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Slide Notes

Welcome to the #NYCSTS13 presentation of "Your Technology Plan Isn't About Technology"

All notes & detailed explanations of slide content will appear in these boxes along side each slide. Not every slide as accompanying notes, however.

Enjoy and feel free to contact me any time with follow-up questions.

Thanks!
Chris Casal
@mr_casal
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Your Tech Plan Isn't About Technology - School Technology Summit 7/2013

Published on Jul 31, 2013

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PRESENTATION OUTLINE

TECHNOLOGY

IT'S NOT ABOUT THE TECHNOLOGY
Welcome to the #NYCSTS13 presentation of "Your Technology Plan Isn't About Technology"

All notes & detailed explanations of slide content will appear in these boxes along side each slide. Not every slide as accompanying notes, however.

Enjoy and feel free to contact me any time with follow-up questions.

Thanks!
Chris Casal
@mr_casal
Photo by jurvetson

ITS NOT A DRILL YOU WANT

IT'S THE HOLE YOU NEED
The idea of "you don't buy a drill because you want a drill, you buy a drill because you need a hole" is from the Shrewsbury Public School presenters at the EdTechTeacher iPad Summit in Altanta, April 2013. That line, which they opened their presentation with, solidified the notion that the purpose is more important than the tool...
Photo by dbbent

A DRILL ISN'T A DRILL

IT'S OPPORTUNITY...
Again, the folks from Shrewsbury, MA really hit the nail on the head with this notion. Just as a drill isn't just a drill, but rather the ability, and opportunity, to make as many holes as you need, and of different sizes & depths, whenever you need, instructional technology should be thought of similarly....
... The device isn't as important as the versatility & flexibility of it to give you all the things you couldn't get without it.
Photo by Laenulfean

THE DRILL PROVIDES THE OPPORTUNITY TO CREATE HOLES

TECHNOLOGY SHOULD DO THE SAME, JUST CREATE BETTER HOLES...
What opportunities do you want to create for your students?
What technology tools can you use to create these opportunities?
What doors can only be opened with technology?
Photo by Looking Glass

WHAT IS AN IPAD?

SERIOUSLY, THINK ABOUT IT...
This question can be asked of almost any technology, instructional or otherwise.

What is a pencil? What is an overhead projector? What is a television?

Think about the device & all of its capabilities. The most valuable technologies are the ones with more than one answer to the question.
Photo by Mark Seton

WHILE YOU'RE AT IT...

... WHAT IS THE INTERNET?
Again, the Internet is one of the most powerful technologies ever available to the world. Why? Because of the opportunities, the connections, the fact that there are countless answers to the question "what is the Internet?"
Photo by kirk lau

HOW ABOUT THE PC

MAC, WINDOWS, LAPTOP, DESKTOP...?
Personal computer.

Personal. A sense of connection & ownership.

Power. The power to create & consume at will. The power to learn & teach. To connect & be connected. A writing tool, a reading tool, a research tool, a movie & music maker, an artist's palette & canvas....

The answers to the question are only limited by your creativity & sense of adventure.

(And if you think it can't do something, Google it, I'm sure someone has a Kickstarter or Indiegogo project attempting to make the computer do something it currently doesn't)
Photo by visualdensity

THESE THINGS AREN'T TECHNOLOGY

Photo by JD Hancock

THEY ARE...

... WAIT FOR IT...
Photo by dalcrose

OPPORTUNITY

ACCESS UNAVAILABLE WITHOUT THEM
Photo by SMugridge

REMEMBER THE INTERNET?

IT'S NOT ABOUT BITS & BYTES
Photo by kirk lau

IT IS ABOUT CONNECTING

CONNECTING TO THE WORLD
Photo by ecstaticist

IPAD IS...

  • Exploration - Safari/Fotopedia
  • Communication - Mail/Twitter
  • Connecting - Skype/FaceTime
  • Sharing - Drive/Dropbox
  • Creating - Drive/Evernote
These bullets are just a fraction of the possibilities. With 900,000+ apps in the App Store as well as mobile-enabled websites & tools, the iPad is your opportunity to make it whatever you want it to be.
Photo by Mark Seton

IPAD IS...

  • creating
  • collaborating
  • connecting
  • communicating
  • engaging...
Again, this is just a generalized sampling of the possibilities.
Each bullet offers countless possible sub-points of specific ideas & possibilities.
Photo by debaird™

AN ANECDOTE...

  • In the 1960's, NASA was faced with a major problem.
  • Astronauts needed a pen that would write in the vacuum of space.
  • NASA developed the "Astronaut Pen" for $1.5 million.
  • The Russians were faced with the same dilemma.
  • They used a pencil.
It's a myth but a myth that has long been circulated & believed. Why?

Because "sometimes we expend a great deal of time, effort, and money to create a "high-tech" solution to a problem, when a perfectly good, cheap, and simple answer is right before our eyes." - http://www.snopes.com/business/genius/spacepen.asp

The real story is more about innovation & entrenpeaneurship than anything else... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Pen
Photo by whitakerc1985

YOUR PLAN...

Photo by lecates

IF YOU CAN DO IT WITHOUT TECHNOLOGY

YOU DON'T NEED TECHNOLOGY
Photo by Lyn Lomasi

HTTP://KULOWIECTECH.BLOGSPOT.COM/2013/04/IPAD-SUMMIT-KEYNOTE-X-SEYMOUR-PAPE...

If you are not familiar with the organization EdTech Teacher I highly recommend you check them out http://edtechteacher.org/
Also, follow their hashtag #ettipad on Twitter.

Great resources & ideas.

WHAT CAN TECH DO

THAT YOU CAN'T DO WITHOUT IT?
Think about the tech in this image. A pen. There was a time a pen was hi-tech. What could it do a pencil couldn't? It added a level of permanency to writing...

... It changed the way people thought about writing, since the erasure wasn't an option...

...How is technology; iPads, laptops, SmartBoards, etc, going to change the way you do things at your school school? What new things will tech make accessible?
Photo by Eleaf

VIA BILL FERRITER @PLUGUSIN

Is not exactly this black & white but use it to get the discussion started...

Mix & match to begin to craft your vision...

... Use a blog to start a conversation or raise awareness...
... Create Prezis & produce videos to take action, change minds & make a difference...
Photo by Plug Us In

FORGE YOUR OWN PATH

  • What works for you?
  • What can you start tomorrow?
  • Start next month...?
  • Start next year...?
  • What is your goal & how can tech support that?
Photo by @notnixon

TECH IS PENCIL

YOU DON'T "INTEGRATE" PENCILS INTO LESSONS...
Don't think of technology as something you have to build a lesson around. Do you build lessons around pencils?
Plan lessons & think about how technology can be used to enhance them. Authentically. Not forced but naturally.
And no, it doesn't have to be a 1:1 tech environment. Think about the collaborative group lessons: 1 recorder, 1 researcher, 1 presenter, etc. You can do that with 1 pencil, 1 notebook, 1 laptop & multiple students.
Don't plan a lesson just for the technology, after all, what happens if the tech fails? If the power goes out? If the Internet goes down or a site gets blocked? If the lesson was created strictly to use technology the lesson will fail. But if the lesson exists without tech, but tech can take it to the next level, enhance the content with authentic real-world opportunities, the lesson & the use of tech will be powerful.
Photo by Yagan Kiely

PRINTING IS NOT PUBLISHING

YOUR BULLETIN BOARD IS NOW THE WORLD
Yes, printing is still a necessity. But is it as important as it was 5 years ago?

In the k-5 setting printing & paper holds a more important place, but if a 4th grader is creating an animated PowerPoint does printing it do anything to showcase the true power of the presentation?

Change the thought process. Before thinking "print" think "publish" and no, the old days of publishing to the bulletin board in the hall no longer cuts it... Publish to the world, let everyone see the work, especially those who can't make it to school....
Photo by Ludovico Cera

TECHNOLOGY

IT'S ABOUT OPPORTUNITY, NOT DEVICES
Your technology plan is about creating opportunities for students.

The device won't matter if you have a clear vision of what you want.

A technology plan will fail if its only about getting devices into rooms.

Success happens when your ideas & goals stop caring about the tool and focus on the outcome.
Photo by kevin dooley

HOW WILL TECH

HELP YOU ACHIEVE WHAT YOU CAN'T WITHOUT IT?
Hopefully this presentation has got you thinking...
... Instructional technology is more than mounting a SmartBoard and giving a teacher a laptop...
... How can you create a vision & plan to bring technology into your building or classroom to help you achieve things you can't without it, seize opportunity previously unavailable, and help your students learn & publish beyond the walls...
Photo by GoodNCrazy

@MR_CASAL

I hope everyone found his presentation valuable.
Please feel free to reach out any time with any follow up questions.
Thank you

Contact details:
Christopher M. Casal 
Technology Teacher/Coordinator 
P. S. 10 (15K010)
Email: ccasal@ps10.org
Twitter: @mr_casal
Diigo: mrcasal
www.mrcasal.com
thecasalos.blogspot.com
ps10ipads.wikispaces.com

This presentation created on an iPad using the app Haiku Deck. All images are Creative Commons sourced directly from the app.