Tech & Learning April 2015

Volume 35 / Number 9
techlearning.com
Ideas and Tools for ed Tech leaders
aprIl 2015
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PersonalizeD
learning worries
Best strategies
for PD
TL_04_15_.indd 2
3/26/15 11:29 AM
2 0
contents
FeaTUres
14
Four reasons to Worry about Personalized

learning
Alfie Kohn shares his observations on this latest edtech
buzzword.
17
44
17
a better Way to evaluate
26
cloud collaboration tools: noW or later?
30
suPPort For the suPPorters: staying current

With the latest tech
Ellen Ullman interviews districts that are trying to integrate

professional learning into the teacher evaluation process.
David Kapuler shares his favorite cloud-based tools, along with
ideas for in-class collaboration now and anytime, anywhere
connections later.
Lisa Gonzales and Jason Borgen offer tips for creating a school
culture of continuous professional development.
32
it and curriculum: can this marriage be saved?
36
librarians lead the Way in edtech
40
35th anniversary series
IT and Curriculum: Can This Marriage Be Saved? Highlights

from T&Ls event series on t his topic.
Shannon Mersands feature celebrates Aprils School Library
Month with this insightful survey of her peers.
Veteran experts Gwen Solomon and David Warlick reflect on
highlights from the past 35 years in edtech.
prODUCTs
16
Put to the test: T&L editors take some neW

Products For a test drive.
16
44
T&L Reviews
SMART kapp board
Whats neW
Scan here to access

the digital edition,
which includes
additional resources.
DeparTMeNTs &
COlUMNs
26
editors desk: the edtech

revolutionthis time its For
real!
big ideas
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| apr il 2 01 5
EditoRs
note
April 2015
the edtech
revoLutionthis
time its for reaL!
ne of the more exciting memes to come out of last

months SXSWedu conference is that the next
revolution in edtech will not be top down, a.k.a.
multimillion dollar contracts between mammoth
curriculum and testing companies and school
district superintendents. Instead, the innovation, and
ultimately change, will come from the bottom up, a.k.a. actual
educators in classrooms and principals offices, who identify new
techniques and purchase new services ad hoc.
I know weve heard this all before, but Im here to say that this
time its for real! Contributing writer David Kapulers feature,
Cloud Collaboration Tools: Now or Later? (p 30)
is my latest proof. Thanks to The Cloudwhat
we old-timers from the 1990s used to call The
Information Superhighway (really, look it up)it is
now easier than ever for students to work with each
other, or for faculty to work with students, or both.
the innovation, and
Whats even better? They dont need a three-day
ultimately change,
workshop, or a corporate seat license approval code,
will come from the
to make it happen. Just download an app or sign up
for a trial subscription. Dont like it? Try another
bottom up, a.k.a.
one tomorrow. Whats more, Kapuler has divided
actual educators
the types of ways they can collaborate, either in real
in classrooms and
time or over time.
principal offices
The edupreneurs and investors at SXSWedu are
who identify new
banking on the idea that a teacher-driven dynamic
techniques and
will truly spark the adoption of technology in the
purchase new
classroom. I hope they are right. Otherwise, our
services ad hoc.
schools will continue to stagnate with shelfware.
vol. 35 no. 9
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neWs
bigand
ideas
trends
thE LAtEst nEws & stAts AFFEcting thE k-12 EdtEch coMMUnitY
top10
wEB stoRiEs
From techlearning.com
What Can You Do on a

Chromebook?
David Andrade links to charts

detailing the many offline uses
of Chromebooks and to lists
of recommended Web apps.
2
3
My Favorite Chrome Tools
With an eye to todays classroom

and workplace, Lisa Nielsen
weighs the pros and cons of
the Surface Pro and compares
it to the Chromebook.
Carl Hookers tongue-incheek categorization of

TCEA attendees sheds light
on how people survive,
absorb, and share the
conference experience.
An annotated list of must-have

extensions for Chromebook users.
iPad, Chromebook, or
Surface for the Classroom?
My Pick.
What Will Be the Most

Significant Classroom
Innovation?
Screen Time: Its Not about

How Much. Its about How.
Lisa Nielsen questions outmoded
studies on screen time and
concludes that not all screen
time is created equal.
Over 25 Ideas for

eLearning: Inclement
Weather
7 Ways to Use News-OMatic in Your Classroom

Top tips for building skills
in reading, geography,
critical thinking, and other
areas with News-O-Matic.
10
Time to Try Tablets

Ellen Ullman surveys
schools across the
country to find out which
tablets theyre using and
presents their top tips.
F I N d l I N k s at W W W.t ec h l e a r n i n g .co m /a P r i l 1 5
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As a connected educator, I am so
quick to tell others to reach out,
ask questions, and connect, yet
how often do I do it myself ?
Pernille ripp
The answer is not to abandon
testing, but to measure the things
we most value, and find good ways
to do that.
Susan engel
At the heart of teaching is the
idea that we should be intentional
about what happens in our
classrooms. To do that requires
understanding how we got to that
moment with our kids ourselves.
Chris lehmann
10 PD Resources
zge Karaoglu shares
her favorite resources for
professional development.
E-learning as an alternative
to snow make-up days.
Learning how to learn will

best prepare students for
success in our rapidly changing
and information-rich world.
The 9 People Who

Attend Every Ed Tech
Conference
blog bits
toP
tWeets
@JohnWink90: You cant expect
technology to be infused in
instruction, when you cant
infuse it into your #Leadership
#digilead
@MsMagiera: @techgirljenny
Boom! Leaders need to be visible,
available, and LISTEN to their
teachers! #ADEChat
@gcouros: A digital portfolio that
is owned by the school, seen by a
few people, and locked down from
the world, is a lot of work for little
benefit.
Big Ideas
Investors PredIct 2015

startuP trends
istock/thinkstock
Inventures, an online news source

covering startups, asked their
experts for their predictions on
where the tech scene is heading.
Heres what they had to say.
* INTERNET OF THINgSwatch
sITe We
lIke
http://tINyurl.
com/ouNFj8V
out for diverse interconnected

devices, from sleep masks to pet
cameras.
* OLD-SCHOOL HARDWARE
with the technology to build

powerful devices that are very
small and very cheap, well
see even more startups from
entrepreneurs.
* 3D PRINTINgwith the proliferation of applications, the future is 3D.

* STARTUPS ON THE RISE AND SLUMPwith seed funding and new forms of financing,
startups will multiplyas will the number of failures.
* STRONgER STARTUP ECOSYSTEMSwatch CEE startups shaping new solutions for

collaboration and coworking.
* BIg CORPORATES TEAM UP WITH STARTUPSfinally, we should see some serious

commercial cooperation.
A great resource to
introduce global themes,
International Childrens
Digital Library features
a variety of books from
around the world.
T&L ReadeR suRvey
hoW do you besT develop

your personal learnIng
neTWork (pln)?
In person at
events and
Social media
like Twitter
and LinkedIn.
59%
workshops.
28%
Attending online
Webinars and
recorded lectures.
13%
F o r m o r e s u r V e ys , V I s I t W W W.t ec h l e a r n i n g .co m /a P r i l 1 5
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Big Ideas
new contest
from ePson
hour of code resources

The Katherine Delmar Burke School in San Francisco, CA recently celebrated an Hour of
Code event, and found the following resources particularly useful:
* LIgHTBOT: This simple game teaches complex coding skills.

* CODE.ORg: This Web site is filled with free activities at different levels, including coding
snowflakes and a JavaScript introductory tutorial to create a video game.
* MADE WITH CODE: Googles Made With Code Web site features acivities especially
designed for girls, such as animating a Yeti, programming a musical beat, and much more.
* SCRATCH: The Web site for this simple, free programming tool from MIT includes links
to let kids download and remix animations created by other students [http://scratch.mit.
edu/]. Theres also a junior version thats a free app for tablets.
Epson invites educators (K-12 and postsecondary) to share three creative ways
to engage students in the classroom using
an interactive projector. Educators must
submit each creative idea in a separate
essay of no more than 250 words, with
the option of supplementing the written
submission with a URL to a short video.
Epson will judge submissions on the
following criteria: creative use of an
interactive projector in the classroom
(50%), practicality of implementing
the idea using real-life examples/
application (25%), and the impact of
using interactive projectors on student
learning (25%). Three winners will be
announced in May and each winner will
receive a BrightLink 595Wi interactive
projector.
Details: www.epson.com/
brightlinkcontest
Deadline: April 15th, 2015
* KANO COMPUTER: KANO is a powerful little computer with open source software
designed for exploration, creation, and play.
For offline fun, the students played Color Code by Smart Games, which challenges them
to layer tiles of images of various colors and shapes to mimic a pattern, and Anti-Virus,
also by Smart Games, which asks students to move pieces diagonally in groups to help
catch and remove a virus.
class Tech TIps:
currenT evenTs
resources
Liveschool Reward system
for students
dIy Human Body for

science activities
G e t m o r e c l a s s t e c h t I p s at t ec h l e a r n i n g .co m .
10
| a p r il 2 015
7 Ways to use News-OMatic in your Classroom
JFK Challenge app for

american History
Big Ideas
new survey
reveals significant
growth in edtech
According to a new survey from the
Education Technology Industry
Network (ETIN)of theSoftware &
Information Industry Association
(SIIA), collected data from 144 PreK12 service providers and publishers and found a significant increase in the
edtech market for this age groupfrom $7.9 billion to $8.38 billion. Online
Course revenue grew 320 percent and the largest market segment, at $2.5
billion, was Testing and Assessment. The rapid growth of the testing and
assessment market will slow, but remain an important area of investment in
school districts and states. Digital assessments and interest in personalized
learning contribute to this growing market, said CS4Ed president John
Richards, Ph.D., the principal author of the report. There was a substantial
investment in infrastructure. We attribute this to increased hardware in
schools from district investment, BYOD, and preparation for digital common
core assessments.
the state of the cloud
apps of The
day from
TechlearnIng.com
Fotobabble
Powerful
media-creation
tool makes
talking
photos that
can creatively
support teens
learning goals.
Mars Gen One: argubot academy

Hone powerful persuasive skills on
a red planet adventure with compelling
visuals, feisty characters, and intriguing
missions.
Interaction of
Color by Josef
albers
Sharpen
students eye
for color with
lessons by
famous color
scholar.
Visit techlearning.com for more app

recommendations from www.graphite.org
cdw-g's REPoRt. "cLoUd 401: nAVigAting AdVAncEd toPics in cLoUd coMPUting."
12
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Four reasons
to Worry about
Personalized
learning
By Alfie Kohn
ocquevilles observations about the

curious version of democracy that
Americans were cultivating in the
1830s have served as a touchstone
for social scientists ever since. One
sociologist writes about the continued
relevance of what Tocqueville noticed way back
then, particularly the odd fact that we cherish our
commitment to individualism, yet experience a
relentless pressure to conform. Each of us can do
what he likes as long as he ends up fundamentally
similar to everyone else: Youre free to expand as a
standardized individual. (John W. Meyer, Myths
of Socialization and of Personality).
A couple of decades ago, that last phrase
reminded me of how our pitiful individuality was
screwed to the backs of our cars in the form of
customized license plates. Today it brings to mind
what goes by the name personalized learning.
A suffix can change everything. When you
attach -ality to sentiment, for example, you end
up with what Wallace Stevens called a failure of
feeling. When -ized is added to personal, again,
the original idea has been not merely changed
but corrupted and even worse is something
we might call Personalized Learning, Inc. (PLI),
in which companies sell us digital products to
monitor students while purporting to respond to
the differences among them.
Personal learning entails working with each
child to create projects of intellectual discovery
that reflect his or her unique needs and interests.
It requires the presence of a caring teacher who
knows each child well.
Personalized learning entails adjusting the
difficulty level of prefabricated skills-based
14
| A p r il 2 015
exercises based on students test scores. It

requires the purchase of software from one of
those companies that can afford full-page ads in
Education Week.
For some time, corporations have sold massproduced commodities of questionable value and
then permitted us to customize peripheral details
to suit our preferences. In the 1970s, Burger
King rolled out its Have it your way! campaign,
announcing that we were now empowered to
request a recently thawed slab of factory-produced
ground meat without the usual pickle or even
with extra lettuce! In America, I can be me!
A couple of decades later, the production
company that created Barney, the alarmingly
friendly purple dinosaur, sold personalized
videos called My Party with Barney. You
mailed them a photo of your kids face and they
digitally attached it to a generic animated childs
body that plays with Barney in the video. Your
kids name is also inserted into the soundtrack
every so often to complete the customization,
with Barney enthusing: Have a balloon
Abigail! The result may have delighted, or even
fooled, some three-year-olds. But why in gods
name are adult educators buying the equivalent
of My Party with Barney in order to boost their
students reading scores?
How can we tell when the lovely idea of
personal learning has been co-opted and then
twisted into PLI? Here are four warning signs:
or maybe, if
theyre lucky, how
theyll master a set of
skills mandated by people
who have never met them. In the
words of education author Will Richardson,
Personalized learning is something that we do
to kids; personal learning is something they do
for themselves.
Sometimes one of the corporate folks will
let slip an acknowledgment of just how studentcentered their programs arent. In education,
a publishing executive explained to a reporter,
personalization is not about giving students what
they want, its about a recommended learning
path just for them. A term like mass customized
learning, meanwhile, may sound Orwellian
but its not really an oxymoron because whats
customized is mass-produced which is to say,
standardized. Authentic personal learning isnt.
The tasks have been personalized for kids, not

created by them. With PLI, the center of
gravity is outside the students (as Dewey once
put it), and their choices are limited to when
Education is about the transmission of bits of

information, not the construction of meaning.
Closely related to the pseudochoice provided
to students is the underlying model of learning.
iS
TO
CK
/T
Hi
NK
ST
OC
K
Behaviorism, the
beast that just wont
die, lurks at the core
of PLI, just as it animates
competency-based progression,
mastery learning, and programs that tweak
the delivery of instruction. (Hint: Unless
someone is sending out for pizza at a faculty
meeting, the word delivery is always troubling in
the context of schooling.)
In fact, the perceived need to personalize
probably comes from this way of thinking about
education in the first place. If the point is to
dump a load of facts into children, then it may be
necessary to adjust the style and rate of dumping
and to help teachers become more efficient
at it. But if the point is to help kids understand
ideas from the inside out and answer their own
questions about the world, then what theyre
doing is already personal (and varied). It doesnt
have to be artificially personalized.
The main objective is just to raise test scores.

This explains PLIs constant use of
instruments that resemble standardized tests.
When we hear a phrase like monitor students

progress, we should immediately ask, What
do you mean by progress? That word, like
achievement, often refers to nothing more than
results on dreadful tests. And the next logical
question when something is described as a way
of personalizing instruction: Whats the effect
of this on kids interest in reading or math or
writing or in school itself ? Personal learning
tends to nourish kids curiosity and deepen their
enthusiasm. Personalized or customized
learning not so much.
But the red light flashes here not just because
of the focus on standardized tests but because
of the larger preoccupation with data data data
data data. Elsewhere, Ive written about the folly
of believing that everything can and should be
reduced to numbers. PLI shamelessly clings
to this myopic and outdated worldview. One
of those ads in Education Week not long ago
featured a comically enthusiastic cartoon owl
in a tuxedo wearing an I [heart] Data button.
This drawing was followed by boasts about the
companys computer-adaptive assessments and
instruction that constantly generate data to
personalize learning. (Honest it appeared in
Ed. Week, not in The Onion.)
The assumption here is that curriculum can
be broken into little pieces, and that skills are
acquired sequentially and can be assessed with
discrete, contrived tests and reductive rubrics.
Tracking kids progress with digital profiles and
predictive algorithms paints a 21st-century gloss
on a very-early-20th-century theory of learning.
It not only assumes but perpetuates a bunch-ofacts approach because it counts only what lends
itself to being counted namely, the number of
facts and skills memorized or the percentage of
coursework completed.
Its all about the tech. Two overlapping

groups of educators seem particularly
enamored of PLI: (1) those who are awed by
anything emitted by the private sector, including
books about leadership whose examples are
drawn from Fortune 500 companies and filled
with declarations about the need to leverage
strategic cultures for transformational
disruption; and (2) those who experience
excitement that borders on sexual arousal from
anything involving technology even though
much of what falls under the heading ed tech is,
to put it charitably, of scant educational value.
Follow the money is apt advice in many
sectors of education for example, in language
arts, where millions are made selling leveled
guided reading systems, skills-based literacy

workbooks, and the like. Simpler strategies, such
as having kids choose, read, and discuss real
books from the library may be more effective,
but, as reading expert Dick Allington asks drily,
Who promotes a research-based practice
that seems an unlikely profit center? No one.
(Richard L. Allington, Proven Programs,
Profits, and Practice, in Reading for Profit:
How the Bottom Line Leaves Kids Behind).
Personalization is an even more disturbing
example of this phenomenon because the word
has come to be equated with technology
perhaps because its far more profitable for the
purveyors that way and, at the same time, Its
so much cheaper to buy a new computer than to
pay a teachers salary year after year. (Lizanne
Foster, Personalized Learning Means Kids with
Computers, not Teachers, Huffington Post).
This version of personalized learning
actually began 60 years ago when B.F. Skinner
proposed setting each child before a teaching
machine, an idea rooted in measurability,
uniformity, and control of the student,
according to Canadian educator Philip
McRae: Todays adaptive learning systems still
promote the notion of the isolated individual
being delivered concrete and sequential for
mastery. However, the re-branding is that of
personalization[with a] customized technology
platform delivering 21st-century competencies
At its most innocent, it is a renewed attempt
at bringing back behaviourism and operant
conditioning to make learning more efficient.
At its most sinister, it establishes children as
measurable commodities to be cataloged and
capitalized upon by corporations.
Certain forms of technology can be
used to support progressive education, but
meaningful (and truly personal) learning never
requires technology. Therefore, if an idea like
personalization is presented from the start as
entailing software or a screen, we ought to be
extremely skeptical about who really benefits.
One final caveat: in the best student-centered,
project-based education, kids spend much of
their time learning with and from one another.
Thus, while making sense of ideas is surely
personal, it is not exclusively individual because
it involves collaboration and takes place in
a community. Even proponents of personal
learning may sometimes forget that fact, but its
a fact that was never learned by supporters of
personalized learning.
2015 by Alfie Kohn. Reprinted from www.
alfiekohn.org with the authors permission.
| A pr il 2 01 5
15
ProductrevieWs
Tech & Learning EditoRs tAkE soME nEw PRodUcts FoR A tEst dRiVE
SMART kApp BOARd

www.smartboards.com/storenretail Price: $899
By Rebecca Andr
his dry erase board

allows you to capture,
save, share, and
collaborate with your
content via apps and
browsers in real time.
Quality and Effectiveness: The

SMART kapp board, at 42, was
easy to figure out and easy to use.
I can imagine teachers, myself
included, beginning an idea with
the board, building on the idea for several iterations, and then opening
up a larger discussion after that. All the content can be created
dynamically, saved, and shared in PDF format for later analysis and
collaboration. The board must be turned on to record; I realized this
after the students began to make positive comments that were not
captured until I copied them afterward. Many students offered to
assist me so I knew the board was highly attractive to them for jotting
down their ideas.
Ease of Use: I was delighted that it only took about two minutes for
me and two fifth grade students to figure out how to use the SMART
kapp board. Everything a teacher needs is provided:
a code to share with students who have devices, a
link to share with external participants, including
possible external experts and the constant option to
SMart kapp board provides a way to
save as PDF or JPEG files, which can be shared by
capture dynamic content in multiple
numerous methods (Dropbox, Evernote, etc.).The
ways.
instructional materials are more than ample to help
SMart kapp board is easy to learn, easy
anyone get started and for those who prefer to open,
to use, and easy to keep clean.
tap, and weave their way along, the SMART kapp
SMart kapp board can be installed in
board is so easy to understand that teachers will
smaller learning spaces to encourage
want one in every learning space, pronto.
toP Features
Creative Use of Technology: This newly evolved
collaborative groups to easily share each

iteration of their processes.
OVERALL RATING: I
highly recommend the
SMART kapp board. And if a
school opted for the VFI mobile
stand ($822) so the board could be
effortlessly moved around, that would
be ideal. I could imagine wheeling the
board to various nooks in the library or
other unique learning spaces. Students
(and teachers) are often inspired by
helpful products, such as this one,
that ease the way to creating,
communicating, and
collaborating.
product builds on the best SMART functions

and takes a big step forward. Each session has
a unique code for participants to freely use
with a tablet, iPad, smartphone, or PC (any
device with a browser). This means anyone can
connect and follow along from anywhere in the
world. Participants at a distance can engage as
smoothly as the participants in the room. When
the session is over, participants can save all the
slide iterations in PDF format for universal
sharing. If your school, like mine, is looking for
international collaboration opportunities, the
SMART kapp board and related technologies
offer a rich and rewarding way to interact
globally. The board I tested came with black
dry markers; more vibrant colors will help
distinguish the visuals. Write LARGE on the board,
because it will be easier to read, and you can save as
many slides as your idea needs.
Suitability for Use in a School Environment: The
SMART kapp board can be smoothly integrated
anywhere people need to communicate and
collaborate. The smooth board is great for drawing
out ideas or elaborating on premises. I look forward
to variously colored pens, as it will be easier to
change perspective or version and highlight changes
if multiple colored pens are available.
FoR MoRE oF thE LAtEst PRodUct RELEAsEs, Visit Us onLinE At TechleArning.com.
16
| ap r il 2 015
A beTTer wAy
To evAluATe
sponsored by
| a pr il 2 01 5
17
room for
imProvement
How districts are trying to integrate professional learning into the teacher evaluation process
By Ellen Ullman
n a Friday in 2014, just before

the start of a week-long break,
library/media specialist Tracey
Wong read an article (http://
theinnovativeeducator.blogspot.
com/2014/02/how-to-showcaseteachereffectiveness.html#more) by Lisa Nielsen
about creating a digital portfolio to showcase
teacher effectiveness. I found the article really
inspiring, says Wong, who works for the NYC
Public Schools at Fordham Bedford Academy
(P.S. 54) in the Bronx. I thought she had an
amazing idea and I wanted to duplicate it.
Luckily for Wong, she was able to take Social
Media to Support Teacher Effectiveness, a class
taught by Nielsen, who is director of digital
engagement and professional learning for NYC
Public Schools. The class is designed to share
ways teachers can use social media to meet
teacher-effectiveness requirements. Nielsen also
teaches Creating a Digital Portfolio to Support
Teacher Effectiveness, which focuses on creating
a digital portfolio to showcase evidence and
artifacts of teacher effectiveness.
Like many districts, NYC Public Schools
teacher evaluation model is based on the
Danielson Framework. Nielsen appreciates
that the framework gives everyone a common
language and a smart way to look at how teachers
can develop and grow. Her classes focus on
teacher strengths and how to work on becoming
stronger. In the digital portfolio class, teachers
learn to use tools like Pinterest, Blogger, Padlet,
and eduClipper to submit their artifacts of
effectiveness. Creating an electronic portfolio
helps educators and administrators have
focused conversations about increasing teacher
effectiveness, says Nielsen.
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NyC teachers learn new skills at a technology summit.
tools they use Nyc publIc schools dIGItal learNING & proFessIoNal
eNGaGemeNt [dept]
4 brainpop
4 chrome browser
4 class Dojo
4 common Sense education
4 edmodo
4 everFi
4 Facebook groups
As Wong went through each component
of the Danielson Framework and uploaded
artifacts, it helped her to better understand her
4 google Apps for education

4 google communities
4 graphite
4 padlet
4 pbS learning media
4 Tagboard
areas of strength and weakness and to reflect on

how she needs to change in order to grow. I find
by using technology for an authentic purpose in
their own portfolios. Teachers

need choices in their teaching
and technology integration,
which is what we also want
to provide our students,
says Patanio. My goals from
Lisas class were twofold to
have the teachers highlight
their effectiveness through
technology but also to become
comfortable with various types
of technology and demonstrate
for students how they can
make choices in their learning,
showcase their work, and make
learning visible.
A captive audience of NYC teachers during a tech summit in 2014.
NYC isnt the only district
my own life, it is then easier to give assignments
trying to better its evaluation process by offering
to students since it is not just busy work, but
teachers concrete methods to strengthen their
something that has relevance, she says.
skills. Here are two other examples.
NYC teachers can take any of the dozen
classes Nielsen teaches and use that material
Using EvalUations to
to teach others back at their own schools. The
inform PD
district designates professional development
At the Charlotte-Mecklenburg (NC)
time every Monday. The professional learning
Schools, all of the in-service for teachers is
opportunities are listed online and Nielsen
tied to one or more of the five standards in the
promotes them to teachers directly, via her
teacher evaluation process. Our goal is that
departments Web site and newsletter, and
every professional development opportunity
to principals who can suggest them to their
will say, This applies to standards 1 and 3
teachers. We have a tech-savvy person
or This applies to standard 4, says Jan
identified at each school called the Technology
Richardson, executive director of HRIS &
Single Point of Contact (Tech SPOC) who takes
talent management. We use Truenorthlogic
our classes and shares with their colleagues,
Performance Management System (http://
she says.
www.truenorthlogic.com, now called Evaluation
Jacalyn Patanio, a technology coach at The
Connect) and are tying the observations and
John J. Driscoll School (P.S. 16), an elementary
end-of-year evaluation together so that, when a
school in Staten Island, provides PD for
teacher is noted as needing some development,
teachers. Shes taken many of Nielsens courses
the evaluation will populate with the appropriate
and believes that the digital portfolio class is a
workshop or in-service the teacher should take.
great way to tie in all the technology integration
The district has also implemented a coaching
she encourages at her school. This class helped
and mentoring system for all first-, second-, and
me grasp the need to streamline all my work
third-year teachers. The mentor uses a log in
and capture it in an online space, she says. We
the Truenorthlogic system to document his or
looked at the Danielson Framework and the
her work with the teacher, including areas that
areas we are rated on. [We then] brainstormed
need improvement. The districts professional
about how to memorialize our work to show how
development team can pull up reports to
were are hitting specific areas of Danielson.
see which areas of deficiency are popping
After taking the class, Patanio selected a
up so they can design workshops to address
handful of online platforms for her teachers to
those deficiencies. Its a great system, says
use to create their digital portfolios and showcase
Richardson.
student work. She set up a series of lunchand-learns during which teachers evaluated
PErsonalizing PD
platforms and discussed how this would impact
When we reflected on our teacher
teaching and learning. She highlighted examples
evaluation process, we knew we wanted to find
from Nielsens workshop and worked with her
a way to truly individualize the practice, says
principal and assistant principal, who created
Vanessa Belair, assistant principal at Delta
Elementary Charter School in Clarksburg,

CA. We all have different strengths and
areas of potential growth. The K-6 school
uses Insight ADVANCEfeedback, a growthcentered observation and feedback platform
for teachers and administrators. Since
transitioning to Common Core, we have been
asking our students to essentially learn and
think differently. The standards that we have
for teachers need to change as well. Insights
Common Core Framework has given us a tool
that has changed the way we evaluate teachers.
The school finished its first round of formal
evaluations in March. Each teacher made
personal goals associated with a core practice.
Each teacher also received professional
development, including peer coaching, visiting
schools to observe teachers, and release
time to work with Belair. Some teachers
viewed video clips about specific strategies
Tools They Use

DelTa elemenTary CharTer
sChool (ClarksbUrg, Ca)
4 Accelerated Reader
4 Apple iPads
4 Google Chromebooks
4 Insight ADVANCEfeedback
Delta Elementary Charter School teachers

present lessons to each other.
| A pr il 2 01 5
19
room for imProvement

on TeachingChannel (teachingchannel.org).
Belair does weekly observations and gives short
feedback, but she knows the magic happens
when teachers can incorporate what they are
learning in the moment.
We strongly believe, with the right
targeted support, all of our teachers will be
successful, says Belair. Often it can be as
simple as equipping a teacher with specific
strategies and techniques. Although there is
continuous, whole-staff PD around engagement
practices, Common Core, data, and other
educational topics, our true goal has always
been to individualize PD and tie it directly to
our evaluation process. We differentiate for our
students so why not for our teachers? she asks.
an EvolvIng PD ProcEss
Spurred by a U.S. Department of Education
Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF) grant awarded
in 2010, Fort Worth (TX) Independent
School District piloted a multi-faceted teacher
evaluation and PD initiative to improve teacher
effectiveness at 14 underachieving schools that
suffered from high teacher turnover. The grant
required us to measure teaching effectiveness
based on teaching performance and student
performance, says Andrew McKenzie, TIF
Project Manager at the district.
During the 2010-11 school year, McKenzie
pulled together a committee of teachers and
administrators to choose an alternative rubric
from the states system to measure teacher
effectiveness. They also wanted something that
would create wider data to pull from. They chose
the Danielson Framework for many reasons, but
particularly because it describes performance
not peopleand encourages rich, in-depth,
focused discussions between the

teacher and evaluator.
The district offers face-to-face
courses in classroom management
and other areas and can enroll
teachers when theres a need. It
also offers targeted PD, in which an
instructional coach comes in and
works with a teacher.
But PD is taking a new turn
since the district partnered with
Teachscape last year and started
using video for observations. Now
teachers can check out observation
kits, put their iPads on Swivl, and
then upload their videos to the
Teachscape Learn platform. They
can use the videos for self-reflection
or share them with coaches,
administrators, or partner teachers.
The first couple of years, it was
a challenge to figure out what to do
between observations, but we are
figuring out ways to handle that,
says McKenzie. For instance, when
administrators notice areas to be
addressed during an observation,
Ft. Worth teachers have begun videotaping themselves to improve their
they can share feedback theyd like a
practice.
coach to address. They can also ask
teachers to complete modules from
online platforms that are cross-referenced with
tools they use Fort Worth (tX)
the framework. Whats nice about the modules is
INdepeNdeNt school dIstrIct
that they are specific and can be completed at the
teachers convenience. Administrators can also
4 lenovo laptops
watch the progress. McKenzie says the campuses
4 promethean boards/
using this method have had positive feedback.
Activinspire
The videos are also starting to be used in
4 Swivls
professional learning communities (PLCs) and
4 Teachscape
Teacher ObservaTiOn TOOls
22
bloomboard
www.bloomboard.com/schools
pearson Teacher compass Suite

www.pearsonschool.com
halogen TalentSpace
www.halogensoftware.com
performance matters FASTe observer

www.performancematters.com
insight ADvAnce
www.insighteducationgroup.com
Standard for Success

www.standardforsuccess.com
netchemia Talented
www.netchemia.com
Teachscape
www.teachscape.com
observe4success
www.observe4success.com
viewpath
viewpathclassroom.com
| a p r il 2 015
training sessions. Instructional coaches film

teachers or themselves doing a demo lesson or
something exemplary and then share the videos
with their teams. Our literacy coach filmed a
small-group guided reading lesson and used
the video in a PD session in the fall that was
immediately impactful, says McKenzie.
As teachers become more comfortable with
the framework, they have begun self-identifying
their weaknesses and seeking help on their own.
We have teachers who have been in the system
for some time and have become familiar with
the rubric who say, Im rated here and want
to get to here. What can I do? They ask their
administrators, and its a good problem to have,
says McKenzie.
New Cloud Solution Solves School Boards
FiLe SHAring DiLeMMA

Now, instead of sending out emails during
weekly communications, the superintendent has
a folder within CPO that his assistant shares with
the board members. All of the documents are contained in the folder, and CPOs versioning clearly
indicates which is the most updated to avoid
confusion. Whenever a board member edits a
file, even a last-minute change, everyone is made
aware through an automatic notifications feature.
Located in the northern, rural sector of Monroe County, Michigan, the Airport Community School District includes approximately 2,550 students who attend seven schools
within a 200 mile radius. Although Airport High School ranks in the top 5 percent of
schools in Michigan, the district still faces many of the challenges that are typical of
school districts in the area, in particular the difficulty of finding funding for new programs and finding ways to motivate students to achieve higher academic standards. To
help surmount these issues, regular communication among the school districts board
members is critical.
A Communication Quandary
The district board members are typically elected as
part-time officials. Because these busy professionals
have full-time jobs in remote locations every day,
board meetings are held in the evenings. In the days
leading up to the meetings, the board superintendents administrative assistant would send out official documents via email. However, the messages
would often not reach all of the recipients due to
attachment file sizes that exceeded email server
limits. In addition, numerous last-minute changes
from multiple board members would often lead to
confusion over which version was the most current.
It got to the point where a reference to incorrect
information was almost expected at the meetings.
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The Cloud Solution

To resolve the file sharing difficulty, University Office Technologies, a Sharp authorized dealer, supplied the school board with 30 Cloud Portal Office
(CPO) licenses. CPO is an award-winning document storage and sharing service that provides a
convenient way to seamlessly connect to business
content and easily share and collaborate with team
members, whether remotely or during in-person
conferences.
The first few licenses were assigned to each
board member as well as to the superintendents
assistant. There are plans to assign the remaining
licenses to administrators throughout the schools
in the district to further increase collaboration.
Quick, Easy and Efficient!

Despite a wide range of technology skills available among members of the board, everyone has
been able to learn how to use CPO quickly and
easily, and transitioning to the new communication method has been virtually seamless. As a
result, stress levels seem to have been greatly
reduced now that all board members can access
the most up-to-date files right before as well as
during board meetings. Additionally, certain CPO
features have helped make the user experience
even easier. These include a connector to the
multifunctional printer (MFP) that allows for scanning to and printing from CPO, and a desktop sync
feature, which allows board members to easily
update documents from their laptops and share
the most current version with everyone on the
board in real time.
Cloud Portal Office has greatly increased the
efficiency in how we run school board business
and has also contributed to us going paperless at
our meetings, says John Krimmel, School Board
Superintendent, Airport Community Schools. As
a plus, the actual application is very easy and
straightforward. Our administrator knows the program just by using it for a short time, so we imagine
that when we extend it to our administrators, it will
require minimal training.
To learn more about

Sharps cloud solution, visit
www.sharpusa.com/cpo.
ADVERTORIAl
ClOUD COllabOraTiON TOOls:
noW or Later?
By David Kapuler
according to the new Cloud 401 Report from CdW-G, more than 42 % of IT services in K-12
education are delivered totally or partially through the cloud. This makes the ideal environment
for cloud-based communication tools and services, which enable online collaboration among
teachers, students, and parents in real time. Here are just some of these tools for schools,
with ideas for in-class collaboration now, and anytime, anywhere connections later.
30hanDs lEarnIng commUnIty
Platform: Social Learning Network
http://30hands.30hands.net/site/index
Now: Teachers can use 30hands
cloud for blended learning,
professional development, and
sharing and collaborating with
other educators.
Later: Assignments handed
out in the 30hands cloud allow
educators to comment in real
time while students revise their
work. Students can also work in
study groups and see their work,
reviews, and grades at any time.
BItEslIDE
Platform: Digital Slidebooks for Project-based Learning
www.biteslide.com
Now: Educators can create collaborative projects for students where they
control, manage, and monitor student accounts.
Later: In groups, students can collaborate on school projects using a
shared slidebook.
BoomWrItEr
Platform: Collaborative Writing Platform
http://boomwriter.com/schools
Now: BoomWriter allows
educators to create collaborative
writing projects by allowing
students to type a chapter of a
story and then vote on which
chapter should be included in the
finished product. This program
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| a p r il 2 015
helps students develop their reading, writing, and vocabulary skills.

Students also have the opportunity to become published writers
and offer their books for sale.
Later: Students can vote at any time as they develop collaborative
writing and group projects.
BUncEEEDU
Platform: Web-based Creation Tool
www.buncee.com/education
Now: Buncee incorporates multimedia onto a shareable digital canvas.
Educators can use Buncee to assign a project and allow students
to comment on the project in a protective bubble to help teach
digital citizenship. Buncee is also ideal for allowing students to share
announcements, digital storytelling, and sparking collaboration.
Later: Students can use Buncee at home to flip their learning and
collaborate with other classmates on group projects.
classDojo
Platform: Positive Feedback Platform
https://www.classdojo.com
Now: Teachers can
use ClassDojo to keep
parents informed
about classroom
activities and behavior
by sending individual
messages or group
reports with the builtin instant messaging
feature.
Later: Students can
use ClassDojo to
gauge how they are doing in class, based on a wide range of criteria such as
class participation and behavior.
EDmoDo
framEBEnch
Platform: Social Learning Network

https://www.edmodo.com
Now: Educators can use Edmodo to create an online
community to share and find resources and build a forum
where they can post and answer questions. They
can also send assignments and projects to
students and collaborate in real time.
Later: Students can use Edmodo as
backchannel chat, collaborate on group
projects, and even create a blog in a safe
environment.
EPals
Platform: Portal for Communities of
Collaborative Classrooms
www.epals.com/#!/main
Now: ePals is an ideal way to
collaborate with other classrooms
around the world. Educators
can join existing projects, share
resources, and choose from a wide
variety of learning centers.
Later: Students can use ePals to
learn about and share their own
cultures with students around the
world using discussion forums and
galleries.
gagglE
Platform: Learning Management
System
https://www.gaggle.net/
Now: Gaggle can safely house
and filter Google Drive, Google
Apps, and MS Office. Gaggle is
also an excellent way to introduce
digital citizenship by providing a
safe environment for students to
collaborate or create safe videos on YouTube.
Later: Students can use Gaggle to create blogs and emails, and collaborate
with other classmates in a protective, filtered bubble.
fakEBook
Platform: Fake Facebook Page for Study
Purposes
www.classtools.net/FB/home-page
Now: Fakebook is an excellent tool

to not only teach students about social
networking, but allow them to create
fake Facebook profiles for historical
or fictional characters. This is a great
activity for doing a book report or a
project on history.
Later: Students can use this site to create imaginary debates between
historical characters, such as the Lincoln-Douglas debate.
Platform: Online Tool for Reviewing Files

www.framebench.com/
Now: An educator can create a
workspace for students to do group
projects. Everything is stored and
secured in one place and allows them
to collaborate on any file.
Later: The innovative design of
Framebench allows students to chat in real time about files such as
documents and videos. It also lets students draw and annotate over
any content to create a deeper understanding of the material. Finally,
Framebench organizes content to allow for easy management of revisions.
vErsal: IntEractIvE
coUrsE crEator
https://versal.com/
Now: Users can combine text,
video, images, quizzes, and
customizable elements.
Later: Students can collaborate
within the course to work as they
explore content teachers have
created for them.
otUs
Platform: Learning Management Network
http://otusplus.com
Now: Otus allows educators to collaborate with parents and students in
real time. The ability to poll is a nice feature to assess student learning and
differentiate instruction.
Later: Access to Google Drive allows students to collaborate on group
projects. The comment feature allows students to interact with teachers
and classmates outside of class.
PaDlEt
Platform: Posting Tool for Creating and Collaborating
https://padlet.com/padlet-backpack/customers
Now: Padlet is a nice and simple tool that educators can use to introduce
and brainstorm on a topic. Educators can also manage and control student
accounts while monitoring everything that appears on their padlet.
Later: Padlet allows students to post anything from text to images to video
on a page, making collaboration simple and easy. Students can use it for
group projects, announcements, ecards, and more.
ProofhUB
Platform: Online Project Management
Tool
https://www.proofhub.com/company
Now: ProofHub is a nice tool to use
during class lectures. Students can
take notes and collaborate in real
time for better understanding.
Later: When working on a group
project, students can set to-do lists so members stay on task. Also, they can
proofread each others work as well as share and manage files.
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27
ClOUD COllabOraTiON TOOls

tackk
Platform: Web Page Sharing
https://tackk.com/about
Now: Educators are using
Tackk in a wide variety of
ways in the classroom. From
daily announcements to
creating digital portfolios, the
possibilities are endless. The
ability to comment publically
and privately allows for
collaboration between teachers, students, or even with other classes.
Later: The Tackk Stream is ideal for group collaboration as it updates in
real time and allows students to add content to any project.
toDaysmEEt
sEEsaW
Platform: Learning Journal and Digital Portfolio
http://web.seesaw.me
Now: Educators can use this shared journal to teach a wide variety of activities
using Seesaw, such as adding new vocabulary words to parts of a map.
Later: This free iPad app allows students to record their learning by
creating a journal that includes video, images, and more, while sharing
them safely and securely with others.
socratIvE garDEn
Platform: Student Response System with Collaborative Features
http://garden.socrative.com/?page_id=1776
Now: Educators use Socrative
Garden in many ways, such as
collaborating with students in
real time via backchannel chat,
competing in collaborative
games, sharing resources with
other educators, and more.
Later: Socrative Garden is
an ideal tool for creating a
backchannel by creating private
rooms for users to collaborate.
This is a great way for classmates to stay in touch, share class notes, ask
questions, and brainstorm.
storyBoarD that
Platform: Storyboard Creator for
Project-based Learning and Digital
Storytelling
www.storyboardthat.com/
education/learn-more-aboutclassroom-portals
Now: Educators are using
Storyboard That to teach a
lesson on any subject and to
collaborate, manage, and assess students via the educational portal.
Later: Students can create storyboards for projects, digital storytelling, and
more as they collaborate with their peers for group projects or self-assessment.
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| a p r il 2 015
Platform: Backchannel Tools for Classrooms

https://todaysmeet.com/about/backchannel
Now: An interesting way to use TodaysMeet is for guided learning while
watching a classroom video. The educator can ask questions and assess
student learning in real time while the video is playing.
Later: TodaysMeet allows students to collaborate on group projects at
home, ask and answer questions from daily assignments, brainstorm, and
much more.
vIDqUIk
Platform: Video Conferencing Solution
http://vidquik.com/
Now: Educators can use Vidquik
to videoconference with other
classrooms around the world.
This is great when learning
about different countries and
cultures.
Later: Students can
videoconference with other
students about class projects,
daily instructions, and more.
WIggIo
Platform: Free Online Toolkit for Group Work
https://wiggio.com/about.html?cid=
Now: Wiggio allows educators to create academic groups for collaborative
projects as well as poll students to assess learning.
Later: The group feature allows students to work on projects, such as a
word processing document, and to upload drafts and revisions.
zoho
Platform: Online and Mobile Suite of Office Tools for iOS and Android
www.zoho.com/docs/zoho-writer-app.html
Now: Educators can manage privacy and visibility controls of a document,
spreadsheet, or presentation, which allows classes or students to work in a
safe environment. Teachers can also manage and track student progress.
Later: Zoho makes it easy for students to collaborate in real time on group
projects by bringing up a chat window inside of a word, spreadsheet, or
presentation document.
suPPort for
the suPPorters
IT staff needs professional development too
By Lisa Gonzales and Jason Borgen
ant to keep your technology

support fresh and current? Keep
learning! There is no better
way to ensure tech is being
used efficiently than through
an approach of continuous
professional development. Below is a sampling of
ways you can do this collaboratively and continuously
without spending a fortune.
onlInE tUtorIals
YouTube and other video-sharing sites provide
many crowd-sourced tutorials for supporting Google
Apps for Education (GAFE) implementation,
configuring active directories by department, student
information system customizations, and much
more. Reviewing teacher-specific uses of innovative
technologies on these sites may provide more concrete
examples of implications for teaching and learning.
If you are focusing on a specific product, reviewing
content from the manufacturer will continue to
increase user expertise. Online subscription services
such as Lynda.com or enterprisetraining.com provide
self-paced courses.
As you find new online content to these offerings,
begin to curate these resources so that new staff
members have access to relevant and effective
learning opportunities. Consider creating a Web site
or a wiki where staff can document and share the
variety of online learning opportunities.
ProfEssIonal lEarnIng
commUnItIEs
In addition to working in small groups and
teams, the Professional Learning Community (PLC)
approach provides the needed access to follow-up
discussions, collegial activities, greater interaction
30
| ap r il 2 015
big ideas
y Support for training and use starts at the top
y dedicate adequate resources and continuous
funding for ongoing technical needs and
professional development
y Create virtual communities of practice for
collaboration
y research online groups and resources
y train the it staff as leaders to empower those
they serve
y learn about and use the support and training
provided by your vendors as part of your
contract
istock/thinkstock
with like-minded learners, and a natural setting

for idea generation.
One surefire approach to a PLC format can
be found in TechTalks. Weekly or bi-weekly
online TechTalks, which are gatherings of IT staff
district-wide or even regionally, are designed to
allow staff to share best practices in management
systems, instructional technology, hardware, and
more. Sessions can be tailored to meet the needs
of staff, dependent on new initiatives, challenges
encountered, or the timing in the school year. For
example, as districts head toward benchmarks
or state testing, an emphasis on modifications
for special needs students, hardware access, and
connectivity issues might be most pressing.
Topics of interest can be submitted for
consideration or shared in an open agenda
format. Likewise, individuals with a special
expertise should be recognized and their learning
highlighted, to be used as a resource for others.
joB-EmBEDDED traInIng
IT staff can observe teachers and even work
with teachers in the development of IT-infused
lessons to provide a concrete experience and
first-person portrayal of how the tools that are
supported by IT are utilized for instructional
purposes. This approach helps IT staff see firsthand what happens in the classroom, and how
things like filtered sites, automatic updates, lack
of device administrator privileges, slow Internet,
and other obstacles can affect a lesson.
Newer IT staff can shadow their veteran
counterparts to observe, record data through
note-taking and images, and provide reflection
time. Resource-sharing across a team, site,

district, region, or state can provide valuable
on-demand support and answers. Creating and
engaging in an online community of practice to
grow and continue to develop a PLC will provide
relevant resources and on-demand learning.
PErsonalIzED coachIng
Are there individuals or small groups who
focus on specific aspects of systems or pedagogy
in their roles? If so, personalized coaching may
be the way to go to address the highly customized
needs of staff to expand skill sets, deepen
learning, and minimize irrelevant training that
might not apply to all staff.
What do your vendors provide? When
establishing new contracts, build in as many
free or discounted trainings and support
opportunities as possible so that, over the
duration of the contract, updates are provided to
current staff and new staff can be brought up to
speed on products.
Certification programs, such as the Microsoft
IT Academy or CISCO Academies, are highly
regarded, consistent approaches to trainings that
can standardize practices and provide staff with
the necessary skills for deeper learning.
These continuous learning opportunities
will ensure that everyone in the district is on the
same pedagogical page.
dr. Lisa Gonzales is superintendent in the
Portola valley school district and a member of
the California TICaL cadre. Jason Borgen is
program director of the TICaL Project at the
santa Cruz County Office of education.
Tips fOr sTrucTuring prOfessiOnal DevelOpmenT

n provide ongoing support. coaching and plcs should be highly customized for
deeper understanding.
n promote understanding of technology pedagogical practices. iT staff need
to have a working understanding of how the tech they support can improve
instruction and effectiveness.
n provide coaching and mentoring. if research shows that 85% of teachers who
receive coaching implement new methods (compared to 15% without coaching),
imagine the success with iT staff.
n provide access to online information repositories. hosting resources online
allows staff to access and search as needed.
n create a school environment that supports professional development. policies,
practices, culture, and funding must facilitate the effective use and integration
of educational technology supported at the district level.
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31
it and curricuLum:
can this marriage
be saved?
digitAL Vision/thinkstock
n order for any tech initiative to not just

survive but thrive, the technology and
curriculum departments must share the same
goals, which many times is easier said than
done. Whether your district is navigating
this conversation while transitioning to
digital content, rolling out a 1:1 program, or
preparing for new standardized tests, a healthy
marriage between instruction and technology
is crucial. Inspired by this challenge, Tech &
Learning launched an event series called, IT
and Curriculum: Can This Marriage Be Saved?
The resulting conversation was enlightening and
informative. Here are some highlights:
sUPPortIng anD groWIng a

1:1 Program
At Klein ISD in Texas, Chief Technology
Officer, Karen Fuller, and Associate
Superintendent of Instruction & Student
Services, Susan Borg, understood the challenge
of growing and sustaining their districts 1:1
initiative. This program would require ongoing
teacher training, as well as burden the tech
department with the support needs required to
manage thousands of devices.
To ensure that all departments had a
say in the planning and implementation of
this initiative, Klein launched a Long Range
Technology Planning (LRTP) Committee that
consisted of:
Instructional personnel
Information technology team leaders
Representatives from finance
School administrators
Facilities managers
Human resources staff
They started with the following shared goals:
To transform student learning
To transform teaching
To address digital learning styles
32
| ap r il 2 015
They knew it was important to recognize

that one solution does not fit all, and began the
program with small pilots of risk-taking at the
campus level. They started by using campuses
that were higher performing to undertake
the first set of risks. This taught them the
valuable lesson that they needed to undo their
standardization if they were going to build a
system flexible enough to support multiple
devices. The committee worked together to
better understand the challenges for both
Information Technology (IT) and Curriculum
and Instruction (C&I), and collaborated on
possible solutions for these challenges.

The LRTP Committee at Klein ISD meets
once a week to discuss how to become more
flexible so they can try different digital tools. They
involve all stakeholders, to help the instructional
staff understand the technical challenges
required to support the 1:1 initiative, and to help
the technical staff understand the instructional
challenges required to integrate new devices into
everyday lessons. The committee communicates
regularly about what it takes technically to
accomplish the plan, and to ensure that the plan is
working in the classroom as well.
it and curricuLum
Watch the session online
clarIty Is kEy
At Poway USD in California, Robert Gravina,
Chief Information and Technology Officer, and
Rich Newman, Director of Innovation, began
their presentation with the disclaimer: We are
not, nor do we pretend to be, the poster child
for the perfect integration between Information
Technology and Curriculum and Instruction.
Both admitted to some bumps along the
way to this collaborative partnership, but
they eventually arrived at the following key
components for a successful marriage:
Support each other publicly
Be seen together
Respect each other
Avoid politics where possible
Over-communicate
Support each other publicly (AGAIN)

Clarify roles
They also recognized that IT and C&I should
both be writing goals and initiatives that support
the District Vision. Working together, Poway
came up with the following shared district goals:
Ensure that each student engages in
a challenging 21st-century learning
experience.
Develop and maintain communications
systems that create collective
engagement among all stakeholders.
Create a collaborative culture of
continuous learning for all staff members.
What are your challenges? Tech & Learning
would like to invite you to join this conversation
online at techlearning.com/april15.
Judson Isd's steve young (above)

moderates a panel discussion on saving
the IT/Curriculum marriage at Tech &
Learning Live @ austin.
challenge 1: Our DisTricTs wanT

TO TransiTiOn all Of The cOnTenT
TO DigiTal resOurces
challenge 2: hOw can we builD

effecTive anD efficienT prOfessiOnal
DevelOpmenT?
Technology chAllengeS:
Technology chAllengeS:
n Finding resources that work across multiple device
n changes in technology
platforms
n increased growth
n Publishers use different authentication means for

each book
n Fast growth in the district

n diversity within the district
n Lack of internet access for many families
n Aging equipment
n Lack of devices for many students
n shifting from technology Funds to instructional Materials Funds
n campus integration of technology (shifting from lab
n new research on effectiveness of technology in education
time to routine use)

n Acquiring the right device, for the right grade, for the
right project, for the right expectation
n Budget impactloss of personnel and computer replacement cycles

n Limited time for professional development
n Frustration resulting from lack of use
n doing more with less
curriculum chAllengeS:
n Many staff members are convinced that paper
textbooks are necessary
n iMA funding in texas is flexible and can buy
curriculum chAllengeS:
n changes in standards
n increased growth
technology, but if money is spent on textbooks, there
n Fast growth in the district
is not enough money for technology
n diversity within the district
n the need for training to appropriately use technology

in the classroom
n convincing teachers to allow students to integrate
technology into daily classwork
n Publishers have not always made the move to digital
any more cost-advantageous than using print
n Aging adoptions
n shifting from textbooks Funds to instructional Materials Funds
n new research on learning and instructional practices
n Budget impactloss of personnel and resources
n Limited time for professional development
n Frustration resulting from lack of use
n doing more with less
From the presentation at Tech & Learning Live @ Austin
34
by Steve Young, Chief Technology Officer, Judson ISD,
From the presentation at Tech & Learning Live @ Austin by Wendy
San Antonio, TX, and Peter Griffiths, Executive Director of
Jones, Director of Technology, Curriculum and Innovation, Leander
Federal Progress & Accountability, Dayton ISD, Dayton, TX
ISD, Leander, TX
| a p r il 2 015
Librarians Lead
the Way in edtech
By Shannon Mersand
istock/thinkstock
pril is School Library Month, and

this years theme is Your School
Library: Where Learning Never
Ends. No tag line could be truer.
Librarians are lifelong learners by
nature. Whether it is the newest
educational theory, the latest research methods,
or the newest educational technology push,
librarians love to learn and share new things.
When considering a new educational
technology initiative, such as purchasing
Chromebooks, going BYOD, or choosing
educational software, districts often consider
many things, including cost, return on
investment, effectiveness, and necessary
professional development. But one thing they
may not consider is their librarian.
Libraries and librarians are at the forefront
and often the hub of the school. They are a
community resource, a public face, a service
profession, a helping hand, relationship
builders, collaborators, and
educational technology leaders.
Librarians of 2015 are not the same
librarians you remember from 1985.
They still order books and teach research skills,
but it is very rare to hear them shushing students,
or hiding meekly behind the stacks. Librarians
wear a number of hats and information literacy
is closely tied to educational technology.
Research skills have evolved rapidly in
the last 20 years and much of that evolution
is because of educational technology. The

role of the librarian continues to evolve, and
technology is the driver behind that. This
group represents an essential voice within the
national and international edtech and connected
learning conversation, says Marshal Conley,
senior consultant, American Institutes for
librarians are like the cheerleaders

of etithey are enthusiastic
about it and, when done properly
it becomes infectious. students and
faculty are sold on the ideas.
Jeff marciano, richmond hill high school, richmond hill, ny
36
| a p r il 2 015
Research. When computers first made their

way into schools, they were often found in the
library. One computer terminal, possibly with
dial-up Internet access, served an entire school.
Librarians sought out ways to utilize those
computers to increase student achievement. Fast
forward to today: libraries are filled with desktop
computers, laptops, tablets, Chromebooks,
ebooks, Web 2.0 tools, databases, and maker
spaces. The current jobs of librarians are not
only enhanced by edtech, they depend on it. The
best in the library field are not only utilizing
edtech, but they are the experts in the field, says
Sudah Narsipur, school media specialist at the
Ossining High School in NY. We surveyed 43
librarians to gauge their daily technology use.
Librarians Lead the Way in edtech

I SPEND __ OF MY DAY WORKINg WITH
STUDENTS AND TEACHERS UTILIzINg
EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOgY.
10% or less of my day
3%
90% or
more of
my day
14%
25% of
my day
16%
75% of
my day
30%
50% of
my day
37%
More than 75% of the librarians surveyed

estimated that they spend 50% or more of their
day working directly with students, teachers, and
technology. Librarians have worked with and
through educational technology for yearsthey
have just moved from projectors and microfilm
to Kindles and online databases. says Krista, an
LMS administrator in Denver, CO. Some would
argue that you cant have technology without the
librarians.
Having technology and knowing how to
effectively integrate it into the curriculum are
two different things. A school can purchase
the latest and greatest technology, but without
someone on the receiving end knowing what to
do with it, it becomes an expensive dust collector,
much like microfilm. Marifran DeMaine, a
school media specialist at Putnam Valley High
School in New York reminds us that librarians
are information experts who have the unique
capacity to tie edtech meaningfully to classroom
instruction and student achievement. Coupled
with the fact that librarians are connected to
everyone and everything, you create a perfect
storm. Librarians cross all content area lines
and are in a unique position to support and share
tech initiatives in many different capacities,
says Sherry Fisher, an ELA teacher at Webutuck
High School in New York.
Librarians are often a known face in a school.
They are often on the front lines handling the
38
| a p r il 2 015
WHEN I FIND NEW TECHNOLOgY (I.E., APPS,

PROgRAMS, WEB SITES, OR HARDWARE), I
apply education technology in the

classroom, says Cherie Bronkar,
director of Regional Library at Kent
Keep them
to myself
State University, Tuscarawas, Ohio. They are
the link to pushing educational technologies
3%
to teachers who dont have the time or training
to use new technologies. LeAnn Weller, a
librarian at the University of New Mexico,
Celencia Campus, believes librarians offer
Share them
solutions and provide the initiative and
with a colleague
encouragement that many faculty need
or
two
Shout their
to confidently utilize technology in
virtues from
19%
their classrooms.
the rooftop
To be 21st-century college and
to anyone who
will listen
career ready, students need to know
not only how to find information,
40%
but
how to evaluate, curate, present,
Send them out
and create it. These are all skills that
to all of my
colleagues
librarians teach, often using the newest
technology. I am proud to be a librarian
38%
because I get to do what I love each day. I
get to foster a love of reading and literacy in
others while teaching students how to be digital
learners. Our field is changing and growing
and Im just excited to be working during this
tech with students and generally know about
change to combine traditional library services
what tech is out there or soon to be out there.
with edtech, says Erin Marone, a library media
The most professional [librarians] make sure to
specialist at Dayton Avenue Elementary School
educate themselves about the best edtech tools
in New York.
and will be ready and willing to use them when
When faced with the next technology
they [hit the] mainstream, says Tara Thibaultinitiative, school leaders need to not only
Edmonds, a school media specialist at Rondout
consider the cost of the program, they should
Valley Middle School in New York. Librarians
ask their librarians to help them determine the
are helpers and collaborators by nature, and
effectiveness and the long-term value of the
they love to share. When a librarian finds a
investment. They also need to have librarians
new edtech tool, they share it with colleagues,
onboard to help spread the word about why
enthusiastically showing how it can be used to
any new initiative is vital to increasing student
increase student engagement and achievement.
achievement. As Kim Hopper, a school media
We showcase utilizing educational technology
specialist at John Jay High School in New York
by modeling it in our everyday lessons and the
says, [Librarians] need to be more involved in
creation of Web pages of resources for all of
their districts advisory committees or selecting
our constituents, says Melissa V. Rentchler,
process. Rebecca Andr, an educational
a teacher librarian at Marshall Academy of
technology director at Temple Beth Am Day
the Arts in California. We asked the same
School in Miami, Florida, points out their
respondents how they share new technology.
unique perspective is highly valuable for
While librarians are often at the forefront
planning and implementing initiatives. We
of technology, they are often overlooked as a
accomplish much MORE with our librarians!
resource when making purchasing decisions
shannon Mersand is a school Media
and driving technology initiatives. This could
specialist at yorktown High school and an
be a costly mistake for schools. Librarians
associate Lecturer at uW stout.
are vital to ensuring that faculty can easily
we see the opportunities and we

are not afraid to use them.
terri knight, university school, tennessee.
th
tWo tin cans and a string:

the internet begins
By Gwen Solomon
op Quiz: How many devices do you

own that can go online anytime and
anywhere? You know the right answer,
but the point is that our norm in 2015
was at best a dream in the early days
of the Internet.
For its tenth anniversary, Technology
& Learning offered predictions for the
future, stating, In the 90s schools will look
to technology more than ever before for
educational solutions. TERCs director, Dr.
Robert Tinker, predicted the development of
an international telecommunications network
for K-12 education by 1995. And digital video
with the ability to send full-motion video over a
network was another wish.
The early InternetThe Information
Superhighwaywas a network of networks
that linked mostly academic and government
networks to carry information and services such
as electronic mail, online chat, and file transfer.
Only later would it include pages hyperlinked on
the World Wide Web.
Email started in 1965 as a way for timesharing mainframe users to communicate,
and became popular on personal computers in
the mid-1980s. In 1986 Classroom Computer
Learning (Tech & Learnings former name)
identified the
Internets
40
top three uses as email, teleconferencing, and

databases. Online research meant using Boolean
searching, access with FTP (file transfer
protocol), and programs like Gopher, Telnet and
Fetch. Popular, too, were discussion forums and
message boards.
The Internet looked very different in those
days. There were no Smartphones to tap a few
keys onor speak instructions toand connect
with the world. You used dial-up services
like America Online and CompuServe and
an acoustic couplera hardware device that
enabled a modem (a device to convert signals
from analog to digital and from digital back to
analog) to connect to a voice circuit. You put a
telephone receiver into the coupler and waited
for the telltale squawk.
The NYC school system developed its own
dial-up service called Nycenet. As a high school
teacher/computer coordinator in the late 1980s,
I used a 300-baud acoustic coupler, a telephone
line, and my Nycenet chat account so students
could participate in a project to communicate with
celebrities in real time. For example, when Jets
wide receiver Wesley Walker was online, I typed in
the students questions and read Walkers answers
aloud from my computer screen.
The National Science Foundation and the
US Department of Education funded
sophisticated telecommunications
projects. Dr. Robert Tinker
called the work network
science.
As today, information
was king. To search
online databases, you
used keywords with
Boolean operators such
as AND, NOT and
OR to produce
relevant results.
tock
thinks
istock/
| a p r il 2 015
For example, a Boolean search could be

education AND technology. This would
limit the search results to documents
containing both keywords.
Education had its own databases. As early
as 1987, information service providers such
as CompuServe and The Source provided
databases for educators and students. And major
companies such as Dialog, Addison-Wesley, and
McGraw-Hill offered information and classroom
application packages.
For example, in 1987, students had pen pals
in other countries, peer-edited across the US,
joined a network conference remotely, and
asked questions of experts using the McGrawHill Information Exchange (MIX). Educators
could discuss ideas with peers in far-off places in
electronic teachers lounges.
Even the Educational Resources
Information Center (ERIC), which began
in 1966 with funding from the US Dept of
Education, went online. Educators used a
modem, telecommunications software, and a
database vendor such as BRS or Dialog to access
ERICs databases of abstracts. In 1992, they
created the AskERIC Virtual Library, a source of
lesson plans and entry into the rest of ERIC.
By 1995, T&L initiated its first
telecommunications column, The Online
Connection. Contributing editor Odvard Egil
Dyrli wrote about online content area indexes.
He said, the Internet is unbelievably huge (a
network of 40,000 smaller networks) and it
is easy to get lost or discouraged.
The Web became more available to schools
in the late 1990sthanks to the federal E-rate
programand a new era in teaching and learning
began.
Gwen solomon was senior analyst at the
us dept of education, director of the Well
Connected educator, and is the author of several
books on edtech, including Web 2.0:
how to for educators. she has been
a contributing editor for Tech &
Learning since 1998.
th
guess Who i met today on

the internet? (earLy 1990s)
from david Warlicks upcoming book, The Days & Nights of My Dazzling Education
he early 1990s were heady years.

We watched Internet Relay Chat,
Gopher, CU-SeeMe, MUDs, MOOs
MUSHes and the World Wide
Web revolutionize how we used
information and communicated with
each other. Online communities like The WELL
and Cleveland FreeNet were being featured in
the mainstream media. It seemed that every
evening I was coming home with a new story
of something I had found or someone in some
exotic place with whom I had communicated.
We learned about news from mailing lists
and an email address that was associated with
a list of other addresses belonging to people,
tens or thousands of them, who had a common
interest. Some of the most popular lists for
educators were LM_Net for library media folks,
NetHappenings, which announced the latest
and greatest on the Internet, and WWWEdu,
established by Andy Carvin to advance the use of
the World Wide Web in education. Watching the
inboxes of our email programs, we learned about
state-of-the-art offerings, often the same day
that they appeared, and discussed their potential
implications for teaching and learning.
One day I ran across a mailing list hosted
locally at the University of North Carolina.
Its members were interested in establishing a
Research Triangle FreeNet, similar to the then
famous Cleveland FreeNet and others that were
popping up across the country. Accessing the
Internet from home was still difficult, and most
of the people who did were
associated with one of the
local universities or colleges.

I eagerly joined the list. It was customary,
upon joining a mailing list, to send a message
of introduction, sharing your interests, skills,
or facilities that were relevant to the lists
objective. I posted mine, introducing myself and
expressing my interest in how these types of
online communities and greater access to digital
information might serve to improve how we
educate our children.
After an hour I received a personal email
from a member, Paul Gilster. He welcomed
me to the list and, more eloquently than I
had, he described his ongoing interest in how
a FreeNet might serve local schools. He also
stated that I was the first person to join who
this model of skillfully using

unprecedented access to
information to profitably
pursue multiple avenues of interest
may well be common in the future for
which we are preparing our children.
42
| a p r il 2 015
was actually connected to the K-12 education

realm. This rather long message continued by
tracing the history of their efforts, what they had
accomplished, and the stumbling blocks they had
encountered.
At the end of his email, Gilster asked, Are
you, by any chance, the David Warlick who lives
across the street from me on Yadkin Drive in
Raleigh? My wife had become accustomed
to my almost daily exclamations: I emailed
with someone from Australia today, or I just
received an email from a teacher in Hong Kong.
That night I came home and excitedly informed
her, Guess who I met on the Internet today?
Paul Gilster, across the street.
The Gilsters would say, Hi! on the street,
and we knew that Paul wrote wine and business
columns for The Raleigh News & Observer.
What I didnt know was that Paul Gilster
was rapidly becoming a nationally respected
authority on the Internet and that his business
columns had become almost exclusively devoted
to personal technologies in business. He had just
published his first book, The Internet Navigator,
one of the very first published works about using
the Internet to find interesting places to visit.
A former college instructor and scholar of
medieval literature, Paul has been an owner of a
wine shop, a commercial flight instructor, and a
respected columnist on emerging technologies.
Most recently, Gilster has become an authority
on deep space and interstellar space travel, with
the publishing of Centauri dreams (Copernicus,
2004). His blog also serves as the news forum for
the Tau Zero Foundation, an organization that
advocates research into interstellar space travel.
This model of skillfully using unprecedented
access to information to profitably pursue
multiple avenues of interest may well be
common in the future for which we are preparing
our children. Are our schools helping them to
understand, embrace, and adopt the kind of
learning lifestyle that their future will almost
certainly require?
WhatsneW
Tech & Learning RoUnds UP A sUMMARY oF nEw tooLs FoR schooLs
iboss Cybersecurity (www.iboss.com) has

announced an upgrade to its advanced APT
defense solution, firesphere. The latest
release uses the companys patented network
traffic anomaly monitoring technology to
provide comprehensive protection against
sophisticated and evasive malware exploits.
The technology continuously monitors and
compares current network traffic to pinpoint
unusual behavior that can signify a network
has been compromised. Once a problem is
revealed, the data transfer is immediately
stopped and IT is alerted to the problem, which can significantly reduce data exfiltration.
Connected Data (www.filetransporter.com/for-groups)

has released two new private cloud file sync and share
appliances that deliver file sharing features, performance,
and capacity to small businesses, departments, and remote
offices. The transporter 15 and 30 appliances work
to preserve the privacy and control of business data while
offering users the same benefits and experience as public
cloud solutions such as Dropbox. Data is 100% private and
stored only onsite, ensuring that it meets the increasing
data locality legislation in countries
including Canada, China, Germany,
Japan, and Russia.
Vernier Software & Technology (www.vernier.

com) has launched the vernier structures
& materials tester (vsmt) to help students from high
school to college explore key engineering concepts. Using the VSMT,
along with the engineering design method, students can design, build, and
test structures, as well as conduct bridge competitions and investigate and
analyze beam designs and material properties. The VSMT is equipped
with a force sensor that measures up to 1000 N and a displacement
sensor with a measured precision of 0.1 mm resolution.
Additionally, students can use Verniers Logger Pro video
analysis software in conjunction with sensor data to visualize
the exact moment when their structures bend and break.
Califone (www.califone.
com) recently introduced
its upgraded Bluetoothenabled voicesaver.
The Pa283 personal
amplifier provides
teachers with clarity while
delivering lessons, and now
features a wireless headset
for hands-free flexibility.
Designed to assist softspoken presenters and
protect against vocal
fatigue, the VoiceSaver
offers enough power to
amplify a voice for use in
mid-sized classrooms and
tour groups of up to 25
people. The VoiceSavers
lightweight frame means it
can free-stand on a table or
desktop, and a long battery
life (6 to 8 hours) ensures
the device is ready for a full
school day.
44
| ap r il 2 015
hardware
whAts nEw
AmpliVox (www.ampli.
com) has released
the sW6240 all-Weather
hailer kit, a rugged, portable
system can be set up by one person
and put into service anywhere,
regardless of rough terrain or harsh
weather. The All-Weather Hailer Kit
includes a communication unit and
set of two tripod-mounted speakers.
The system uses a pair of two-way
MURS radios (available separately),
one acting as a receiver enclosed in the
Hailer Kits weatherproof box and the
other acting as the users transmission
microphone. This radio connection allows users to transmit from a safe
distance, up to two miles from the Hailer Kits location. Multiple stations
can be set up at different locations and activated to work as a group to
cover larger areas. The system also includes a flex antenna, rechargeable
battery, integral charger, and 110V AC power supply. All electronics are
housed in a sealed, fully weatherproof carrying case.
ELMO USA
Corp. (www.
elmousa.com)
has unveiled the
new tt-12iD Interactive
Document camera. The
TT-12iD now has an HDMI input,
which allows users to connect
the HDMI output from their
computer to easily switch
between their camera
and computer display.
The TT-12iD is UVC
compliant, so it can act
like a webcam for use with third party software. The
TT-12iD can also save live images, play back saved
images, pause live images, and record time-lapse video.
When its 12x optical zoom is combined with its 8x digital
zoom, images can be enlarged up to 96x.
whAts nEw
software & online

corel viDeostuDio Pro
X8 anD ultimate X8
atomic learnings
leslie fisher Presents
(www.atomiclearning.com/leslie-fisherpresents)
Atomic Learnings new training course
features educator Leslie Fishers tips
and tricks for using technology in the
classroom. Leslie covers tried and true
methods for using several different
software applications, including
Screenleap, Recordit, and others, to make
their classrooms more interactive and
curriculum more impactful.
comPass learning
Digital learning
activities
(www.compasslearning.com)
Compass
Learning has
enhanced its
intervention and
blended learning
solutions with over 800 new digital
learning activities for grades 6-8. The
activities feature new multimedia and techenhanced question types that align to the
Partnership for Assessment of Readiness
for College and Careers (PARCC) and
Smarter Balanced Assessments (SBAC).
Student learning gaps are first identified in
Pathblazer and Hybridge through built-in
diagnostic assessments or through NWEA
MAP, Scantron Performance Series, and
Renaissance Learning STAR assessment
data. Based on the results, the software
prescribes individualized learning paths
targeted to each student consisting of a
series of Common Core-aligned digital
learning activities.
(www.corel.com)
Corel has released
VideoStudio Pro X8 and
VideoStudio Ultimate
X8, bringing together
new tools, intelligent
features, and enhanced
performance. Features
include Freeze Frame and
Video Masking, Audio
Ducking for pro-quality
sound, and 4K hardware
acceleration thats more
than 4 times faster on 5th generation
Intel Core processors. Corel VideoStudio
lets users make video projects, ranging
from action-cam and personal movies, to
slideshows, video blogs, screen recordings,
stop motion animation, and more.
eDulastic
(www.edulastic.com)
Edulastic
has
upgraded
its formative assessment platform to mirror
the Common Core-aligned tests created
by the Smarter Balanced Assessment
Consortium (SBAC) and Partnership for
Assessment of Readiness for College and
Careers (PARCC). The upgraded (and still
free) Edulastic now includes 23 different
technology-enhanced question types and
instant scoring, enabling teachers to see
where students are struggling and coursecorrect between now and the start of
testing in March.
follett learning
summer school reaDing
anD math
(www.follettlearning.com)
Follett has announced the release of
summer school reading and math bundles
designed to bring students up to grade
level and keep

them engaged.
The bundles
are geared to
students who
for the 2015-16
school year will
be entering grades 2-6, especially those
at risk of failing. The bundles include
award-winning fiction and informational
texts from a wide range of authors and
publishers. Additionally, the bundles focus
on skills required by Common Core State
Standards, Texas Essential Knowledge
and Skills (TEKS) standards, and other
state standards. They also are appropriate
for Extended School Year (ESY) and
Individualized Education Program (IEP)
students, plus English Language Learners
(ELLs).
fuel eDucation summer

school solution
(www.getfueled.com)
Personalized learning solutions provider
Fuel Education has announced that
enrollment is now open for school districts
that want to provide students opportunities

to catch up through online credit recovery,
or get ahead through online original credit
courses this summer. The FuelEd Summer
School solution provides the curriculum,
technology, and support that educators
need to help their students stay engaged
over the summer. The solution provides
districts with the option to offer 19 credit
recovery courses and over 170 original
credit core courses for middle school and
high school students, including electives
and world languages. The program can be
used in online or blended environments,
and educators can track student progress
through the PEAK Personalized Learning
Platform.
46
| ap r il 2 015
software & online

gaggle rePutation
management
(http://schoolwebsites.gaggle.net/
reputation-management/)
Gaggle Reputation
Management helps
schools and districts
protect their Web
sites from hackers and
malicious use. Anytime
a Web page is changed, the content
is scanned for inappropriate text and
images, and Gaggle alerts users if a Web
site has been compromised. The solution
also features a blocked word list, helping
safeguard a schools reputation. Gaggle
Reputation Management also checks links
to Web sites and reviews the content on
those pages. In addition, the user account
responsible can be disabled and the Web
page(s) in question reverted to a previous
version. Reputation Management is

available for all Web sites hosted by Gaggle,
but support for other content management
systems and Web applications is in
development.
a guiDe to surviving
miDDle school math:
graDe 7 math anD
Practice worksheet
(www.info.tabtor.com/survival-guide-tomiddle-school-math-7th-grade)
Tabtor has released
a free e-book to help
students navigate
the critical learning
progression that
takes place in middle
school and prepare
for new math concepts introduced with
Common Core State Standards. Tabtors
whats new
personalized learning solution for grades 7

and 8 is available through the iTunes App
Store for iPads.
hmh eDucation services

(http://www.hmhco.com/educators/
educational-services/professionaldevelopment)
Houghton Mifflin
Harcourt has
created HMH
Education
Services, an
organization that will provide a full
spectrum of support to K-12 districts,
administrators, and educators. In addition
to technical support and guidance, the
team will also introduce new ways to
deliver professional development to
educators, including additional digital and
blended learning options. These will be
For more of the latest product releases, visit us online at Techlearning.com.

| a pr il 2 01 5
47
whAts nEw
software & online
delivered through a new Digital Learning

Essentials series, which offers best
practice training for technology-enhanced
instruction, and AskHMH, an online
teacher resource available 24/7.
learning.com
curriculum founDry
(www.learning.com)
Learning.com has announced that

Curriculum Foundry, a solution that helps
districts access, organize, and share digital
resources, is now ready for full-scale district
implementation. Through this solutions
comprehensive set of lesson- and unitdevelopment tools, districts can build and
share their own curriculum. Curriculum
Foundry includes a searchable content
repository of open education resources
(OER) and other free digital resources
covering core K-12 subjects. Curriculum
Foundry also features single sign-on,
enabling students and teachers to easily
access digital content in their repository.
Once districts have created their own
curriculum using Curriculum Foundry,
they can export their content via Thin
Common Cartridge to be used in a number
of compatible learning systems.
lightsail starter
liBrary
(www.lightsailed.com)
LightSail, a K-12 literacy solution, has added
a free Starter Library for all customers.
The library includes 350 texts spanning
elementary, middle, and high school reading
levels. Each free text in the Starter Library
48
| a p r il 2 015
comes with LightSails signature feature:

multiple-measure assessments that are
embedded into the text and completed as
students read. LightSail monitors student
progress and updates their individual Lexile
score instantly, enabling the library to adapt
based on reading level. In addition to free
texts, districts and schools can purchase
ebooks for use with LightSails literacy
solution from a selection of more than
80,000 titles spanning 400 publishers.
partnered to incorporate MetaMetrics

Lexile Analyzer technology into Ogment,
EvoTexts cloud-based K-12 lesson creation
tool for teachers. With Ogment, teachers
can clip articles, videos, and other content
from Web sites, and use that content to
build interactive lessons. Teachers can
bring an article or text from a Web site
into Ogment, and the Lexile Analyzer will
instantaneously provide an approximate
Lexile measure for that text.
mcgraw-hill eDucation
anD cerego
minDPlay
(https://www.mheonline.com/ceregodemo)
McGraw-Hill
Education has teamed
with Cerego, a memory
management tool, to
power its adaptive
learning experience
for the K-12 world
languages market. The
partnership furthers
McGraw-Hills mission
of delivering personalized learning
experiences through adaptive technology,
with the Cerego-powered experiences
joining the companys two main families
of adaptive products, LearnSmart and
ALEKS. McGraw-Hill Education will
offer the Cerego-powered adaptive
technologies in tandem with McGraw-Hill
Educations core programs for the course,
which can also be used in conjunction with
LearnSmart.
metametrics anD
ogment
(www.metametrics.com)
MetaMetrics,
developer of
the Lexile
Framework
for Reading, and EvoText, LLC, a provider
of custom eLearning solutions for
schools and educational publishers, have
(www.mindplay.com)
Literacy
publisher
MindPlay
announced
that is has created new corporate and
product brands to reflect the full range
of student ages that it now serves in K-12
through to adult teacher learners. The
MindPlay Web site has been redesigned
with a modern look, and product names
have been updated along with their
individual brands. MindPlays suite of
online-based reading products for K-12
students include RAPS 360, now called
Universal Reading Screener; MindPlay
Virtual Reading Coach; and FLRT, now
called MindPlay Reading Fluency. These
are all aligned to Common Core State
Standards. The latest product, MindPlay
Teacher Companion, is the first in a
series of online professional development
products for reading and primary teachers
authored by Drs. Nancy Mather and
Blanche Podhajski.
nyt eDucation
(www.nytco.com)
The New
York Times
and CIG
Education
Group have joined forces to launch NYT
EDUcation, an education initiative
software & online

that will offer courses and programs
covering a range of subjects, including
communications and media. Courses will
range from pre-college level to higher
education, continuing education, and
executive education by incorporating the
skills, knowledge, and experience of The
New York Times. The first programs will be
available in time for the 2015-2016 school
year.
nureva troove Digital

Portfolio
(www.nureva.com/troove-digital-portfolio)
Nureva Inc. has announced the Nureva
Troove digital portfolio software. This
cloud-based solution is designed for
K12 students to provide evidence of
their learning progress, to reflect on
their learning, and to receive ongoing
input from teachers and parents. Troove
whats new
Panorama leaDershiP
DashBoarD
software provides alignment to curriculum

standards, including Common Core State
Standards, and assessment using readymade, teacher-leveled rubrics. From the
Troove software web client or the iPad and
Android tablet apps, teachers create class
projects. Based on project requirements,
students prepare their work, reflecting on
what they learned by commenting in their
project space. Students can also include
documents, attachments, media files and
links to YouTube, Vimeo, and Google Drive
within their project.
(www.panoramaed.com)
Panorama
Education, a
company that
partners with
K-12 schools to
collect and analyze feedback from teachers,
parents, and students, has launched a new
Leadership Dashboard, designed to provide
school district leaders with a comprehensive
view into critical metrics. Principals and
superintendents can select the metrics they
want to track from a list of nearly 50 options,
such as Parent Involvement, Quality of
School Leadership, and Quality of TeacherStudent Relationships. The Leadership
Dashboard has been beta tested in more
than 300 K-12 schools, and will be rolled out
to thousands more this spring.
For more of the latest product releases, visit us online at Techlearning.com.

| apr il 2 01 5
49
software & online
on demand
Parentsquare analytics
DashBoarD
Check out the following resources from

our partner sites:
(www.parentsquare.com)
ParentSquare, a
simple and secure
communication
platform, has
launched a
new analytics
dashboard to help administrators view, track,
and enhance parental engagement. The
platform is split between a user dashboard
and message dashboard, and provides
statistics on the number of users engaged
throughout the school year. Schools can
see how many users receive messages via
email, text, or app notification and ensure
100 percent deliverability. Administrators
can also track how parents are interacting
with messages by either appreciating,
commenting, or signing up to bring items.
ARChIvED wEBINARs
ventura UsD Transformation: Journey

to the 21st Century
sponsored by Lightspeed Systems
Engage and prepare your students

for tomorrows high growth jobs with
microsoft in education
sponsored by Microsoft and CDW-G
New Caney schools are closing the

achievement gap with Google devices
sponsored by Google Education
Rethinking math Instruction with

Blended Rotation models
sponsored by DreamBox Learning
Check techlearning.com for updates
ad Index
COMPANY
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(www.get.quickkeyapp.com)
Quick Key Mobile has
released a Pro version
of its mobile app and
Web dashboard, offering
unlimited mobile scanning
for teachers. Teachers can
align their quiz questions to
standards, as well as add questions, text for
answers, and images to quizzes. Teachers
can also import student information and
assign students to classes, and then track
performance and progress via the mobile
app or Web site. The app helps is available
for iOS and Android devices.
reDBirD mathematics:
aDvanceD eDition
(www.giftedandtalented.com)
GiftedandTalented.com recently launched
Redbird Mathematics: Advanced Edition,
a digital mathematics program based on
Stanford Universitys Education Program
for Gifted Youth (EPGY). The program
combines
ongoing Stanford
research on
K-12 accelerated
learning with
adaptive learning
technology, rich graphics and games,
and real world inspired digital learning
projects. The curriculum is designed to help
students achieve mathematical mastery at
an accelerated rate by delivering engaging,
personalized lessons that match each
students unique learning style and pace.
vnc for rasPBerry Pi
(www.realvnc.com)
RealVNC has
released its flagship
VNC product for
the Raspberry Pi,
allowing users
to connect to
their Pi from any Windows, Mac, or Linux
computer. Once VNC has been downloaded
to the Pi ,users can apply a Free license or,
for more features, a Personal or Enterprise
license. Raspberry Pi users will also be able
to connect to their Pi from an iPad, iPhone,
Android, or Chrome device by downloading
RealVNCs free VNC Viewer app.
total motivation
(www.mentoringminds.com)
Mentoring Minds has unveiled an update
to its Total Motivation supplemental
curriculum. Now, district leaders can
run standards-mastery and item analysis
reports at both the school and district
levels. The new reporting function
empowers administrators to make
instructional decisions based on student
progress, making it easier to identify
learning gaps as well as to quickly analyze
students who are mastering the material
and students who require intervention.
Total Motivation is optimized for iPads,
Chromebooks, Macs, and PCs.
20-21
13
50
| ap ri l 2 01 5

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Volume 35 / Number 9

Ideas and Tools for ed Tech leaders

Why Libraries Lead the

Four reasons to Worry about Personalized

a better Way to evaluate

cloud collaboration tools: noW or later?

suPPort For the suPPorters: staying current

Ellen Ullman interviews districts that are trying to integrate

it and curriculum: can this marriage be saved?

librarians lead the Way in edtech

35th anniversary series

IT and Curriculum: Can This Marriage Be Saved? Highlights

Put to the test: T&L editors take some neW

Scan here to access

editors desk: the edtech

tech & Learning (issn-1053-6728) (UsPs 695-590) is published monthly by

ne of the more exciting memes to come out of last

Publisher: Allison Knapp aknapp@nbmedia.com;

What Can You Do on a

David Andrade links to charts

My Favorite Chrome Tools

With an eye to todays classroom

Carl Hookers tongue-incheek categorization of

An annotated list of must-have

What Will Be the Most

Screen Time: Its Not about

Over 25 Ideas for

7 Ways to Use News-OMatic in Your Classroom

Time to Try Tablets

Learning how to learn will

The 9 People Who

Investors PredIct 2015

Inventures, an online news source

out for diverse interconnected

with the technology to build

* 3D PRINTINgwith the proliferation of applications, the future is 3D.

* STRONgER STARTUP ECOSYSTEMSwatch CEE startups shaping new solutions for

* BIg CORPORATES TEAM UP WITH STARTUPSfinally, we should see some serious

T&L ReadeR suRvey

hoW do you besT develop

hour of code resources

* LIgHTBOT: This simple game teaches complex coding skills.

class Tech TIps:

dIy Human Body for

7 Ways to use News-OMatic in your Classroom

JFK Challenge app for

the state of the cloud

Mars Gen One: argubot academy

Visit techlearning.com for more app

ocquevilles observations about the

exercises based on students test scores. It

The tasks have been personalized for kids, not

Education is about the transmission of bits of

The main objective is just to raise test scores.

When we hear a phrase like monitor students

Its all about the tech. Two overlapping

guided reading systems, skills-based literacy

SMART kApp BOARd

his dry erase board

Quality and Effectiveness: The

Creative Use of Technology: This newly evolved

collaborative groups to easily share each

product builds on the best SMART functions

FoR MoRE oF thE LAtEst PRodUct RELEAsEs, Visit Us onLinE At TechleArning.com.

Tech & Learning April 2015

Tech & Learning April 2015