This post was brought upon by the needs that the #UAEdTech learning community have expressed, is responsive and reflective in nature and a model of the type of transparent learning that the course instructors are asking you to engage in throughout the semester. It is also a model of the type of reflection, scaffolding and re-teaching that you will need to provide to your future students in your future classroom.  

Over this past weekend, I received multiple emails regarding the Week 2 grading for Assignment 1.0 Networked Professional Learning. All of the emails contained some variation of a similar theme, “I just saw my Week 2 grade and I am just wondering where I lost points?” As I reflected on the questions being asked and thought about my response, I felt it would be best to address them in an open manner for the benefit of the entire #UAEdTech learning community.

I understand that the format of Assignment 1.0 may be a bit new and different from the other experiences that you have had in school to date. I also understand that it will take some time to get use to this style of learning. The points and feedback you have received to date reflect that you are learning and show room for growth. This is perfectly normal. If you’re a points person (I’m clearly not and firmly believe that we can assess learning with a variety of data beyond just statistics), the total points this week actually account for a mere 7% of the total points you can earn for just this assignment during the semester.

Do not look at the percentage you received on this 1/14th of Assignment 1.0 as a failure. It is certainly far from that. If you have to use the word FAIL, I hope you look at it as your First Attempt In Learning. With this lens,  you will see that you have 13 more weeks to show your learning and growth as a Networked Professional Learner. The points for the Week 2 assignment simply establish a baseline of your understanding. While your baseline may be lower than where you would like it, a review of the rubric will  probably tell you that the grade you received for Week 2 falls within the Satisfactory or higher range, so there is no need for alarm.

A few things to think about as we forge on through the semester. I think they’ll be helpful for you. Read the rest of this entry…

Spring 2015 semester is off and running at The University of Akron and the undergraduate Educational Technology course I am co-facilitating with Dr. Gary Holliday and Ms. Christine Dreher has been holding course orientation sessions all week. The course has about 125 students enrolled in it and we transitioning it from a traditional face-to-face lecture style course to a blended offering. As part of our course orientation, students are beginning to explore collaborative authoring by using Google Presentation to create individual BIO Poems to introduce themselves to their classmates and instructors. Meet our class!

2014 OSBA Capital Conference

Session Handout

It’s About Learning, Not Shiny Tech Tools

Tuesday, November 11, 2014 | 2:00 PM

Districts are investing lots of money in digital technologies. But if it’s about the learning, not the tools, what does that mean for students? What does it mean for teachers and administrators? What does it mean for the role of the board? This highly-interactive discussion will focus on student agency and empowerment, global connection and collaboration, and deeper, more cognitively-complex thinking tasks. Within those areas, what should board members be looking for? What questions should they be asking? How can they help support innovative efforts? We’ll hit all of this and more.

2014 OSBA Capital Conference

Session Handout

Modernizing Education for Student Success

Monday, November 10, 2014 | 9:00 AM

In this day and age, it feels like education is not in the hands of the true stakeholders: the students.  Let’s discuss ways as educators, administrators, school board members, etc. that we can get education back to where it belongs. We will discuss ways that we can move away from the Industrial Age of education and take education and modernize it for our the benefit of our students and communities.

Join Dr. Jeremy Brueck as he discusses a comprehensive approach on how administrators and teachers can integrate the Google ecology in the K-12 environment. The session will provide a wide-ranging look at several frameworks and models that form a roadmap on how to successfully leverage the Google ecology to improve student learning. A vital component of this approach is the interaction and collaboration between the teacher (content knowledge expert), their instructional approaches (pedagogy), and the Google ecology (technology). This interaction is known as the Technological, Pedagogical, and Content Knowledge (TPACK) Model. Learn how you can use TPACK to frame effective technology integration for pedagogy around specific subject matter.

Sprouts and STEM: Growing What We Know About Early Childhood Education and Technology

Digital tools are playing an increasingly important role in classroom learning.  In order to design high-quality learning experiences for our youngest students, early childhood educators must be informed and judicious in the manner in which they integrate these technologies.  Join Jeremy Brueck as he explores appropriate and innovative ways to integrate technology into classrooms in support of young children’s learning.  Drawn on his own research, child development theory, and developmentally appropriate  practice as a foundation, Brueck will demonstrate how digital tools can enhance early learning, support teaching goals, and improve teaching practice.  Brueck will discuss the role of digital tools in:

• Creating engaging and educational experiences for young children that balance with other hands-on learning experiences
• Helping educators with management, organization, and professional learning
• Building teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge

Keynote Presentation Slides

Breakout Session Slides

Breakout Session Resources

Warren Buckleitner, a fantastic colleague and mentor, has again asked me to be a part of the conversation at his 2nd Annual Dust or Magic eBook Retreat: Designing and Critiquing Narrative Driven Interactive Media for Children, being held April 27-29, 2014. This great event is held in Honesdale, PA at the Highlights Foundation Retreat, a really amazing venue for relaxing, creating, networking and  professional learning. I’m extremely excited  to get a chance to learn along side the fabulous presenters he has lined up such as, William Teale, Junko Yokota and Mark Schlichting. Below you can find my conversation description as well as a pretty complete list of references related to ebooks and early literacy. View source document.

Aiden was recently asked to record some sample fluency passages for preservice teachers at The University of Akron to use for practicing 3-Minute Reading Assessments. We used the AudioBoo app to record the passages and post to the cloud. Below you’ll find the embedded audio clips. Teachers could easily use a similar method to post student clips for sharing with parents or other teachers on their team.

The source of the passages is located here. You can also find the teacher scoring sheets for each passage.

I just returned from 3 days in Columbus, Ohio, where I took part in the Ohio Educational Technology Conference. I had a wonderful time learning, sharing and collaborating with friends and colleagues new and old. Monday was a special day for me, as I was presented with the Collegiate Innovator #BestEdTech Award. Tuesday was by far my favorite day though, as I was able to participate in #OETCx, the official ALTconference. I also presented two official conference sessions centered around my ebook research and various ebook related projects I’ve been involved in. As I promised in both those sessions, here are the resources I shared for those of you looking to get started with ebooks in your district, school or library.

Ebook Creation Apps

Read the rest of this entry…

Recently, the Ohio Board of Regents asked me to hold a webinar as part of Ohio’s celebration of Digital Learning Day. Today, I finalized the details of this event and I have shared them below. I’m looking forward to this webinar, as I have the opportunity to present with an outstanding second grade teacher from Green Local Schools, Ms. Kourtney Denning. Kourtney was part of my Digital Text Initiative back in the 2011-2012 school year and continues to be a leader in the classroom when it comes to digital pedagogies. Please join us for what promises to be an interesting and entertaining event!

Read the rest of this entry…