Before you begin reading this blog entry get inspired and
learn about moon shot thinking. Moon shot thinking is
moving beyond what we already know to a place where we don’t know. What does look like in education? We are driving our teachers to think about
how technology can be integrated in the classroom to enhance the learning
experience. If we can get teachers to think
about the possible whether it is defined or undefined then we will have a culture
where innovation can prosper.
I wanted to connect moon shot thinking to the introduction
of TPACK. Teachers are proficient with their content
knowledge and pedagogy. Adding a
technology into their everyday thinking and actions around the instructional
cycle is going to be the new norm. We
need to invest time into making this transition. Teachers were given a chart, which I
modified, from Judi Harris and Mark Hofer’s research. They had to reflect on a learning goal
(content), identify the teacher/ student actions (pedagogy), and then moon
shoot the possibilities of how technology can enhance the learning cycle
(technologies). They were driven to
think about what they know and don’t know about technology. What technologies exist that could be
integrated in, what technologies do we know about but do not it available for
use? What would we want the technology
to do if we could create it to enhance the learning? This reflection process was a safe beginning
for teachers to begin thinking about how their planning will change when
students have devices in their hands all the time.
One outcome of this work was that it is okay to think of the
undefined because that idea could be actually become a reality. We need to share ideas because someone may
know of a technology that could meet that need.
Ultimately, if we as adults can be moon shot thinkers then just imagine
how they would impact our students.
On a separate not we ended our professional development with
Ten-Minute Tech Take Aways. This model
is our first step towards entering the world of unconferences. Teachers could choose from about ten learning
opportunities from using airdrop to getting a brief overview of iMovie. Teachers were excited about this and wanted
more so we will now offer an opportunity for teachers to attend multiple
sessions in November prior to our first unconference in late winter.
Check out some of the learning on twitter by going to
#cmscharged
