Like Never Before

"I am not a teacher, but an awakener." - Robert Frost

I have an introduction I give before introducing Google Apps to students. Before I get to the various apps themselves or how to sign in, I point out the power of digital tools. I want to wake the students and their teacher up to the why before talking about the how.

I noticed a spark in the room when I first did this. I had the students' attention at a deeper level. We knew something different was happening in the room. I’ve honed my message over the last year and a half and now when I’m done with my 15 minute intro, I see signs of life more clearly. They ask questions related to their dreams. They start thinking about doing things they care about.

This ed-tech stuff is far bigger than time saving tips or ways to increase test scores.

Last week I spoke to a fifth grade class. The next day I got a note from three of them who wanted to make a comic book about a novel they just finished. The teacher (a hard worker who has been slow to integrate tech tools) said the talk changed her outlook toward technology.

Teaching them the how of the Google tools is going to be a lot easier from here out.

So here’s the short outline of what I say in the first few slides. This is it, but it makes a big difference.

1) Tools help us do more. Consider a task like digging a hole by hand, using a shovel and using a backhoe. The best tools make an amazing difference.

2) The computers on our desks, in our bags or in our pockets are the most powerful tools known to man for many things.

3) What do digital tools help us do more of? There are many things, but for school:

• Connect like never before.
• Create like never before.
• Learn like never before.

4) Many people use technology to play like never before. Some use it to do something big. Which will you choose?

The right way teachers should use technology

I get paid good money to help teachers and students use technology in education. At work and anywhere else where people know what I do, I'm often accused of being in love with technology. I do tend to surround myself with the tools, both when working or in my hobbies.

But I'm not in love with the technology itself and I don't think this is a minor point. For those of us in the business of educating the younger generation, a field where far too many leaders are still slow to embrace digital tools, it is vital to acknowledge the difference between the tech and what one does with it.

In fact, I'll be so bold here to submit the right way to use digital tools. I'll even go further and suggest that we as educators need to master and model this right way. I'll try to be brief, but I need to go back a ways to set the stage.

I've been playing around with computers for over 30 years. I remember long ago there was a fascination with the tools themselves. I liked getting the latest and greatest. In time, though, the thrill wore off. Oh, I remember a couple times in the past two decades when the tool itself impressed me. The first time I saw an iPhone that old spark was there. But even if new gadgets can still snag my attention for a second, my budget won't allow me to live under that spell.

Somewhere along the line my interest shifted from the tools to what I could do with them. I fell in love with creating new things in all my areas of interest. From graphic design to writing to games, new tools allowed me to do more than I could before.

Tools improved and the internet put me in touch with more people. I am colorblind, but I have learned a few tricks in my graphics programs to work around it when I created images for websites and my games. My love for music and songwriting far exceeds my natural abilities, but I found ways to capture fleeting melodies, transcribe tricky rhythms and communicate arrangements to people who could take them further.

Like all of us who first did that web search for our hobby, we know social media and fan websites have put us in touch with people with similar interests. I grew up and have lived in small towns all my life. There have never been many people who live nearby that shared my interests to the extent that I did. After almost 20 years of having internet access, though, I've created games and music with people from all over the country, some of whom I've never met in person.

I get excited about technology because it lets me create better art and gets it to more people who will enjoy it. I didn't realize it at the time, but all those years I did this with my hobbies were preparing me for my job. Now a lot of my time is spent inspiring teachers and students to create and share the work.

Yes, years ago technology was complicated. Those of us who poured months of our lives into it were impressed with the tech in and of itself. Nerdiness, in one way or another, was required to care that much. Certain skills gave us an advantage to overcome the insane learning curves of the hardware and software.

But the digital revolution we've experienced is not because more people have those skills now or more people just love technology. It is simply this: 

The tools became easier to use and they put us in touch with each other. Then what makes us human was finally able to take over. 

Technology is so prevalent in our society because it allows us to discover, create and connect like never before.

A possible downside is that, just as easily, it can help us retreat and consume the entertainment we discover like never before. It clearly doesn't have to be that way though.

Those possibilities--creating more or consuming more--are why it's so important for teachers to understand, master and model the right way to use technology. Let's look for ways to discover, create and share in a way that amplifies our talents and gifts.

As we do that, we will naturally inspire our students to do the same.

Quick Songwriting with UJam

I put this video tutorial together for the teacher P^3BL session I'll be leading this week. The purpose of the session is to help teachers practice creativity and explore some inspiring projects. This possible project involves writing a short song and creating the music for it in UJam.

First, here's an example of a short chorus I created with my wife:

Here are several examples from a project I did with students for a math activity.

Before doing the steps shown in the video, teachers in the session would write a short chorus and make up a melody. The goal isn't to make a great hit, but simply to stretch and finish a digital project in the short time we will have together.

I've had a lot of success with UJam lately. Technology is certainly making songwriting and music creation accessible to everyone. In terms of the SAMR Model, I think this is a great example of Redefinition. It allows students to create a great sounding final product that (given most school budgets and time) would have been nearly impossible even 10 or 15 years ago.

Bono - Dreams, Doing and the Digital Age

I'm a big fan of U2 and Bono in particular. I've followed his work for almost 30 years. I love his thoughts, his faith and how they come out through his art. Here's a great quote from him that speaks to what I'm trying to do with my students:

"What turns me on about the digital age, what excited me personally, is that you have closed the gap between dreaming and doing. You see, it used to be that if you wanted to make a record of a song, you needed a studio and a producer. Now, you need a laptop."

Last summer I was on a mission trip with the youth group from my church. We were in a small city in West Virginia working with poor children. Of course, I had my iPad with me. I was showing an art program to some young girls and they were making pictures. These other kids came up and asked right away what they were playing.

Just like in school, when there's a computer nearby and five minutes to kill, most children see the computer as an entertainment device. Some see it as the tool that shortens the gap between dreaming and doing. I try to open their eyes to that possibility.

People tell me their kids are good with technology. Kids tell me they're good with technology. I like to ask one simple thing - what do they make with it?

No matter what it is you want to do with your time, digital technology is the tool that can help you do it better. If you want to play, sit and stare at mindless entertainment or just chat with friends, you can use technology to do it in ways that were never before imagined.

Whatever you want to do, you can do it big. 

Now more than ever the future belongs to those who want to dream.