TRANSFORMING EDUCATION THROUGH TECHNOLOGY CTO ROUNDTABLE p. 16 GREAT MAKERSPACES p. 26 TEACHING WITH TECH: A LOVE (AND HATE) thejournal.com STORY ALSO INSIDE: The Changing Role of the CTO • Teachers and Tech: Time to Reevaluate Your Perception Volume 43, No. 5 Volume | • Enhancing Audio: Beyond Amplification • What Makes a Great Makerspace? • 3 Years to Digital Transformation and Success September 2016 #296e92 r: 41 g: 110 b: 146 0916the_cover-dn1-rc1-rc2-FINAL.indd 1 7/27/16 2:06 PM Effective and easy-to-use tools for... managing IT in the classroom and across the District Classroom Management IT Asset Management NetSupport School NetSupport DNA Award-winning Classroom Management solution, NetSupport School, provides teachers with dedicated assessment, monitoring, collaboration and control features to help maintain student focus in technology-led instruction across all types of platforms and devices. In addition to providing a campus-wide overview of all IT assets, NetSupport DNA includes a safeguarding module to help schools monitor and protect students. Proactive and reactive features include: keyword monitoring, ‘Report a Concern’ tool, internet and application metering, USB controls and much more. Available as separate solutions or as an integrated education bundle; ideal for the complete management of IT assets at both classroom and district level. DOWNLOAD A 30 DAY FREE TRIAL www.netsupport-inc.com | 1-888-665-0808 (Toll Free) | [email protected] Untitled-1 1 7/27/16 11:04 AM thejournal.com SEPTEMBER 2016 | Volume 43, No. 5 shutterstock.com 34 COLUMNS 4 Editor’s Note Teachers and Tech: Time to Reevaluate Your Perception 33 Index 34 IT Trends 3 Years to Digital Transformation and Success FEATURES 26 What Makes a Great Makerspace? As schools across the country are demonstrating, makerspaces aren’t just about technology. They’re about giving outlet to students’ creativity. Spaces can be as elaborate as sophisticated machine shops or 26 as simple as libraries converted to 6 TEACHING WITH TECHNOLOGY support hands-on learning. In our latest survey of more than 1,300 educators, respondents reveal 30 Enhancing Classroom an overwhelmingly positive outlook on the use of digital technologies in Audio: Beyond Amplification the classroom — with a few intense exceptions. Systems designed to improve By Dian Schaffhauser and David Nagel audibility in classrooms are changing. They used to be all 16 ROUNDTABLE: THE CHANGING ROLE OF about amplification. That’s still the single most critical component. THE CTO But systems are now also adding As technology has changed K–12 education, so has it changed the role lecture capture, emergency features, of the chief technology officer, a job title that just barely existed 15 years paging, monitoring and collaboration ago. Today’s CTO is not your grandfather’s infrastructure manager! capabilities to enhance not just By Leila Meyer sound, but student learning as well. SEPTEMBER 2016 | 3 0916THE.indb 3 7/27/16 2:01 PM Editor’sNote David Nagel, Editor-in-Chief Teachers and Tech: Time to thejournal.com September 2016 : Volume 43, No. 5 Reevaluate Your Perception WHEN IT COMES to tech initiatives, A whopping 92 percent said it’s made teachers are often portrayed as fearful at their teaching more effective, with about Editorial Advisory Board best, obstructionist at worst. the same percentage saying it has positively Elisa Carlson But it’s always (OK, mostly) seemed to impacted student learning. Director of Instruction, Curriculum and me teachers are not, in fact, fearful of or re- About 85 percent said tech has made#296e92 their Innovation, Surrey Schools (British r: 41 sistant to technology. In the last decade in job easier. And about 84 percent saidg: they 110 are Columbia, Canada) b: 146 which I’ve covered education, very confident or absolutely Geoffrey H. Fletcher the teachers I’ve dealt with confident in their ability to Private Consultant have always been enthusiastic use the technology tools they Ann Flynn and generally competent have at their disposal. Director of Education Technology & State Wwhen it comes to digital tools When asked, “Do you Association Services, National School Boards Association — or, if not competent, at believe technology will have least eager to learn. a positive role to play in Phil Hardin Director of Project IMPACT, That perception is borne education in the future?” 99 Iredell-Statesville School System (NC) out in our first-ever Teach- percent responded, “Yes.” Christopher Harris ing with Technology Survey, These are not obstruction- Coordinator, School Library System, where we asked teachers (more than 1,300 ists. These are educators who are eager, Genesee Valley Educational of whom participated) to tell us candidly, willing and enthusiastic about bringing tech Partnership (NY) anonymously — and without fear of reprisal to the teaching and learning process. Cathy Hutchins — what they actually think about the tech- In fact, what we heard from teachers is Principal, South Woods Elementary nologies they encounter in their daily lives. that education is not keeping up with rapid School, St. John’s County School The results were quite positive. advances in technology — the same mes- District (FL) Teachers not only use technology: They sage we often hear from those who accuse Thomas C. Murray like it; they get it; and they turn to each teachers of obstructionism! State and District Digital Learning other for support when they need it. Director, Alliance for Excellent Education Full results of the survey (8 1/2 pages of Take Heed Alice E. Owen Educational Consultant them!) start on page 6. But let me highlight Administrators and policymakers take note: some broad points. Teachers aren’t afraid of technology at all Mark Stevens General Manager, NEA Academy (well, except cell phones, which topped the Where Are the list of technologies educators wished would Donna Teuber Team Leader for Technology Integration, Obstructionists? die off — more on that topic on page 10). Richland School District Two (SC) First of all, an overwhelming majority (86 What they’re interested in is technology percent) said they think technology has had that helps them fulfill the mission of educa- an extremely positive or mostly positive tion, explore possibilities and take care of impact on education. their mundane processes (and busywork) Only 0.51 percent said technology has more efficiently. had a mostly negative or extremely negative In short, teachers get it. impact on education. (Around 13 percent This survey is the first in what is planned said it’s been mixed.) as an annual research project. And we’d Another large majority (about 80 per- love to hear from you about any additional cent) are confident or extremely confident questions you’d like to see in there! in leadership’s vision for technology in To continue the conversation, e-mail me their school. at [email protected]. 4 | SEPTEMBER 2016 0916THE.indb 4 7/27/16 2:01 PM At CDW•G, we can help you support today’s needs and tomorrow’s dreams with a robust network for connected classrooms. We’ll evaluate your environment and help you find a solution that brings you the bandwidth you need for mobile devices, digital learning, streaming education and more. Learn more at CDWG.com/cisco MKT13910_4145 ©2016 CDW LLC. CDW®, CDW•G® and PEOPLE WHO GET IT™ are trademarks of CDW, LLC Untitled-1 1 7/27/16 11:00 AM Teaching with Tech: A Love (AND HATE) Story By Dian Schaffhauser and David Nagel Responses from the many educators who shared their opinions reveal an overwhelmingly positive outlook on the use of digital technologies in the classroom — with a few intense exceptions. TEACHERS LOVE TECHNOLOGY. More than nine in 10 say that it has helped them teach and helped their students learn; almost nine in 10 are positive about its impact on education; and 85 percent believe it makes their jobs easier. Most would like their schools to run 1-to-1 programs, to ensure that every student had a computing device, thereby enabling them to flip their classes and introduce blended learning. However, they also hate technology; a lot of them wish their students’ personal mobile phones would just die out. Those results and others come from an online survey THE Journal recently ran to better understand this love (and sometimes hate) relationship educators have with technology in teaching. A total of 1,307 qualified respondents from K–12 schools across the country answered our multiple choice questions and also shared a lot of open-ended opinions shutterstock.com about what works and doesn’t work for them in their classrooms, schools and districts. 6 | SEPTEMBER 2016 0916THE.indb 6 7/27/16 2:01 PM FEATURE | research Who Responded ticipants. Science leads the way by a nose of the magazine having more readers in Because this survey was intended to un- followed in order by social studies, which those states; but it’s also likely that those derstand more about technology for teach- we defined broadly as including subjects educators tend to have more technology in ing, we targeted our questions around like geography, history and psychology; their classrooms, and therefore they have a those topics teachers could answer English; computer-related; math; career/ deeper investment in the subject of teach- better than anybody else in the school or technology education; and humanities. All ing with tech. district. In fact, two-thirds of respondents THE SUBJECTS MOST FREQUENTLY (66 percent) said they were teachers. TAUGHT BY RESPONDENTS Perspective on Tech Another 9 percent were library and media Science 42% As you might expect, people who respond specialists. Everybody else — including Social studies 41% to the use of digital technology in the the ample number of individuals who English 29% classroom are generally upbeat about its work in school IT organizations — fell influence in schools.