Description

You’ve unpacked your boxes, got those bulletin boards looking perfect, and you may have already started the year with students, but we want to ask you something.  How’s your tech? On today’s podcast our tech coaches (that’s us!) will offer their sage advice for starting the year off right.

Lessons Learned

Chris - Make eye contact with all students - we focus on a few. 3x the charm

Daniel -  3D Touch - You have to enable it in your Settings>General>Accessibility https://www.macrumors.com/how-to/iphone-6s-3d-touch/

Hard press on an app.

Dennis - Beware the dangers of “Teacher Nostalgia” https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/teacher-nostalgia/

Fun Facts

Students in China receive the most homework in the world. At an average, teenagers do a whopping 14 hours of homework in a week. Consider yourself lucky, you didn't have to!

Children in Germany receive a special cone called Schultüte, which is filled with pens, pencils, books and snacks.

The world's oldest continuously running school is in Canterbury, England. The King's School, as it is named, was founded in 597 AD. (King Aethelbert)

 

SOURCE: https://www.scoopwhoop.com/Interesting-Facts-Education-Around-The-World/#.oqr26i9u5

Notes & Links

Personal Tech

Take your new tech for a test drive - BEFORE you use it in front of students.

Classroom Tech

Check that your web links to your lessons work.

Ensure that you look for corresponding software updates for all your new and old hardware in the classroom.

Train your students how to get the tech and how to put it away.  (Seems simple, but just like you need to remind them how to line up, how you want assignments turned in, you should also develop routines for tech use.)

NEVER ASSUME - tech that has been sitting all summer will work the first time you want to use it with students.  TEST it first.

Parent Communication

Make a plan and be consistent with the tool and the timing of your parent communication.

 

Process Flow

What are the patterns? What are the processes?

Description Today,  Dennis is taking over the podcast for our final show of the year with a special treat for his two co-hosts (that’s us) who have no idea of today’s theme or topic. Don’t worry, we will still get to  share our weekly lessons learned,

Description Today,  Dennis is taking over the podcast for our final show of the year with a special treat for his two co-hosts (that’s us) who have no idea of today’s theme or topic. Don’t worry, we will still get to  share our weekly lessons learned,

Description Today,  Dennis is taking over the podcast for our final show of the year with a special treat for his two co-hosts (that’s us) who have no idea of today’s theme or topic. Don’t worry, we will still get to  share our weekly lessons l...

Description

Today,  Dennis is taking over the podcast for our final show of the year with a special treat for his two co-hosts (that’s us) who have no idea of today’s theme or topic. Don’t worry, we will still get to  share our weekly lessons learned, and stretch your brain with one more fabulous fun fact on this, episode 30, our season finale of the Concordia EdTech Roundtable.

Lessons Learned

Chris - Never let Dennis plan a show on his own. No, seriously, embrace the uncertain. That is my lesson learned. Let me tell you about my two-week Exploration ...

Daniel -  End of the year and archiving digital assets is such a painm’

Dennis - I am still not writing a book.

Fun Fact

Truth or Consequences was the first game show to air on commercially-licensed television. Its first episode aired in 1941 as an experimental broadcast.

In case you’re wondering, the maximum amount one can win in a single game, provided you answer every question correctly, land on the Daily Double questions last in each round, and bet the maximum amount in Final Jeopardy is $566,400.

Notes & Links

Truth or Fiction Links

Story #1 Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-5627699/China-reveals-high-tech-restrooms-Wi-Fi-ATMs-facial-recognition-systems.html

Story #2 Source: https://newatlas.com/kunkun-konica-minolta-japan/47786/

Story #3 Source: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2077043275/unicotm  (Failed Kickstarter campaign.  However it’s competitor Amabrush, with takes 10 second for a complete brush is still planning to release theirs to the public.  https://newatlas.com/amabrush-toothbrush/50371/

Description

As the end of this school year rapidly approaches, many of us are thinking past the exams, final projects and graduations to what we are REALLY looking forward to: Summer! But before you board that plane, you need to stop, and think about what tech to pack.  Today we debate what can stay home, and what we can’t live without as we ask the question: “What’s in YOUR backpack?”

Lessons Learned

Dennis - Google Tour Creator - Make your own Google Expeditions

Chris - I always carry the key to my home in the United States

Daniel -  Reading about ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor and Latin for "the way"[1]) is an international nuclear fusion research and engineering megaproject.

Fun Fact

According to Time magazine: The Backpack

The first vessels for students’ books weren’t pack-like at all, but rather a strap of leather or cloth (basically a belt) that was fastened around a stack of books to make them easier to carry. Straps remained in use for many decades, but they eventually went out of fashion.

In 1938, when Gerry Outdoors invented the first backpack with a zipper, backpacks were still primarily in use for hiking, camping and alpine recreation. Between the 1930s and ‘60s, some kids also made use of canvas or leather bags with a single strap, miniature briefcases that were usually called satchels, for trips to and from school. Some students could also be seen carrying their academic luggage on their backs in squared leather bags, fastened shut with buckles.

 

Notes & Links

A few years ago I was attending an EdTech conference. Several friends were sharing and commenting on photos. The photos were taken in their home or hotel room or conference room.  They had opened their backpack, unpacked everything out of every pocket and compartment, and set it out on the floor. Then they took a photo. It was fascinating to see what different friends shared at their “essentials”.  So today, we thought it might be fun to take a look at our own backpacks and see what our essentials are. What tech travels with you? What tech stays home? What is that? Why do you need it?

Description

The two saddest words in the English language are the words “too late”.  As the end of another school year approaches, time to get things done is rapidly diminishing. But one thing we must not neglect is time for reflecting on the year and the technology we used along the way.  What do we keep, and what do we let go? Join us today as we reflect, affirm what worked, say farewell to what didn’t, and think about what is to come. Are you ready to hop on our Digital RAFT?

Lessons Learned

Dennis - Tour Builder vs. Expeditions Beta Pros/Cons

Chris - Moving is the a most exquisite pain that leads to growth. Embrace it. You won’t like it, but embracing it makes it a whole lot better. You will grow. You will be better for it.

Daniel - Calendly.com - works really well when you need to book people from different calendar platforms.  I can send a link to people in an email and they can select a day and time for a meeting that works for them.  Provides people with reminders and it integrates with your calendar so only your free times are available.

Fun Fact

The words ‘listen’ and ‘silent’ use the same letters of the alphabet.

Notes & Links

The book Third Culture Kids: Growing Up Among Worlds, the authors Dave Pollock and Ruth Van Reken have a chapter devoted to transition and dealing with leaving one place and starting in a new one. The chapter is a constructive and practical look at leaving well, at closure, at saying our goodbyes in peace.  End of a School Year. It’s a time to reflect on the year.

 

Reconcile - What are the barriers that prevented successful adoption? Are there any applications/technologies/systems/software you adopted this year that need to be looked at?

 

Affirmation - Work with your team to find out what technologies worked? What kind of impact it has made in the learning? Opportunity to thank those that made a difference in the adoption of a new technology.

 

Farewell - Are there systems, technologies or processes that are in need of being removed or put to pasture?

 

Think Destination - What are you looking forward to? Is it that new LMS? New makerspace?

Description

"Your feedback is important to us.  Please take a few moments to complete this brief survey and let us know how we are doing." Today we’re talking about feedback and thankfully, that is NOT the kind of feedback that we are discussing. Rather, we are gathering our collective experience of the do's and don’ts of giving feedback to students, hoping to distill them down to a handy, concise list.

Lessons Learned

Dennis - I am still not writing a book.

Chris - I sometimes lecture too much and entertain too little.

Fun Fact

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/can-speech-kill-9-interesting-facts-public-speaking-micha%C5%82-kasprzyk/ :

Martin Luther King, whose “I have a dream” is probably the most famous speech of all time and for sure one of those that had a huge impact on society, was not always a great speaker. In seminary school for public speaking his grade was only… C.

Mark Twain, the author of Tom Sawyer novels, earned more from public speaking than from writing.

The fear of public speaking is called Glossophobia. Fear of death is Necrophobia. You wouldn’t think so, but more people are affected by the first. Jerry Seinfeld said once that an average person at a funeral prefers to be in the casket than doing the eulogy.

 

Notes & Links

When presenting difficult information, consider:

What type of educational background does audience have?

What obstacles (e.g., previously held ideas) may interfere with this audience’s ability to process this information?

Do they hold attitudes that may interfere with their ability to hear your message?

What are the challenges inherent in this information that might make the information difficult for an audience to understand (e.g., vocabulary, amount of material, etc.)?

 

Six hooks to grab an audience’s attention:

Surprise the Audience. ...

Ask the Audience a Question. ...

Combine a Question with Surprise. ...

Use a Metaphor. ...

Tell a Story. ...

State the Problem in Stark Terms.

 

Brain Rules #4 - We don’t pay attention to boring things. - Dr. John Medina

http://www.brainrules.net/attention

Description

Have you ever thought about going International?  What are the qualities and skills you might need? If you’re a new teacher, how would you best prepare? Or perhaps you’ve been in the classroom for a while and are looking for a new adventure.  On today’s podcast we’ll answer some of the questions you might be asking about Teaching in an International School.

Lessons Learned

Dennis - SketchFab (sketchfab.com)

Chris - Silence is not necessarily a lack of learning

Daniel -  Storyboardthat.com - Using it to storyboard with a team.

Fun Fact

According to iscresearch.com in 2000, there were 2,584 English-medium international schools around the world.  Today, there are over 9,000 schools serving 4.85 million.

 

Notes & Links

What are the absolutely necessary characteristics (skills & dispositions) that a teacher in an international school needs to be successful?

Daniel: Sense of adventure and wonder; also flexibility

Chris: reasoned risk-taking, compassion

 

What experiences do you think would best prepare teachers to work in an international school?

Daniel: Travel, interest in people

Chris: Teaching at a tough, and I mean tough, high school

 

What approaches to curriculum creation do they need to know?

Daniel:Integrating local culture

Chris: If all else fails, Keller’s ARCS model works fine (http://edweb.sdsu.edu/eet/Articles/Relevance/start.htm)

 

What are the most common challenges for new teachers in your school?

Daniel: Understanding the culture or ‘way things work’

Chris: Sipping from a firehose on every level (Procedures, tools, colleagues, students)

 

What are two books you think every teacher should read?

Daniel: Third Culture Kids

Dennis: Making Your Teaching Something Special (Rushton Hurley), Teach Like a Pirate (Dave Burgess)

Chris: Global Digital Citizenship Foundation (https://globaldigitalcitizen.org/)

TED (https://www.ted.com/)

For more stories from International Teachers be sure to check out Daniel’s iTeachOverseas Podcast at http://www.iteachoverseas.com/

Description

Recent news of Cambridge Analytica harvesting information from Facebook accounts has made us ask yet again, “How safe am I online?”  Today we take a look at our own digital footprints, and read you your digital rights, because anything you post can and will be used against you - if you’re not careful!

Lessons Learned

Dennis - Prepare to be spontaneous.

Chris - “As a matter of fact, yeah, they were foolproof. The problem is that you don’t have to protect yourself against fools. You have to protect yourself against people like me.”

― Jeffery Deaver, author, The Blue Nowhere

Daniel - “We shape our buildings, and afterwards our buildings shape us.” ~ Winston Churchill.

Fun Fact

The average time spent using social media is 135 minutes a day, up from last years 126 minutes.

Notes & Links

Google Yourself - (Set a Google Alerts) - https://www.google.com/alerts?hl=en#

It will send you alerts of any terms you enter.  Change the frequency so that it does not clutter in your inbox.

 

We voluntarily give out personal information just to find out…

What Disney Princess are we most like?

What color is our personality?

How liberal or conservative are we?

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-34922029

 

Our devices are giving out personal information

Every time you give an app on your phone access to your camera you are giving access to this information.

Location Services on iPhones - https://support.apple.com/en-vn/HT207092

 

How close does your online identity match your real identity?  Do your online friends see the “real you”? Don’t judge your real self based on  someone else’s online self. (Unless you really want to feel dull and inadequate.)

 

Create an algorithm for generating easy to remember passwords that are tough to crack and unique for each website

https://www.theminimalminute.com/blog/creating-the-perfect-password-algorithm

 

Resources

https://www.cnet.com/news/can-facebook-be-blamed-for-cambridge-analytica/

How to Revoke Facebook App Permissions - https://www.imore.com/how-to-revoke-facebook-app-permissions

How to Turn On/Off Location Services in iPhone or Android

https://www.lifewire.com/turn-on-mobile-location-services-4156232