Hottest Posts Everyone's Reading this Winter

The last few months have been incredibly busy. It seems like it was just Christmas, and somehow we are almost ready for Spring Break. I hope you're having the best school year ever. But even if you're not, keep in mind you are growing, learning, and contributing every day. Your work matters, and you are making a difference.

I'm just reflecting a little here on some of the posts from the winter months. Thanks for being loyal readers, for all of your comments and shares, and for your desire to partner with me to learn and grow. I appreciate your commitment and dedication to students and learning.

So without further adieu, here is a list of the most popular posts from the past few months. If you missed something that looks interesting, take a few minutes to read it and let me know what you think. 

Title	Views
9 Essential #EdTech Ideas to Share With Your Team February 5	16640
7 Reasons ‘Classroom Leadership’ is better than ‘Classroom Management December 28	10003
7 Tips for Limiting Problem Behaviors in Your Classroom February 19	7583
5 Blind Spots Educators Must Address January 6	6950
Dear Defender of the Status Quo December 2	5249
Why Successful People Are Open to Coaching January 22	4155
What Do You Want Your Legacy to Be? January 29	2421
15 Reasons #EdTech Is Valuable Beyond Student Achievement February 26	1879
11 Apps that Help Me Manage My Social Media Life February 23	1724

15 Reasons #EdTech Is Valuable Beyond Student Achievement

When we were planning for 1:1 at Bolivar High School, we had numerous community meetings and invited feedback and questions from our stakeholders. One of the questions that was raised went something like this, "How can you be sure student achievement will increase as a result of every kid having a device?"

And that's a very good question, at least on the surface. It would seem reasonable that if a school is going to spend thousands of dollars on devices, there should be a direct correlation, even causation, in the research to demonstrate a positive effect on measurable learning outcomes. 

That question comes up again from time to time. Our middle school is now also working toward implementing their own version of 1:1.

The research on the impact of 1:1 programs is mixed. Some studies point to flat achievement or even declining achievement, especially with low-income and minority students. Other studies, like Project Red for instance, have found that schools implementing a 1:1 student-computer ratio along with key implementation factors outperform other schools.

But I'm a bit skeptical of studies on either side of this issue. It is very difficult to isolate any single factor or group of factors to show direct impact on measurable student achievement outcomes. There are so many moving parts in what students learn and to what extent they learn it.

I do believe that technology implemented properly CAN have a positive impact on student achievement. But I would also argue that there are many, many reasons to go digital in schools besides student achievement. And I mean student achievement in the narrowest sense. Everything we do is related to student achievement in my view, but researchers and bureaucrats usually examine this factor through a narrow lens of standardized test results.

Since I believe so strongly in the benefits of technology for students, I asked my PLN for feedback on what they believe are the most important reasons to go digital beyond strictly academic outcomes. I summarize the ideas below, and you can also check out their responses in the Twitter Moment embedded below.

15 Reasons #EdTech is Valuable Beyond Student Achievement

1. Essential to learning in a modern world.

Technology is just as essential to learning in today's world as the school library. To be an effective learner in today's world means you're going to be using digital tools to learn.

2. Encourages lifelong learning.

Our school's motto is Learning for Life. We believe in the importance of developing skills that will translate to life. If we want our students to be lifelong learners, they need to understand the role of technology in that.

3. Connects students and schools with the outside world.

These tweets from Ellen Deem and Kevin Foley summarize it nicely. Technology allows us to bring the world into our school, and take our school into the world.

@deem_ellen @DavidGeurin Technology has taken the world into my small school.It has also brought my small school to the world @TheSTEAMakers

— Kevin Foley (@FoleyKev) February 25, 2017

4. Reflects how work gets done outside of schools.

Almost every career, project, or activity will involve technology in some way. Having stronger skills related to technology brings value to most every area of life.

5. Allows for practicing digital citizenship.

How can we expect students to make good decisions and develop into responsible digital creators and consumers if we don't give opportunities for practice in school?

6. Important for teaching digital literacy.

Students need to understand digital literacy as part of overall information literacy. It's not enough to be able to read and write. You need to know how the digitally connected world works.

7. Important for practicing the 4 C's.

If we are serious about teaching communication, collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking, technology is a great vehicle to explore those skills.

8. Kids like it.

I love this response from Melinda Miller. If we are serious about kids becoming independent learners, then learning needs to be exciting and fun.

@DavidGeurin kids like it!

— Melinda Miller (@mmiller7571) February 25, 2017

9. Improves communication.

We gain opportunities to communicate and connect within and outside our school through the use of email, social media, shared documents, etc. 

10. Improves student engagement

Technology can play an important role in increasing student engagement and creating more student-centered learning opportunities.

11. Provides an authentic audience for student work outside the school.

Student work shouldn't be destined to finish in a trash can. It can be saved forever and shared with the world using digital tools.

12. Allows new ways to differentiate learning.

Technology is great for meeting individual learning needs. 

13. It can personalize learning.

Technology can create opportunities for students to pursue passions, make choices, and have their voice heard.

14. It creates efficiency.

With technology, we can use less paper, save time, and overcome the limitations of when and where we learn.

15. It supports curiosity.

Students have questions. A connected device provides the means to search for answers. Someone made the comment that tech has made us less curious. I don't necessarily think that's true.

Question: What are your thoughts on ways #EdTech impacts learning beyond student achievement? I want to hear from you. Leave a comment below or respond on Facebook or Twitter. 

Also, be sure to check out all the tweets from my PLN in response to this topic. Thanks everyone for contributing!

Beyond Student Achievement

11 Apps That Help Me Manage My Social Media Life

I use my iPhone to do most of my connecting through social media. I guess that trend is common since mobile device use is up while use of laptops/desktops is down worldwide. This chart illustrates how that trend is expected to continue.

Retrieved: http://digiday.com/media/mobile-overtaking-desktops-around-world-5-charts/

Social media has been transformational in my work as an educator. The connections I've made and the ideas I've encountered have pushed me to grow and learn in ways I never could've imagined.

But I also don't want social media to take over my life. I work very hard to maximize my productivity and get the most out of my online work without compromising other important areas of my life.

These are 11 apps I've used that I've found most beneficial to managing my social media life. They aren't in any particular order, and they serve a variety of purposes.

1. Twitter-I use the Twitter app to read tweets and post to multiple accounts (school and personal/professional). I sometimes even participate in Twitter chats using my iPhone. 

2. Buffer-This app is fantastic for scheduling tweets and managing multiple social media accounts. I like to read and share relevant content to my followers. I've found Buffer is the best way to do this. One of the things I like about it is the ability to follow RSS feeds within the app. It brings some of my favorite content right into the app so I can review and share.

3. Facebook Pages-I help manage content for our high school page, and I also have a Facebook fan page for my blog. I can take care of both accounts through this app's interface. It works great!

4. Nuzzel-I use Nuzzel to read the hottest stories from my Twitter feed. Basically, it ranks articles that have been shared the most by my friends. I always find content here I want to share with others. It also works with Facebook. You just have to connect your accounts to the app.

5. Evernote-Anything I don't want to forget goes in Evernote. It's a great app for taking notes and staying organized. I keep a list of possible blog topics here also so I always have something to think and write about.

6. Juice-This app is another way I get content to read and share. It analyzes my Twitter and then generates new articles to read every 24 hours. I don't think very many people know about this one, but I really like it.

7. Flipboard-I use Flipboard semi-regularly, but it often frustrates me. It's supposed to aggregate relevant links and stories based on my interests. It's algorithm is supposed to learn my preferences and habits. The problem is I don't find helpful content there as often as I'd like. Am I doing something wrong? 

8. Vanillapen-This app is great for making quick and easy quote images. I like to share inspiring images or quotes and this makes it a breeze.

9. Pexels-You might share this app with your students too. It's a great online platform for finding Creative Commons licensed photos to use in projects and presentations. You don't want to violate copyright laws by choosing any photo from a Google search. The photos on this site are free and there are new pics added daily. 

10. Canva-I use Canva to create images for blog posts or to share on social media. Some of the graphics and images are fee based, but I use it often and rarely pay for anything.

11. TweetDeck-This tool is my favorite way to participate in Twitter chats. The simple column view allows users to monitor multiple accounts or hashtags all at once. For a chat, I typically have a column for the hashtag and one for my notifications so I know when someone has mentioned or tweeted at me.

I always enjoying new apps and have really benefited from the ones I've shared in this post. Having the right app is like finding the right tool in my shop. It makes every project turn out better!

Question: What are your favorite apps right now? I'm curious what works well for you. You can leave a comment below or respond on or .