Normally I would prompt you to make a copy of this document, but today I encourage you to add it to your drive. This is because there is much more work to be done within this file in the year to come! Enjoy!

Tried and Tested. Is what we are doing tried and tested. Are the strategies you are using tried and tested. Can you fall back on years of experience to ensure that it is the right path. This phrase is one that I hear time and time again with teachers. They are waiting for the time when we can say, "yep, this is the path to go because X, Y and Z happened". Honestly, this phrase may never come and here is why.

Whether you live in a technology rich environment or try to seclude yourself from this world, it is impacting everything you do. Buying groceries at target, searching for items online, or using a fit bit all create digital trails of information in your name that can be tracked, measured, and to an extent guided. This may be scary to some, but it is here and it is real. The true impact that technology has on our lives is only at the bottom floor. There will be a day when everything around us has a chip in it, and all of those chips can talk with each other. They are talking about how you go about your life and how you interact with the things around you. They are talking about how they can make your life better and how they can influence you to make better choices. These ideas and directions are already in place by companies like Google and Apple. 

The growth trend of technology is exponential and we are just at the beginning. it culd be represented by a hockey stick that you lean against the wall. We are just now at the bottom of the hockey stick. As you continue to move upward, we will reach a day when the growth trend explodes upward. There will be a new breakthrough that will forever change what we do and how we do it. Think about the touch screen cell phone. This technology took a few years to grab hold, but today you no longer have the choice to have a button based phone. This growth is equivalent to you riding a downward traveling escalator. You can choose to hike upward, or you can stand still. By standing still, you are going to move away from the end result. The target of knowing how to use technology to boost student learning is forever moving and shifting upward. Without taking purposeful steps toward this goal, you are moving away from it and not standing still. 

The only constant in todays world is change. We should expect that if you learn how to do something, the process or the tool will change within the next 3 years. This mindset is one that many younger people already have. They are "good with technology" because they know that you can either embrace the change and know that it is a constant, or you can try to shut it out all together. Like I mentioned above, choosing to shut it out and ignore this, you are moving away from your target. It will take longer for you to get to your goal.

School technology is becoming more and more advanced. Students and teachers are being provided access, and tools that provide opportunities that have never existed before. iPads are one of the primary tools that can be seen in students hands. These devices can be looked at in multiple ways. In my experience, these thoughts can be distilled into two major topics. 

The most common vision that I see for iPads is that they are for teaching students. There are hundreds of thousands of apps available that teach content. They use color, flash, or games to engage students while teaching them concepts in the background. Teachers who hold this as their belief have iPads that are filled with tons of apps. They are probably grouped in folders based on the content that they teach. 

iPads make for a one of a kind creation tool. Other tablets and devices come close, but do not have the access that comes with an iPad. The access to the microphone and camera through the countless easy to use creation apps make this a one stop shop for your students. In my opinion, this is the ONLY use for these devices!

My Story is one of the most universal apps that I have ever used. It is incredibly easy for students to use and it can export as a video, a book, or as PDF's. One of my favorite parts about this app is the audio recording option. This transforms a fun book making app into a tool for assessments, and capturing learning.

The work needed to improve our daily teaching practice is unending and often quite daunting. The world around us is constantly changing and creating a fluid, updated future. This future, although unpredictable, is very different from today. It promises to be more connected, faster paced, and driven by technology. Whether you work with technology or not, it will influence the world around you. This future forces us to look critically at how we are educating students. It forces us to ensure that all students have the ability to learn and achieve at high levels. This responsibility is one that I share, which is why I am constantly aiming to help you through these resources. 

Below you will find a link for a Google Slides template that allows you to organize your math instruction to meet the needs of all learners. There are center ideas and structures, formative assessment guides and icons, and a 5 day layout that will keep you and your students organized. 

2017 is here! This year promises to be a time for change and a prime opportunity for improvement. I am going to kick off this year with a series of 1 page documents that help to provide how to's on the tools that i support classrooms with along with some quick ideas that you can take to integrate this tool into your daily teaching. I hope you enjoy them!