Kara Rosenblattis an assistant professor at the University of Texas of the Permian Basin. Dr. Rosenblatt obtained her master’s degree in Special Education, Learning Disabilities, and Behavior Disorders in 2001 from Florida State University and her doctoral degree in Exceptional Education in 2009 from the University of Central Florida. In her current role, Dr. Rosenblatt teaches undergraduate and graduate level special education courses. In addition to her teaching experience in higher education, Dr. Rosenblatt has experience working within state agencies, collaborating with special education personnel and agencies to coordinate training and delivery of services focused on improving the use of assistive technology, accessible instructional materials, and virtual instruction and assessment. Dr. Rosenblatt’s research interests revolve around technology and learning, with a specific interest in the academic achievement and post high school outcomes of students with disabilities and the use of technology in teacher preparation and professional development. She has facilitated and evaluated professional development projects on the implementation of research-based strategies, parent–school collaboration, and the legal aspects of special education throughout Florida and Mississippi. She spent five years working with middle school students with behavioral and learning disabilities in Florida and Maryland.
Don McMahonis an assistant professor of Special Education Technology at Washington State University in Pullman, WA. Don received his doctorate in education from the Special Education PhD program at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. In addition to his doctoral work, Don attended the Harvard Graduate School of Education’s Universal Design for Learning Summer Institute. His research involves increasing the use of universal design for learning principles in education, using mobile devices to increase achievement for students with disabilities, and exploring the impact of augmented reality as an assistive technology for students with disabilities. Don was a special education teacher for seven years and then became an instructional coach for general education and special education teachers. Don is a national presenter, providing professional development sessions for both general educators and special educators on using mobile devices in education. He has worked with diverse groups of children in a variety of ways, including as the director of an adventure-based summer camp, an outdoor educator and sailing instructor, a volunteer in Haiti, a technology instructor, and a teacher at an alternative school.
Introduction
Welcome!
Dear Colleague,
My own interest in using technology in the classroom began years ago as a new teacher at the secondary level. Unfortunately, I was not able to match my students’ technological savvy and often felt intimidated as I tried to keep up. On top of that, I spent so much time preparing lessons, grading papers, and working with students in extracurricular activities, I struggled to find the time to even start looking for new ideas.
As I forced myself to learn more and more about technology, I found out how using digital technologies allowed me to better engage with my students and increased their motivation to learn. I discovered so many tools that helped me reach my struggling learners in new and exciting ways. However, I also found my biggest challenge was organizing all the exciting things I was learning and the tools I was finding!
So now, Kara, Don, and I humbly offer you some of the newest technology strategies and simple ways to keep them organized for best practice in your own classroom. We are pleased to be able to share with you what we have learned about managing educational technology for all students in all content areas. We will share realistic tips, useful suggestions, creative tools, and easy-to-use techniques that will help you develop and strengthen your own technology work on behalf of your students.
This handbook is organized so that each of you can take specific ideas to use in your own classroom regardless of your content area or level of learner. The handbook combines large-scale, general strategies and step-by-step examples to make sure no one is left feeling confused. The focus is on practical strategies for discovering, introducing, and integrating devices, apps, and web tools into your classroom. If you follow the steps in the handbook, by the end of the year you will be amazed at how far you have come in regard to integrating technology into your instruction. I know you will find the handbook useful, enjoyable, and fun!
Keep Allowing Genius in Your Classroom!
Zachary
How to Use This Workbook
Definition
For the purposes of this book, mobile technology is defined as any device that can be transported by a student for learning inside and outside the classroom. We will primarily focus on strategies that can be implemented with phones and tablets.
Purpose
The purpose of this teacher workbook is to simplify the process of integrating mobile technology (smartphones, Android devices, iOS devices, etc.) into teaching and learning. This is the “Last Backpack Generation”—the last generation of students who will need to carry backpacks to school. In the future, much of the information students interact with will be via a mobile device (primarily their phone) as opposed to a physical textbook, worksheet, or library research article. This workbook is intended to help with the process of implementing these resources in a strategic way so that teaching remains about pedagogy, not about technology. Therefore, the workbook is divided into four unique, practical sections.
The Basics of Teaching With Technology section will arm you with the practical know-how for managing multiple mobile devices in your classroom. The Basics of Devices digs into what you need to know about mobile technology in order to maximize it for student learning.
The Strategies section will focus on strategies for implementation with dozens of practical examples. While we do share many specific tools, our aim is to provide proven strategies for learning. This is done by focusing on the categories of simple tools first—for example, video and pictures—that can have a major impact on learning.
The Lesson Planning section will focus on schedules, lesson plans, and ideas for seamlessly implementing technology into your classroom. There are lesson-planning worksheets available for you to use as you integrate the proven strategies. This section is intended to make implementation easy and less overwhelming.
Finally, the Resources section provides information for further exploration and continued learning about mobile technology.
This workbook can be used individually, in a group, or as a resource during a facilitated workshop. It is set up in a “choose-your-own-adventure” format in which you have the ability to decide what strategies will work best for you. If using it with a group, the facilitator can help you with the process of using a tool while you focus on the application in class. Further, we know that many of the tools we use are updated frequently. Keep an eye on our companion website (www.resources.corwin.com/lastbackpack) for updates. One thing that will not change is the strategies used. They will still be valuable even if the technology changes—it will be about adapting and tweaking, which is what we teachers do every day anyway!
Educators, administrators, and tech supporters will appreciate many of the features in this book, including the following list:
And please remember that the tools and strategies we recommend are simple ideas that are
