I have been an instructional technology coach for 4 months, and I have learned one hard truth. Change can not come from the District. It can not come from Admin. They can both point the way, but real change in a school starts with teacher leaders. These diamonds in the rough, are tough to spot sometimes. They can be tough to bring out of their shell. They are however the essential ingredient in the change mixture. Without them, change does NOT WORK.
     As a instructional coach, I am in 4 different schools. I see the change on a ground level every day, and the schools that lead are the ones with real teacher leaders. I am not talking about department  chairs, PLC leaders, or that teacher that is the loudest one in meetings. I am talking about true, honest teachers leaders. We are talking about teachers that not only do incredible things in the classroom, but these are also the teachers who share best practices.
      Right now, I have one school that is really hitting a homerun here, and much of their success can be attributed to one person. The other schools are doing great things, but one of the unique things about the district I work for is that they are a charter district. This has allowed schools to have quite a bit of control over how they use their local funds. One of the main reasons this school has hit such a homerun is they used those funds to hire a part time instructional coach. Now this may not be the answer for everyone, and it almost always depends on the actual person. This instructional coach though has done a fantastic job of spotting teacher leaders and pushing them to share. She has committees set up within the school to lead PD. These committees are made up of teachers leaders within the school.
     You know what's also happening? These same teacher leaders are sharing. They are pushing their colleagues to step out of their comfort zones. I have seen a staff that has gone from being in their little bubbles to taking small ideas from these teacher leaders and making them happen. Kids are creating. Kids are having choices. Are they done with changing ways to personalized learning? No, but the process has definitely started.
      I think another one of my schools would be considered by many to be the most ready to make a change to personalized learning in the district. You know why? They have respected teacher leaders who are pushing the charge at the school. They don't even have a great number of devices per class, but on any given day you can walk the halls and see a number of kids using those devices to create. This is a school that has school that has young energetic teachers that share. That's the common denominator.
       Where does admin fit in all off this? Where does the district office fit in all of this? The easy answer to that is vision and growth. First, the vision of what classrooms should be has to come from the district office. They are the folks who have to allocate finances, and they have to use those limited finances in smart resourceful way. This means there has to be some sort of vision of what you want the classroom to be. If a teacher does not have the necessary resources change just simply can't happen. Another focus of the district office should be on developing teacher leaders. The district I work with has a great program to identify and task teacher leaders to become that in their own building. It is a great model other districts should follow.
      Local school admin should be the main group challenging their best and brightest to become that teacher leader. They should be challenging those teachers to get out of their comfort zone. Have those teachers share with more than their PLC. Support them as they want to go to conferences, and not only learn but share with educators outside of their school. Give them incentives to be that leader.
     If you want change to happen pull in the best and the brightest who are int he field every day. They can change their own classroom, and then that word spreads. Push others to see the cool and innovative innovative innovative these teacher are doing. Have them share as much as possible. Let them make decisions for your school. When teacher leaders feel like they have they have a say, real change will happen.
     

    I just wrote out a cheat sheet for a school I am working worth, and I believe its worth sharing. The school is very concerned about behavior management as they add more devices, and I am hoping this helps their admin team formulate a clear message. I think its also a great reminder to teachers that device management is really about the pedagogy. So here it is....

Pedagogy Tips and Tricks

Device Management in the Classroom is Not About the Tech. It’s about good Pedagogy and Practice.

1. Do Not Be Afraid! Take Risk!- Students can sense fear when teachers are using technology in the classroom. They are more likely to do something inappropriate if they feel that fear and realize the teacher isn’t sure of themselves. If you are fearful, have support in your classroom when trying an activity for the first time. Between the admin staff, the METI, and the technology coach there are plenty of people available.
   
   
2. Have engaging, personalized student driven activities- The best way to end behavior management issues is to have activities that students are interested in and not bored with. Be open to changing an activity to peek student interest. For instance if you are asking a student to tell a story and they are a comic book fan, be open to letting them tell the story through a comic book even if it was not originally a choice.
   
   
3. BE MOBILE!- If you're afraid of what little Johnny is doing in the back of the classroom on a device, get away from your stuff and go look. Devices in the classroom take a change in mindset. You need to be willing to move away from your desk. There all tools that can aid in this which we will discuss below. Being involved with students is always the most sure fire way to limit issues.
   
   
4. Have Time Limits- Personalized learning is not free for all learning. There are plenty of timers available online to keep kids on track and restrict how deep they can go into a tool. Just Google Search Them!
   
   
5. Have a Typical Activity Setup- Again personalized learning does not have to be free for all learning. Technology Usage is evaluated on the Tims in Fulton County, and it outlines a typical assignment set up. It ask that you have Goal Setting, Planning, Monitoring Progress, and Evaluation Steps. By using those as your typical set up students can become trained in those steps and can be more focused on their assignments.
   
   
6. Don’t try to Learn Every Tool, and Make the Ones you do Know Clear to Students- When you have students create, you should know at least one or two tools that you can really help students with. You can give them the option to use others, but then you make it clear to them that they will have to problem solve on their own. If they get stuck, they can always use the tools you do know.
   
   
7. Vet, Vet, Vet - Just like anything, you need to get anything you use to make sure its appropriate for your students. Be sure to keep in mind that many tools don’t allow students under 13 to use them without parent permission. A good rule of thumb is to only use things that don’t require a sign in for students under 13.
   
   
8. Use Things you Can Moderate and Keep Privacy of- If you are going to use tools that allow students to collaborate and publish their work, make sure you have things that you can moderate (delete inappropriate content) and keep private. There are plenty out there so just ask you METI or Tech Coach if this is an issue.
   
   
9. Have an Idea What Common Time Wasters Look Like- It’s always a good idea for a teacher to know what all of the common social media platforms, Youtube, and Games look like on a Screen. You don’t have to know what they do, just know what they look like in order to redirect students when you see them.
   
   
10. Have Incentives- It takes teacher trust and motivated students to let students go and create. Come up with some sort of incentive system that you can motivate students with. There are several tools that can aid with this.
    
    

Tools to Aid Teacher Mobility

1. Nearpod- Direct instruction is still a very viable form of instruction. It’s just not something that should be done all of the time. Nearpod adds to a teachers mobility by moving the direct instruction from the front of the room to the device in front of the student. The teacher can control this presentation from their own Ipad which makes them more Mobile. It’s also a great starting place for teacher to move into the Device age
   
   
2. Air Server- Air Server is a software that allows the teacher to display their Ipad on their overhead projector. It’s something that is available throughout Fulton, and it gives the Teacher that mobility they need. A teacher could move any type of direct instruction to their device using this. They could use something like EduCreations if they are in need of a Whiteboard. They will also have access to Keynote and Powerpoint through their Ipad which means they can run those presentations from their Ipad
   
   
3. Some Type of Remote Desktop- If you must have your full computer, there are plenty of Ipad Remote Desktop applications that would allow you to do this mobily.
   
   

Incentives (Tools to Help a Teacher Track)

1. Irewards Chart App (Easiest Set Up)- This app basically lets you set up a digital version of the Gold Star Chart. The teacher could use this on their Ipad as they move around the room to award points. They could then tie some sort of incentive system to it
   
   
2. Class Dojo (Average Set Up)- This tools allow teachers to set up classes and reward points for positive behaviors and take away points for negative behaviors. It gives you a total score which would be very easy to use as an incentive. The best part about Dojo though is that it allows you to give parents a code to create an account, and they can then see their child’s behavior in real time. Be careful of a common misuse though… Many teachers put their screen up for everyone to see. This should not be done for any reason.
   
   
3. Class Craft (Difficult to Set Up): Class Craft takes the concept of Class Dojo and smashes it together with World of Warcraft. It really turns your class into a game. Could be great if used in the right way by someone who has an idea of what they are doing
   
   

        The wearable category is the new rage in tech, and I have found the wearable I love. The pictures in the first part of this post are of my Myo. This is a device I have wanted ever since I saw it in Leslie Fisher's gadget presentation two years. It's been a device I have had to wait for. I saw it two years ago, but I did not bite the bullet on the purchase until September of 2014. Even then, I still had to wait because the device was still on pre-order status. In the two years since I had first seen it, the team at Thalmic labs in Canada had taken the device back to the drawing board in order to redesign the overall look and feel of it. I think what came out of that process may be a game changer.
     At its core, the Myo is a gesture control arm band. It works y reading the electrical pulses that come from your muscles in your forearm as you make ceartin gestures. It  then converts those readings to digital commands for a variety of devices. Each gesture you make tells the device to perform a certain action based on the software or app you have open. All of this works through a bluetooth connection which really gives the device infinite possibilities
    Where this device is really a game changer is the fact that it works with so many devices. Right out of the box you can connect the device to a PC, Mac, IOS Device, or Android Device. The company also promises the ability to control things like Sphero, AR Drones, Home Automation, and based on the video below gaming systems such as Xbox and Playstation. I have not seen any wearable that even comes close to having that ability across devices. 
    The other thing that is mind blowing are the possibilities that come with it. Right out of the box, the device gives you gesture control over Keynote, Power Point, Prezi, Itunes, Spotify, VLC, and Adobe Reader. You can then add a variety of other apps and controls through their Myo Market. I am so excited to see what they come out with next. My mind races with the possibilities here. This is the device that makes me wish I knew how to code so I could make some of these ideas come to life.
    Well, now to talk about my week with the device. I got the device on Monday right before I left for the MECA conference in Mississippi. Yes, I hunted the mailman down to get it. I wanted to use it in my presentations, and MECA proved to be a great way to learn the ins and outs of the device. I set it up the night before, and I thought I would be good to go. Let's just the first two did not go as planned. In the end, I had to abandon the device for those presentations.
     I then had a break in the middle of the day. That time was invaluable, as I really got to learn the ends and outs of the device. Myo has a learning curve so if you decide this device is something for you, you defintly need to be aware of that. Don't be like the people on their Twitter account and Forums that have expressed their frustration and have given up. 
     The first thing you need to figure out with the device is the sweet spot on your arm. The device has sensors that need to read the muscle activity so finding the best place for that is key. Once you feel like you are there, don't take the device off. One of my biggest issues was that I got frustrated by it not having the correct gestures and I kept trying to re-adjust.  After wearing the device for a while, I began to figure out that it seemed to read better in the afternoon. My first thought was that part of that was the natural retention of water which caused a better fit around my forearm. I soon discovered it really gets to the fact Myo needs to time to warm up. When, you really think about it this makes since for a device that is built on sensors to pick up muscle activity. So again, once you feel like you have the right spot, be patient and don't constantly adjust the device.
     The other thing you have to learn fairly quickly is to be aware of the devices vibrations. This is honestly a place where I think Thalmic needs to improve their messaging. The device has different vibrations for its unlock feature, lock feature, and when you are making gestures. If you try to make a gesture to quickly before the unlock vibration ends, the device won't perform the task. It also lets you perform multiple gestures when it is unlocked so you also need to be aware of when the device locks so you can unlock it again.
      While we are talking about the lock and unlock, this is the place where the device really needs some improvement. The device simply unlocks to easily. This makes it difficult to do something like listen to your music while doing other task because the device is falsely reading gestures. Based on the companies comments on Social Media, I think this is something they are aware of and working on. Once they figure out the most natural course of action, I am sure this is something that can be easily adjusted through a firm wear update. My thought is that a quick and easy fix would be switching the unlock gesture with the fingers pread play gesture. The thumb to middle finger tap to me is a more natural gesture to replicate as you multitask then the fingers spread gesture is.
     So after I finally figured out the learning curve, I was able to use it during the rest of my presentations in Mississippi. For the most part, every presentation went well. It was an amazing seeing the confused looks in the crowd when I was moving my keynote around with hand gestures. I had to stop a few times and explain the ins and outs of the Myo. I also had people stop me as I was walking around the conference and ask to see it. I also added the mouse control app towards the end of the conference which let me run a Kahoot quiz from the crowd hands free.  Let's just say I think a may have sold a few for Thalmic that day. 
     The only issue I came across is in when one of the presentations the device kept un-synching. After working with the device and reading some of the responses in the forum, I think that can be attributed to the set up I had. I had several devices going at the same time, and there was interference. Really, when you are running a presentation with several devices, it is best to be on the side of the bluetooth adapter so it can get the best bluetooth connection.n the 
ow.      Outside of the Mississippi conference, I wore the device while I was traveling all week. I used it to control my music as I walked to and from the conference center. I also used it on the drive home to control my music. I have an IOS device, and I also have music ADHD. I am the type of person who constantly skips songs to find the right fit for the time, and the Myo allowed me to do that with ease. It was great on the drive home as it actually improved my safety through allowing me to 'control music without looking at my phone. 
     I can say with all honesty, I wear the device every day. I actually have it on right now. I feel like the music controls and computer shortcuts justify its use, and they honestly improve my productivity. Along with music controls, my favorite control right now is the ability it gives me to refresh browser pages and swith pages easily.
    Since this is an education blog, lets talk about its use in education before we wrap this up. First, I think this is a tool that centers