.

Website

Websites are not new, but many schools do not get maximum exposure from websites because they are overloaded with content or not maintained regularly. Schools must create easy-to-navigate websites with current, concise and parent friendly information. Websites must be simple in organization and content so parents will not be overwhelmed by information overload or by difficulty in finding information that they need.

Push your Information

If you want parents to get important information, it is important that you push information to them. RSS feeds, call out systems and text messaging systems for pushing grades to parents on a regular basis builds transparency and trust between the school and home, which translates into a desire to work with parents.

The days of sending papers home and expecting every student to get the information home, signed and returned is unrealistic, to say the least. Schools must step out, commit to over-communicating in a systematic fashion so that they minimize the chance that the message is not received by parents.

Schools that are most successful in parent involvement believe that they must do whatever it takes to involve parents in the education of their child. These schools also are successful in student achievement because their parents are active partners in supporting their children in reaching academic goals. In short, giving a hoot about parent involvement translates into student success.

8 Universal Apps to Start your BYOD Classroom:

This piece is a follow up from my last bit on BYOD, Whether You Like It or Not, You MUST Embrace BYOD!!!.  I had lots of great feedback on this thought, but the biggest question was how do you get started.  The best way I know how to start a new idea is begin with what you already have and go from there.  Kids have tons of apps in common, and while their devices may look or operate differently, they all pretty much function the same.

The First Step 

The first step to starting a BYOD classroom is to show kids how their device is a great organizational tool that can lead them to success in the classroom. Here's how.

Selfie Learning...

Kids are some of the most innovative photographers in the world.  Teach them how to walk up to the board to take pictures of their assignments so they won't forget what to do and when it's due.  Show them how to selfie a problem that you taught them so they can study it later.  Real-world math is everywhere.  Assign them to take pictures of where they see math or science concepts outside your classroom. Kids are taking pictures all the time and putting them on Instagram.  Show them how their camera can further their learning.

You've Got Mail...
Email is one of the most tried and true forms of communication.  Districts give students and teachers email accounts, so it is a great platform to teach kids this style of electronic communication.  All teachers use email in every district; therefore, teachers should employ it as a form of communication with students.  Students have questions about assignments or tests, but can't always access the teacher, and let's be honest with ourselves. Students need to learn that face to face communication with the teacher isn't always necessary.  Email is a great tool for beginning BYOD.



Notes on the Go...
Note-taking is a highly effective instructional strategy, and to be successful in college or the work place, you have to know how to take good notes. It's also a high yield instructional strategy.  Virtually every device has some type of note-taking app.  Students need to learn how to utilize the note-taking app on any device.  The benefit of note-taking apps is that students can take notes and never lose them because they never lose their device, right?  Notes can also be reviewed anywhere students need to access them. You don't always have your notes, but you always have your phone. Additionally, notes can be emailed and shared which is definitely a step up from the traditional method of note-taking.  

YouTube
You can find virtually any video on any subject whether it be stupid or inspirational.  A lot of times a video can say what you can't.  Content can be delivered in a way that makes sense to students.  Interventions can be offered on the student's time.  I had a student that couldn't understand the content in his PreCal class, but after finding YouTube videos on PreCal concepts, he ended the semester with a B in the course.  YouTube is a great app to enhance your content.


Organization starts with a Good Calendar 
Inefficient employees struggle not only with work ethic but with time management.  Calendar apps have lots of functuality to help students put tests, due dates and events into their phone, and then alarms can be set to remind students.  In addition, teachers have tasks that reoccur weekly.  Calendar apps have the ability to schedule events with reoccurrances whether they be daily, weekly, monthly or yearly.  No paper calendar or organizer on earth can match calendar apps.




Teach Kids to be their own Task Master
Keeping up with assignments requires organization.  Like a calendar, task apps help students ensure completion of tasks.  Task apps help students manage progress on large tasks with multiple steps and students can schedule alarms when due dates arrive. The alarm feature is what keeps forgetful students organized.  Every student needs to learn how to use their device to complete tasks without reminders from the teacher or parents.

Special Note - For really important deadlines or really forgetful people like myself, teachers need to teach students how to set alarms to make sure they don't forget or ignore calendar or task alarms.


Text your Mom NOW!!!
Text messaging is the best form of parent communication.  Teach your students to text their parents in class as a part of your communication with the kids.  Have parent announcements on the board along with student announcements and encourage students to keep parents aware of important events such as the ending of grading periods, important test dates, and other events that support parent involvement.

Google It!!!
Students are already looking up stuff on the internet.  They want to know more information on topics that interest them.  Start off class with a question about your lesson that can only be answered with research.  Modeling this form of inquiry in your instruction shows students how to solve problems on a regular basis when you're not around.






Why You Should Do This
Students are more dependent on their devices than ever in the history of mankind, but many students do not know how to use these devices beyond a socially interactive nature.  Learning to many students seems disconnected from the technology sitting in their pockets today.  The sad reality is that students adapt to technology easily, but our instruction doesn't always adapt to students' strengths especially when it comes to technology.  Even worse, we often times fail to show students how to capitalize on those strengths in a way that benefits their learning.

The scary part is this. We must recognize that in 15 years, most work that students will do for a career will be done through a device that sits in the palm of their hands.  We must realize the future presently sits in the palm of each student's hands, and we owe it to them to provide an education that matches that future as much as possible.