Don't Ditch that Tech

I have greatly enjoyed Matt Miller’s Ditch Series of Books. On Friday, the 3rd in the series was released Don’t Ditch that Tech. It focuses on using technology to assist in differentiation in the classroom. Matt collaborated with Nate and Angie Ridgeway on this book. I finished the book very quickly. But is not the kind of book you will read once and put away. It will be a guide that I will continue to come back as I consider lesson design and implementation of technology.
I appreciate that Matt, Nate, and Angie practice what they preach in this book. In a book about differentiation, they don’t attempt to present a one size fits all model. The book itself understands that teachers have different resources and that each lesson differs in what it asks the teacher and learner to be responsible for.
The book identifies different models of technology implementation in schools. These range from situations in which schools have carts or labs which house the technology to be used to Bring A Device (a.k.a B.A.D.) models. B.A.D. doesn’t mean that these models are “bad”. It is just a simple acronym. The B.A.D. models include student bringing in phones to 1:1 laptop or tablet. I really appreciate that they authors have broken their book to speak to these different levels. They show how any level of technology can be used effectively to reduce barriers for learners and facilitate learning. Not having the latest and best technology is not an acceptable use for not implementing technology tools into the classroom. Having been through each of these different levels of technology deployment, I can appreciate that teachers have to think differently about what tools can be used and how they can be deployed.
Another level of differentiation in instructional design that the book puts forward is the role of teacher and learner in the design process. They put forward a great 5 level continuum of teacher/learner roles in lesson design:

What I truly appreciate is that the authors understand that there are different times that these different models may need to be put into place. Students can’t always be Artists and teachers can’t always be Creative Art Coaches. While learner agency is a goal when empowering learners, that doesn’t mean that every lesson is student designed. I can’t overstate how much I appreciated seeing this stated explicitly in the text.
The book includes so many great technology resources, I almost considered creating a Wakelet for it. Then, I realized that I would be undoing the amazing thinking and organizing that went into the creation of the book. The authors have already done the work on this front. I appreciated the many new technology tools I was introduced to. More importantly, though, the authors explained HOW to implement these in the differentiated classroom based on teacher/learner roles and level of technology implementation.
I have been rethinking how technology tools are being used in my classroom ever since I started using an iPads cart in my classroom 5 years ago. I would have appreciated this book as much then as I do now.
Another important consideration that the book touches on is Universal Design for Learning. Essentially reducing barriers for engagement, access, expression for all learners. 

My co-teacher Andelee Espinosa and I have been using this framework in our co-taught physics classroom to facilitate learning for all. One major step we took 2 years ago was ditching Google Docs for Google Slides. I’m lucky to be sharing out about this at ISTE this year in a fast paces 1 in 3 session. Here’s the idea in 3 minutes.
Although I did finish the book, Don’t Ditch that Tech will not be a book that will live on the bookshelf. It will be a book I will continue to jump back to as I look for ideas and resources in lesson design.

If you are looking to get a copy here are some links:

• Kindle Version is great because of the live linking to teach tools
• Paperback Version

Thank you Matt, Nate, and Angie for a wonderful book!