Podcast Transcription
Hello and welcome to this podcast. I’m Mike Marotta from the Assistive Technology Center at Advancing Opportunities.
This interview was recorded during the 2011 Texas Assistive Technology Network Statewide Conference in Houston.
The title of this session is Conducting the Symphony of Technology. The presenter is Dan Herlihy from Connective Technology Solutions, Inc. The session description reads: So much technology available for education, yet how do you make it play well together in your classroom? From iPod, iTouch, and iPads to Netbooks, Echo Pens, hand held document readers and more, how do these devices work, what can you do with them, are they easy to use of accessible? Just because it is new and cool, is it really a good fit to enhance the teaching and learning going on in your class? In this hands-on lab, learn how Web 2.0 tools, digital tools for the classroom, including digital video devices, wireless tools and more, can make a difference in engagement, understanding and differentiating your curriculum. Intermediate level computer skills required.
Mike Marotta (MM): Alright, we are here talking with Dan about his afternoon workshop conference today which was Conducting the Symphony of Technology. So Dan, tell us a little bit about the symphony of technology.
Dan Herlihy (DH): Okay Mike, this is like getting in the sandbox! You get all your toys, and you get your trucks and your cars and your steam shovels and how does all this stuff play out together. That’s the idea of teachers looking at technology as something as I go into it I use it then I put it away then I get the next thing. They don’t really see it as how does it all fit into the flow of the classroom. Do I create a lesson plan to use this? As opposed to, no you just pulled these things out on the fly and use them the way you would go to the chalkboard and start to take notes. So a lot of what we’re talking about was, first of all, how do we really look at these devices and not look at the surface of them. An example is the Pulse Pen. So I asked the question, how many people in the audience have seen this? Just about every hand goes up, probably 85% of the people there. Okay, here’s the basics of it – I can do this, and record the sound, write some notes. And then I looked at it I said when I got my pen I played around with that for a few minutes and then never did any of that again. And everybody was like what you do? Well, then I really looked at it and said what does it actually do? It allows me to take this little piece of paper put a mark on it record a sound and then whenever I touch that mark, it plays it back. Well, I can cut that mark out and glue it into a regular book, Cat in the Hat right off the shelf, record it and put it in. Now the kid has an active book. Just touch it and let the kids listen to it. And they were like, oh my God.
Well, here’s another example. Take the note paper out run it through the printer, open up the Boardmaker communication board I created, printed in on it and then I record all the buttons were. Now the student just comes up and touches it and now you have auditory output. So if you’re the teacher and you have your back to me, but I touch it and it says “I need some help”, and you turn around and you go “you do?”, Okay because now everybody is like oh my God. Then I showed them another one that I printed out of Inspiration. A little web, bubble layout, graphic organizer and as a teacher I have a little boxes below it and I recorded what the student was supposed to do for the assignment. They can take it home and they can touch it. “Cut out a picture of animals that live in our state.” Now what do I do next, they touch it and they listen to it and they go do it. So I have embedded all the auditory prompts of what they are doing in it and they can take it home and the parents can work with it, with them. They can bring it back in or they can take it home and they can just make a mark and record their answers to go with it if they are really poor writers but they know what to do. So hey, we can work on their writing skills somewhere else I want work on their expressive language right now. Then I said, hey wait but there’s more. We looked at using it in printing all kinds of things on it and we were like oh my God it’s a totally different device as we are looking at it. And then we went back to the everything we’re looking at is – what are you going to do with it as a teacher. So what supports is it providing me with directions and what am I going to do with it as a student.
We’re using the exact same stuff two different ways and then all of a sudden it’s like oh yeah because what if I take, here’s the final example. We’ve got a fill in the blank quiz we’re going to do today. Print out 28 copies – 27 on regular paper, the 28th copy prints out on that Livescribe paper. Then you take it you read it, record your answers then you handed the paper to me with the pen and then I just listen to what you put, recorded, and I put a check for correct or and x for wrong. Maybe it’s an open-ended essay, maybe I recorded the questions to you and you hit the x at the beginning, you listen to it, you hit the record button and you record your answers. Now you’re actually handing into me the same answer sheet as everybody else – so you are no different. Then I just go listen to it and correct it later. How many versions of the same thing the need? One. It’s just a matter of printing it out on this paper.
MM: It’s amazing when you think about that paper. I’ve done the same thing – and when you said that example I started the smile – because I was able to convince a team that this little girl did not need and aid in the class if someone would just record the test on the Livescribe paper beforehand. Then she could just sit there and listen to it in a headphone and just write down her answers because they had a lady sitting next to her to read it out loud. And so that solve that problem.
DH: So we took another look at – here is the traditional way teaching goes and we took a look at for example Cobb Academy. His approach is that we put each lesson online, there is a video online in your homework for tonight is you’re going to go home and watch the lesson and learn the lesson and when you’re coming to my class tomorrow that’s when you do your homework. The learning takes place anywhere you want it – at home – you do the homework and now I’m going to see have you show me what proficiency you have attained. Let’s say you’ve done great, you move on. I can spend my time working with students that really need help because what happens in a traditional setting. You do your homework and hand it in, two days later I correct it and hand it back. You got half of it wrong well it’s two days later and we’ve moved on to other stuff. And you’re like well I didn’t know it then and now we’re moving on. As opposed to, in this model, everybody has a one-to-one because everybody’s doing the homework independently and I’m floating around saying you’re doing fine you’re doing fine. I’m taking a pulse of what’s going on. Maybe I look and say oh my God everybody stop I realize you’re all getting stopped at this point. Where can the learning take place? IPad, iPhone, android device, at the park, at home, at grandma’s house, whatever. So then we talked about teachers recording the lessons because then the parents can sit down with the student and say “This is the new math we didn’t have this when I was in school” then I can watch this video and we are going to learn together. But you get the idea behind it in that you want some help – let’s take a look at what you have for homework and we’ll work because we can pause and rewind it and look at it again later and where is it – it’s accessible from anywhere.
MM: That’s very true. When we talk about this I’m trying to think if there’s some other – I know you mentioned the iPad and android and stuff like that – are you getting resistance from staff that you’re working with to having those devices so embedded in the curriculum for the classroom?
DH: You know what I think the hardest part is that they see the device as a “oh, I have to learn this and I don’t have time for this” and they see this as an extra add-on versus – we spent a lot of time talking about this – it’s really reengineering how your teaching and what tools you are using to teach. It’s not that smart board is replacing the chalkboard but it is that the smart board allows me to do things I couldn’t do before so I don’t write notes on it. I do something totally different. An example is we looked at a product called Paper Show. It’s like a Pulse Pen – it has paper like the Pulse Pen. You write on it and it’s broadcasting to your computer up on the screen everybody sees it. So now past the paper over and let him write on it. Let’s pass it around. Then I gave everybody a sheet of paper and passed the pen around instead. We are all contributing to all the notes being taken up on the screen and we are doing all the sample scenario lesson. I said what am I doing all along and everybody laughed like, “you’re just walking around, drinking your coffee” and I go oh my God I’m facilitating learning. All of you are contributing to the notes and then when we’re done – there is the notes and we are done. Everybody has access to them. I engaged everybody in the room everybody is part of what’s happening instead of copy this down, yes it’s going to be on the test on Friday and if you’re missing some of this how do I know.
MM: The learning truly becomes collaborative at that point.
DH: Yes and we are also getting away from a traditional everybody is taking the notes. Now, ironically, nobody is really taking the notes but everybody is. We’re all contributing and then when we are done I just post that up online.
MM: There are notes but you are right – no one is truly taking all of the notes.
DH: I watch you focusing on what we’re talking about – I want you to demonstrate for me on that paper giving me an example and yeah, you got it. It’s right there.
MM: Yeah – and be engaged in the conversation instead of focused to the piece of paper that’s in front of you the whole time.
DH: Exactly and missing half of what you’re going to do. I just didn’t get that but who knows you go home and it will show up two days later when I correct your homework.
MM: Right and then you still don’t get it and then, like you said, you move on to something else.
DH: Exactly.
MM: Now if people have questions about what you guys talked about this afternoon in your session, what’s the best way to get in touch with you?
DH: They can e-mail me at dherlihy@juno.com or they can contact Region 4 and we have some of the handouts posted you can get my web address on there. There are other things there.
MM: Sounds good. Thank you very much.
DH: OK. Thanks for having me.
Thanks for listening to this podcast. For more information about the Texas Assistive Technology Network, visit the website at www.texasat.net
For more information about the Assistive Technology Center at Advancing Opportunities, visit the website at www.assistivetechnologycenter.org
The music used in this podcast is by Kevin MacLeod and is used with permission under the Creative Commons License 3.0
