Best Practices for Teaching with Emerging Technologies

by Michelle Pacansky-brock

As social media and Web 2.0 technologies continue to transform the learning trends and preferences of students, educators need to understand the applicability of these new tools in all types of learning environments. The second edition of Best Practices for Teaching with Emerging Technologies provides new and experienced instructors with practical examples of how low-cost and free technologies can be used to support student learning as well as best practices for integrating web-based tools into a course management system and managing student privacy in a Web 2.0 environment. "Showcase" spotlights throughout exemplify how the tools described in the book are already being used effectively in educational settings. This thoroughly revised second edition includes: This practical, easy-to-use guide will serve the needs of educators seeking to refresh or transform their instruction. Readers will be rewarded with an ample yet manageable collection of proven emerging technologies that can be leveraged for generating content, enhancing communications with and between students, and cultivating participatory, student-centered learning activities.

Genres: Education, Technology

180 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

Reviews

[Ashley Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Summary of the text read with excerpts blended with personal thoughts

This book focuses on teaching effectively with emerging technologies. It places an important emphasis in the student experience, provides a framework for evaluating tools, and shares stories, tips, and showcases samples from my own and other instructors’ classes. (Preface, para. 5)

This book does exactly as the author intended. In the first chapter Michelle Pacansky-Brock gives her personal experience with transforming her online and face-to-face classes into Flipped Classroom models and that student engagement increased as well as student feedback about their improved learning and involvement. Michelle gives very specific advice and samples from her own classes as to setting up a successful community of learners. She starts with all the helpful tools to think about before even beginning class.

We will examine learning within the fabric of a society that has been transformed from the inside out by emerging technologies and ask whether or not our current learning practices are still relevant in light of these sweeping changes. (p. 1)

I often hear teachers complain, myself included before this master’s program, that our students just aren’t focused and engaged as we used to be when we were students. I have learned that we can’t teach the same because our kids are not the same. They have been exposed to so much more and their brains are being transformed so rapidly. Our kids’ learning needs have changed because our world has changed, and the world they will enter as adults is not the same place it was when we grew up. So we have to change because our world has changed. Michelle clearly gives the rationale as to why we need to transform our classrooms.
Critique of the themes and the author’s intent
Michelle specifically writes to college educators, which isn’t stated within the title or on the front cover. However, the author’s points can be applied to any level of education. In the introduction she discusses her personal experience with a flipped classroom. This is being done in classes as young as elementary schools. The author gives recommendations to including a preview of the technology that will be used so students can be prepared before starting the class. The Introduction and first two chapters really focus on why and how a teacher needs to create a positive student experience with emerging technologies in the classroom.
This book is very much a step-by-step how-to for teachers who want to include more emerging technology into their classroom and want to make sure the experience for the student is understood, beneficial, and seamless. Michelle does not write as a know-it-all, she encourages and is open about the mistakes that a teacher will make when trying out new emerging technologies and explains how those mistakes will help you learn and improve from those mistakes. In discussing how to choose the right technology tool she uses the word “try.”

Note that I say, “try.” Teaching with emerging technologies is, by nature, experimental and failure is an implicit step in an experiment. If we don’t fail, we don’t learn, and if we don’t learn, we won’t improve upon what we’re already doing. (p. 41)
Michelle doesn’t just list a bunch of emerging technologies, which she announces at the beginning will most likely change anyway quickly, she actually posts questions that an educator should ask to help decide if a technology is good for their class and purpose. “Again, the tools themselves are not important - it’s the experiences they create that are critical.”

A discussion of the author’s qualifications
Michelle Pacansky-Brock’s qualifications are listed at the beginning of the book. She has won many awards, scholarships, and is nationally recognized as an educational leader. However, when I read books as a teacher for teachers, I like to know that the author has some actual teaching experience. So I did a quick Google search and came across her blog. An entry stood out to me titled “The One Student I Will Never Forget.” In it she narrates a frazzled day in which a student asked her about receiving an email with an explanation of why the student missed an exam. Michelle responded by quoting policy on missing exams and advanced notice. The student walked back to her seat. Michelle later felt horribly about the way she had handled the situation and went to email the student, but she had already dropped the course. This admittance of making a mistake of not seeing the situation from a human perspective, as an educator gave her the qualification to call herself a teacher and share her expertise for emerging technologies.
She shares in her book her own experiences with adding emerging technologies like creating podcasts from her lectures, having students collaboratively discuss using VoiceThreads. She doesn’t just share these technologies, she has actually used and evaluated them.

[Ignacio Rios · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book to be very helpful, full of good ideas and advices on how to include Emerging Technologies in the classroom.
This book presents many technological tools and gives examples on how to introduce them to students. It is mentioned in this book that it is important to keep in mind an evaluation framework when reviewing technological tools.
The three main goals of this book are to share content; to increase communication with your students; and to create participatory, collaborative learning activities.
These are some of the technological tools that are mentioned in this book: Webcam, microphone, screencasting software, free online video hosting, cloud based storage and content back up, URL shortener, and more.
According to the author, it is important to have a camera in order to share learning experiences to students even when the instructor is not present. I totally agree with the author that having a camera available to record lessons or to take pictures of work samples is very helpful. Teachers can take pictures and videos and save them or upload them into a website or simply save them into their computer or phone memory in order to have them ready to share them to students. Teachers can even reuse this pictures and videos and show them to future students. It is also mentioned that it is important to take care of the lighting conditions in order to get the best video quality possible. I agree that a good quality video or picture will keep the student focused. The author gives very helpful tips about where to place the light when taking a picture or recording.
This book encourages you to use a microphone. The author claims that sometimes a good audio can be a better option than a video since the audio takes up less space than a video and that it takes less preparation than when you make a video and you have to act. She adds that It is highly recommended to use a USB microphone with a headset arguing that this will create high quality audios and will avoid background noises. I personally, believe that video is a better option than audio.
The author also suggest to use a Screencasting Software. It is explained in this book that a screencast is a video recording of your computer screen and that there are many uses for screencasting videos in teaching. How - to - videos, lectures, and orientations are some of the examples of screencasting provided in this book. The author states that they provide answers to questions, and that students can create screencasts to demonstrate their ability to perform online tasks or give presentations. It is mentioned in this book that not long ago this kind of technology was very expensive and difficult to use, but today it is available for anyone. The author recommends to use Screencast-o-matic arguing that it is a free tool that gives you direct access to creating a screencast with a single click. The book guides you step by step in order to use screencast-o-matic. screen-o-matic is good since it let you upload your screencast direct to Youtube with a very good quality without the need of an account. In addition, she also introduces “JIG” a tool that produces screencasts, as well as screenshots. She states that this tool is very important because in a matter of two minutes it is possible to create a video, upload it to the web, and paste a link to the video in an email. The author highly recommends using JIG since it is very handy and essential for online lessons. The author states that jig is one of the tools she uses the most.
Moreover, I totally agree with Pacansky, when she mentions that “hosting your online-”in the cloud”- empowers you to access your content from anywhere, sharing it easily without emailing large files, and can facilitate virtual collaboration projects.” It is very helpful to have a Youtube account where someone can upload educational videos in order for students and parents to review them to learn how to solve a math problem or any other skill. The author gives a very good explanation about the different features that Youtube has. It is mentioned that Youtube has the option to share videos to the public or only to the people that have the link. Additionally, Youtube allows to have a channel to include a list of saved videos that people can revisit anytime they want. Also, it is possible to embed that list in a slide presentation, or a webpage for people to click on the link and go straight to the video list.
Another tool that is introduced is the URL Shortener. According to the author this is a very helpful tool in order to shorten links to your activities and presentations. These are the URL Shortened that the author mention in this book: bit.ly, http://bitly.com , google URL Shortener http://goo.gl , and ow.ly: http://ow.ly/url/shorten-url all these tools will shorten URL and make them easy to work with.

Tools for Communication and Content Creation - Beyond Text.

I am totally agree with the author when she mentions that online classes are more effective when students can hear and see the instructor each class. Two online classes are presented in this book. On one hand, the author is presenting an online class where the instructor is teaching by sending only text messages. On the other hand, the author introduces a class where the instructor is using a combination of text messages and a 5 minutes videos at the start of each class and a direct link to Skype for connecting with the teacher in a live one hour video. According to the book, the class with the videos got 5% higher class completion with a 9.4% increase in academic success. This tells us how important emerging technology for education is nowadays.

In addition, the author does a great job providing an ample explanation about using Twitter. I have to say that I stopped using twitter because I didn’t know how to use it. I felt like I was alone and there was no one to give me feedback like in facebook. After reading this book, I found good reasons to use twitter as a teaching tool. As I was reading the book I took my cellphone and started going over twitter. Now I have a better understanding of it. The author also provides a list of educational hashtags and ways to create your own twitter network. I am planning to create a formal twitter account so I can start working with parents. I teach 2nd grade and not all of my students have access to twitter, but it would be a good way to share ideas, homework, answer questions, and make clarifications to parents.

Something I really liked about this book is that the author includes several scenarios in order to give real examples about implementing emerging technology tools. This really helps to decide which tools will be good for my class and which ones will not meet the need of my students. The author also embedded links that takes you straight to each specific tool website.

I found the author of this book to be very knowledgeable about the usage of emerging technological tools. She is very updated about emerging technologies according to the year the book was published. She mentions many useful tools and the way these tools can be implemented in the classroom. In addition, she guides the reader in order to follow the steps it takes to use each tool. She also presents different scenarios in order for the reader to make their own decisions about the effectiveness of each of the tools. She also embedded links that take the reader straight to the different technological tools that are introduced in this book. I will definitely follow this author and look for more of her books.

In conclusion, I really recommend this book to have it handy as a tool kit. Although the technological tools that are introduced by the author are not the newest ones, they are tools that are very functional and affordable since not all schools have the privilege of having the latest technology anyways. I will definitely keep this book handy in order to go back and review it every time I need to implement a technology tool.

[Courtney Collins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author’s Qualifications:
Best Practices for Teaching with Emerging Technologies is a worthwhile read for any educator looking for helpful ways of running a 21st century, technology incorporated classroom. The author, Michelle Pacansky-Brock, is an educator who has had over 17 years experience in higher education. She is a higher education leader who strives to help support 21st century educators and students in online learning. Pacansky-Brock designs and develops programs that support integration of technology in higher education classrooms. She is a well-respected educator with many insights on how to effectively run an online course. Pacansky-Brock opens up in the beginning of the text by explaining why she decided to embrace the shift of Web 2.0 resources in her own teaching. She was physically not able to attend class sessions because of a surgery and realized that she could still have a collaborative classroom community through the use of Web 2.0 tools. In 2007, Pacansky-Brock received the Sloan-C Excellence in Online Teaching Award for her transformation of online classes by using podcasts and VoiceThreads. She decided that her face-to-face classes needed a 21st century makeover as well. She began using technology tools in her History or Women in Art class in 2009 and changed the format from a lecture class to a technology enriched online community. In this book, Pacansky-Brock shares her personal experiences and tips on how to create an effective online classroom learning community.

Summary:
Pacansky-Brock begins the book by describing what a flipped classroom is and her personal experiences with flipped classrooms. Chapter 1 describes the importance of building a solid foundation for your students by explaining the course in detail and describing the tools that will be used and the reason why they will be used. Pacansky-Brock writes “Considering the student experience is an essential part of teaching effectively with emerging technologies” (p. 18). This shows the importance of clearly communicating the reasoning behind the use of each technology tool with your students. The students need to know the reason why they are learning to use these tools and how they can use them in the future. The author goes on to explain that a technology enriched classroom can still feel like a community, even if students never meet face-to-face. She explains how social technologies have transformed learning outside the classroom and have helped students communicate outside the classroom and build a community-based experience (p. 23). Pacansky-Brock then describes the importance of protecting student privacy and how to ethically use materials for an online class. She describes how using emerging technologies creates options and accessibility for students. Pacansky-Brock states, “when given choices, students select the method that works for their individual needs” (p.55). This shows how differentiation for students using technology is possible and boosts student engagement when given choices. After describing how to design online curriculum, Pacansky-Brock goes into describing essential tools for an effective online class. She begins with the basic foundational tools needed such as; webcam, microphone, screencasting software, online content hosting services, captioning videos, and URL shortener. She goes into depth about each of these tools and why they are so important when running an online class. She refers to them as a “Swiss army knife for teaching with emerging technologies” (p. 72). I enjoyed the fact that she explained each tool in detail even if they are basic tools like a webcam and microphone. She does not leave you in the dark on any tool. The rest of the book describes specific websites, apps, and resources that can be used to effectively run an online class. She describes emerging technologies such as; Skype, Prezi, VoiceThread, SlideShare, Twitter, Poll Everywhere, Wiggio, Facebook, Ning, Google apps, and more. She does a great job at explaining each tool and how they can be used in the classroom. Finally, she ends the book by explaining the importance of mobile devices and how they “may impact your teaching and the possibilities they hold for reinventing your students’ learning” (p. 131). She encourages educators to embrace mobile devices and realize how mobile devices open up forums for collaboration and communication on the go and inside the classroom. She explains that “mobility is reshaping the way people work” (p.135).

Critique:
I enjoyed how Pacansky-Brock explained a variety of technology tools and then provided showcases of how actual teachers had used the tools. These showcases gave the reader an idea of how the tools have effectively worked in real classrooms. The showcases are spread out throughout the entire book and help the reader better understand the specific tool being highlighted. Pacansky-Brock clearly communicates her ideas and gives educators advice, tips, and tools that will help them learn how to effectively use emerging technologies. Best Practices was written as a resource for college level educators who are teaching online classes, face-to-face classes, or hybrid classes. However, I believe that this book is helpful to all educators. Elementary, middle, and high school teachers can benefit from reading this book and learning about technology tools that are the foundation of creating an effective online classroom community. I would recommend this book to any educator who is wanting to learn more about using technology in the classroom.

[Ryan Crew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Best Practices for Teaching with Emerging Technologies was an engaging read that provided many opportunities for immediate technological implementation of many tools described in the text. This text was powerful because of the central premise around the book, which was to provide a context of why emerging technologies are important for impacting the classroom and how these tools can be implemented with explicit situations. Throughout this read, you will be faced with many opportunities to explore and imagine how emerging technology can transform the classroom. This book has an essential balance between pedagogy and technology tools to increase student engagement that makes it an exciting read for any educators entering the world of educational technology.

In this book, a major portion of the beginning of the text is written to establish the need for emerging technology. The stories of hesitant implementation of new technologies are relatable and provide a context where all teachers have found themselves at some time in their career. Through this, the author is able to provide opportunities where a shift in pedagogy, correlated with increased instructional risk-taking, provides an opportunity to leverage technology in the classroom. As described in the text, “Ultimately, classroom time is transformed from a passive to an active experience and the role of the instructor shifts from “sage on the stage” to “guide on the side.” (Pacansky-Brock, 2012). However, without meaningful instructional decisions, the integration of technology in the classroom can be interesting but ineffective in increasing student inquiry and success.

First, as stated in the text, there must be shifts in our understanding about what technologies like the Internet provides students. “Interestingly, despite the common perception that the Internet is ruining society, adult internet users in the United States are more likely than non-internet users to be active in a volunteer group or organization (86% compared to 56%).” (Pacansky-Brock, 2012). Like any other tool, technology has its strengths and limitations, but the integration of technology is often looked at as only decreasing student engagement in the classroom. With some of the most powerful devices in their hands, giving them the ability to find nearly any piece of information available to man, why would students be engaged in a passive classroom? The author of this text is not only able to answer this question but she gives clear examples where educational institutions, like Arizona State, encourage or require technology, which instead of decreasing engagement, allows for students to collaborate and communicate in a rich and meaningful discussion on difficult topics and issues.

Upon establishing the transformational power of technology in a classroom, this text provides resources and feedback on emerging technology that establishes a lens through which to view emerging technology. A common theme that emerges as effective tools is that the tool is participatory as stated, “participatory learning situates individuals within a fluid community in which members make contributions by sharing ideas of their own...” (Pacansky-Brock, 2012). In doing so, the benefits and requirement to participate create a community that supports each other, removing the instructor as the only source of information. In this class model, a collaborative community is able to establish and support multiple experts in the topic rather than depending on the ineffective and disengaging form of passive learning that is seen in many of our classrooms today.

Before summarizing the text, the credibility and qualifications of the author should be discussed in some detail. First, Michelle Pacansky-Brock is an innovative instructor at California State University-Channel Islands, where she focuses on establishing humanized online learning experiences for students. She is a keynote speaker that has published multiple books on transforming the classroom with emerging technologies. She has been a higher education learning consultant and faculty development specialist for @One, an online teaching certification program. As stated, “This book will take you for a ride through my own journey of enlightenment that inspired me to see my teaching practices from a new perspective.” (Pacansky-Brock, 2012).

Based on these accomplishments, Pacansky-Brock is a highly motivated and successful educator who has specialized in transforming the classroom to benefit the students experience and support to become successful in their ability to understand and utilize technology in the classroom. Overall, her efforts have had a major impact in education recently and many higher education campuses have begun the shift towards more student-centered learning environments. In summary, this text is effective in establishing the need and subsequent benefits of technology implementation in the classroom. The shift from passive to participatory classrooms for students will be a major pedagogical undertaking by educators trying to establish a more student-centered classroom, which will be enhanced by understanding many of the emerging technologies prescribed within this text.

References:

Pacansky-Brock, M. (2012). Best practices for teaching with emerging technologies. New York, NY:
Routledge.

[Maria Garcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best Practices for Teaching with Emerging Technologies
The educational system is changing dramatically; educators need to find ways to meet the needs of 21st century learning. Emerging technologies will play an important role in 21st century education. Michelle Pacansky-Brock wrote the book, Best Practices for Teaching with Emerging Technologies to share her experience with the tools and resources that have worked for her.
On Best Practices for Teaching with Emerging Technologies, the author focuses on “Why 21st Century learners are not engaged and motivated to learn”. She begins by recounting a personal journey, proving a detail description and guidance of her experience as an educator. These experiences can help to guide any teacher through the discovery of internet tools, to explore many ways in which they can facilitate student’s engagement and learning. The author’s perspective in education changed completely while recovering from open-heart surgery in 2006. She started to listen to educational podcasts where she learned about “Web 2.0” and many other tools that she used in her teaching. She was inspired to explore the new web tools in her online course, which eventually led her to change significantly the way she teaches today.
She wrote this book for educators who eventually will be incorporated online resources into their practices. Pacansky-Brock’s commitment is to “spark curiosity inside teachers and inspire them to see the array of learning possibilities emerging technologies hold for the future of 21st century learning.” (2013). She is part of the online development and supports online educators for the diverse needs of students. Currently, Pacansky-Brock serves as an Online Teaching and Learning Innovation Specialist at CSU (California State University) Channel Islands. She grew up in Silicon Valley and has a personal objective to support and motivate public higher education and diverse learners. She studied the history of art and photography. Although she firmly believes that technology in education is simply a tool and will never replace teachers. She is an advocate of students’ centered learning and teachers are the change for 21st century education.
The book is divided into seven chapters that focus on strategies that can be incorporated into the classroom. The author begins describing how flipped classroom and VoiceThread will make an impact in education. Pacansky-Brock (2013) describes her experience of this tool, giving samples on how emerging technologies are to transform learning and enhance student engagement. She then explains how she faced many obstacles during her journey that pushed her forward to achieve her objectives. She makes reference to the 1995 article, “From Teaching to Learning” by Barr and Tagg’s, one of her first exposures to the flipped classroom. The new generations are exposed to a different experience of the modern digital world at their hands. They have been raised completely with the digital world at their fingertips (Pacansky-Brock, 2013). The author explains that new generations can easily personalize entertainment, information, communication and self- expression. She provides a prediction about the current generation will likely be the most ‘racially and culturally diverse generation in US history’ and because of ‘advances in global communication, they may be the most transient generation as well” (Pacansky-Brock, 2013). This has led to enormous challenges for educators, such as student engagement and motivation. However, Pacansky-Brock (2013) explains how these obstacles can be overcome by flipping the classrooms. Thus, using a variation of technologies will allow educators to modify students’ experiences as well as teach in a way their brains prefer to learn.
Chapter one, in my opinion, is the most important one. Pacansky-Brock (2013) discusses the importance of building a solid foundation for successfully incorporating emerging technologies into the teaching and learning process. She gives her point of view on how and why students should know in advance about the format of the class, the tools, and materials they will be required to use during the course. In addition, the students’ privacy needs to be a priority; at least students need to have the option for online privacy. Pacansky-Brock (2013) offers recommendations on how to build an online community, and developing guidelines to ensure responsibility between students and their personal information. The chapter finishes with information about copyright, privacy, and other legal issues in the online world. Students in any grade need to know their rights and how to be responsible during online discussions. At the same time, students need to feel connected community to the digital world.
Chapter two, starts off with a deeper dive into instruction and learning paradigm. According to Pacansky-Brock (2013) teaching with emerging technologies is, by nature, experimental and failure is an implicit step in an experiment. If we don’t fail, we don’t learn, and if we don’t learn, we won’t improve upon what we’re already doing. And in the 21st century, improving upon a centuries-old tradition of teaching and learning is critical. She provides details and a checklist for evaluating online tools used in the classroom. Eight conditions need to consider: accessibility to ensure all students have access to the tool or content, ease of use, cost, authentication, what the end product will be, the sharing options, intellectual property rights to what students create, and privacy options. All of the elements are necessary for developing lessons that will ensure the best outcomes for teacher and students.
The rest of the chapters discuss the essential tools required for emerging technology and how will empower students to explore and express their knowledge. Pacansky-Brock (2013) recognized that technology is changing rapidly; She provides plenty of tips and examples such as Jing, EyeJot, Skype, and Prezi. Other tools that facilitate the dialogue and participation are, Twitter, Poll Everywhere, Ning, and VoiceThread are a few of the apps that can facilitate discussion. The tools and resources shared in the next chapters are organized to communicate how they can be used to achieve particular goals: to share content; to increase communications with your students; and to create participatory, collaborative learning activities (Pacansky-Brock, 2013). Pacansky-Brock provides an overview of each tool and specific examples of how each can be used. She argues that mobile learning has become essential in today’s classroom. Instructors who embrace emerging technologies see the necessity to expand the use of smartphones and tablets as a way to improve skills and access for future success.
Overall, I will recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn about emerging technologies. The information provided in the book could be applied to k-12 teachers and students. Pacansky-Brock’s passion and commitment to transitioning education to meet the needs of 21st century learners are inspiring. She has broken down the process of online learning so teachers can start the process as soon as possible. She clarifies many of the questions people were concerned about and provided a basic format to start implementing the 21st century learning education. By reading this book, I will definitely try some of the tools to expand my teaching practices. Pacansky-Brock (2013) states that all teachers at any level can benefit from her advice and expertise; educators today have the power to change the world. The way we respond to the opportunities that emerging technologies hold will set the tone for the future of learning.


References:
Pacansky-Brock, M. (2013). Best practices for teaching with emerging technologies. New York, NY: Routledge: Tayler & Francis.

Pacansky-Borck, M. website: http://page.teachingwithoutwalls.com/...

[Vang Yang]

In my summary review of Best Practices for Teaching with Emerging Technologies, Pacansky begin by describing the flipped classroom and how the teaching pedagogy revolves around participation with the assistant from emerging technologies. The author wrote in this resounding statement, “As educators, it’s common for us to teach the way we were taught, and it can be challenging to step outside of our practice to reflect on and analyze our teaching approaches” (Pacansky, Kindle Locations 191-192). As I complete my first year in teaching, I caught myself teaching as how some of my teachers were teaching. I remember the classes that were most engaging and build upon the elements of the classroom. I also remember the classes that I lack interests in and made sure that I would not be teaching the same way. Only when we truly reflect on the past can we make a difference in the future as to improve on learning in the classroom. As I read into this text, I learn more about implementing emerging technologies in the classroom to create a learning environment that is engaging and interesting to the 21st Century learners. Pacansky emphasizes on a teaching pedagogy that revolves around participation by building a solid foundation and expectations. These are elements in the classrooms that takes repeated effort so students can learn and practice the routines. In building a solid foundation, students need to be clear at the beginning of class and for each projects the why, how, and behavior expectations for using any particular technology tools. Chapter 4 of this text lists a few technology tools for communication and content creation. I especially like creating infographics and Piktochart was an engaging technology tool for me to explore. There is also Adobe Spark which allows you to create engaging presentations online that can be accessible and share simultaneously together for group projects. Emerging technology provides an outlet for students to also ask questions without raising hands in the classroom and can still participate in discussion all the while using technology applications. The author, Dr. Michelle Pacansky-Brock is involved in higher education and focuses in online teaching. She has provided many resources to aid online instructors to become successful in creating an engaging course for diverse students.

[Michelle Stillion · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book Best Practices for Teaching with Emerging Technologies written by Michelle Pacansky-Brock is targeted towards technology in higher education. As an elementary teacher, I still found this book to be useful and relevant for all educators. Pancansky-Brock begins the book by explaining her journey with emerging technology and the benefits she has found from using technology in higher education. She found immense success with the flipped classroom. Pancansky-Brock states, “Ultimately, classroom time transformed from a passive to an active experience and the role of the instructor shifts from ‘sage on the stage’ to guide on the side’” (Pancansky-Brock, 2013, p.2). She provides reasoning for the importance of using technology to teach in the 21st Century and ways to get started using technology in college classrooms, as well as build your technology toolkit. In her chapter titled “A New Paradigm for a New Century” Pancansky-Brock explains, “Experimenting with new technologies in your teaching will require you to step into a new teaching paradigm that encourages and fosters a community of learners who are incentivized to work together and solve problems” Pancansky-Brock, 2013, p. 44). She provides many emerging technologies to use in the classroom with detailed explanations of the tools, tips and how to put them to use. When discussing technology tools she emphasize, “Again, the tools themselves are not important-it’s the experiences they create that are critical” (Pancansky-Brock, 2013, p. 65). She provides examples of emerging technologies to use for communicating, participatory learning, and using mobile devices for learning. Pancansky-Brock explains “As the popularity and daily use of social media continues to increase, participatory learning is reshaping the way we learn” (Pancansky-Brock, 2013, p.101). Through out discussing about integrating emerging technologies into your teaching practices, she also includes the importance of supporting all learners and provides resources to help educators do so too.

[Fernando Arevalo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Michelle Pacansky-Brock wrote this book for educators of higher learning, but I felt this could help any educator at any level. I teach at an elementary school, and Pacansky-Brock gives us a detailed, step by step book on how to use emerging technologies with students anywhere. She starts by giving us a personal view of her experience in a flipped classroom and later discusses what steps we (educators) should take before jumping into the integration of technology tools for student learning. In the first couple of chapters, she focuses on having a set plan for a course. She brings up a good point that educators should be open and transparent with students when it comes to building relationships with your students. I thought her recommendation of embracing all the mistakes that come with learning new emerging technology was influential as it can also relate to the real-life workforce.
The author does an excellent job of giving us examples of her experiences when teaching using essential tools. She also included throughout the book many “tips” that can be useful when applying new emerging technology tools to your teaching strategies. But what stood out to me was the most was the sections “showcase.” She gave examples and stories of personal experiences from other notable educators. I thought Pacansky-Brock wrote an incredibly detailed and informative book to help educators of all teaching levels on using emerging technologies to help motivate and prepare students for tomorrow’s educational learning.

Click on the link for the complete review
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1C...

[Robert Faris]

I am currently reading this book. I am finding the information in the book to be extremely helpful as I attempt to improve the methods I use to improve my teaching strategies and the way that my students like to learn new information. This book has some great information on emerging technologies and methods that will help improve the way that our students learn new information.
There is information on the "flipped classroom" that I am confident will help improve the way that we deliver information to our students. The author, Michelle Pacansky-Brock presents some solid background information about how the "flipped classroom" is being used in higher education. There are also chapters dedicated to "best practices", and how best to use the technology in our classrooms. I will write more as I continue to read this amazing find.

[Joanella Mendoza · Rating 5 out of 5]

For my text-of-choice this course, I chose Michelle Pacansky-Brock’s book, Best Practices for Teaching with Emerging Technology. Throughout the text, I found chapters that validated practices that I have already implemented in my classroom, challenged some of my current teaching practices, and enlightened me with ideas that I am looking forward to seeing in action when rolled out in my classroom. In her book, Pacansky-Brock does not focus on what emerging technologies are available in the field of education, but what effective teaching practices look like when it comes to emerging technologies. Best Practices for Teaching with Emerging Technology audience includes college professors, especially those professors who teach their course online or in a hybrid format, however, the virtual lesson format can also be applied to other grade levels in the form of a flipped classroom lesson, which is a format that Pacansky-Brock focuses on throughout her book.

Upon reading her book, I was curious about Michelle Pacansky-Brock’s qualifications as an author and professor and was pleasantly surprised by her accolades. Pacansky-Brock is a two-time Sloan-C/OLC Award winner and has helped many college educators across the country with leading online instruction. Pacansky-Brock serves on the advisory board for the ELI series, 7 Things You Should Read About, and the NMC Horizon Report. She worked at CSU Channel Islands as the Innovations Lead of Teaching & Learning Innovations and serves as a Faculty Mentor of Digital Innovation for the California Community College system.

Chapter one focuses on creating a classroom culture that promotes learning in a technology-focused environment. Teachers are challenged to rethink their classroom philosophy just as students are challenged to work within pre-established parameters in their classroom. Pacansky-Brock focuses on establishing a robust tech-focused foundation by promoting a culture of safe technology practices. An excerpt from this chapter that resonated with me is one where Pacansky-Brock discusses the lack of engagement she faced when speaking to her students, “Offline, most of them would enter class, recline in their seats, and stare at me with glazed eyes. I’d spend my time with them fighting to keep them engaged- breaking up long lectures with video clips, small and large group discussions, using writing prompts- and these things helped but they were by no means “transformative” (Pacansky-Brock, 12). I chose this excerpt because it examined both the struggles I have faced before when it comes to identifying what transformative teaching with technology looked like versus just using technology in the classroom. For teachers to have a robust technology-focused class, we must challenge ourselves to step back and think about what we believe transformative technology looks like in action.

Chapter two focuses on reinventing college learning by examining the possibilities of effective technology use. In this chapter, readers discuss how social change, the way people socialize, and the way how people learn is transformed by collaborative and social media technology. Also, the chapter also focuses on how to evaluate tools when measuring how successful they will be in attaining goals in the classroom. An excerpt from this chapter that resonated with me is one where Pacansky-Brock discusses how students can become active participants in their learning, “Emerging technologies hold an array of opportunities for teachers committed to achieving the outcomes of a learning paradigm. By nature, social media, Web 2.0 tools, and mobile apps are participatory and easy to use. In short, they create a cascading array of opportunities for students to be active contributors in the learning process, yielding fabulous ideas for assessments and strategies for increasing student interaction” (Pacansky-Brock, 52). As I read this excerpt, I bit my tongue a bit because I remember the intended audience of this book are college professors whose students are old enough to have a grasp of what it means to be safe when collaborating online. As someone who teaches elementary school students, I wonder how effective online learning platforms can be both beneficial and safe to all students involved in online collaboration opportunities.

In the middle of the text, readers are introduced to a wide array of tools that can be used when implementing technology in the classroom. Some tools are meant to increase both teacher, and student presence in an online social setting thought voice and video while other means are intended to increase student engagement and participation. Throughout these chapters, professors can showcase what these tools look like in action in their classroom. An excerpt that caught my attention was one in the middle of chapter five that said, “Like most social technologies, Twitter didn’t feel social immediately. The early stages of using a new tool involve the cultivation of your community, which includes the users you want to follow and those who follow you. That part took a while” (Pacansky-Brock, 109). An observation I had while reading this excerpt is the level of intuitiveness that technology such as Twitter has across different generations. As a millennial, I’ve had plenty of time to identify what kind of community and interests I choose to surround myself. As a teenager, I used Myspace and Xanga, and as a young adult, I used Facebook. All these social platforms made me more aware of what I was looking for in my followers/accounts to follow. As I read this excerpt, it made me think of how bizarre it may be for older generations to generate a followers/follow list because they do not have as much experience creating a list of interests that are tailored to their personal preferences. I believe that my students would be more aware of who/what they want to follow since tailoring online experiences has been something they’ve always grown up with.

Lastly, in chapter six, Pacansky-Brock hones in on the power of mobile learning, explicitly using smartphones and tablets to create powerful collaborative learning experiences for students. There is also a focus on how smartphones and tablets are used to assist those with physical and learning disabilities through various apps and programs. As I read this chapter, I connected what I had read with what I had learned from my previous course at CUI, which focused on leveraging technology for all students. I connected deeply with the apps and programs that are available on mobile devices to help all students have access to a quality education. For example, this chapter focused on apps that aided students with visual impairments, just as the previous course focused on assistive technology, including mobile apps, that could help students with visual impairments.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this book because it pushed me to think about bringing students closer to their learning by having them become active participants in their education rather than passive bystanders. Pacansky-Brock’s emphasis on interactive and collaborative learning has challenged me to come up with more opportunities for students to engage more deeply in their education.

[Emmy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dr. Michelle Pacansky-Brock, author of Best Practices for Teaching with Emerging Technologies, is currently a faculty mentor with the California Community College System. She is a noted leader in higher education with expertise in online teaching, course design, and faculty development. She has held various leadership roles with the Online Learning Consortium, teaching and learning with emerging technologies for @ONE (Online Network for Educators), and EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative. Dr. Pacansky-Brock has received national recognition for her excellence in teaching. Her commendations include: 2007 Sloan-C Excellence in Online Teaching Award, 2007 NISOD award for Teaching Excellence, 2010 Sloan-C Effective Practice Award, and 2011 Capella Educator Advancement Scholarship. Her expertise exceeds beyond the educational world as she has also consulted for companies, supporting statewide faculty training.
In Best Practices for Teaching and Learning with Emerging Technologies, Dr. Pacansky-Brock shares personal struggles she encountered while incorporating different technologies in her own teaching along with professional insight as to how educators can prepare themselves before engaging in teaching and learning with technology tools and continues with how educators can use similar tools in their classroom. She addresses four major areas and provides reasoning using her personal experiences and research to support how best practices can begin with you or any educator. In the first two chapters, she focuses on one changing their mindset.
Dr. Pacansky-Brock begins by taking a look at the perspective educators may have in regards to the problem at the center of it all. “Are our students the problem? Or is it our educational system? (1). She focuses on how society has changed, much to do with emerging technology advancements and how they play an active role in our students’ daily lives. Those changes have a direct impact in education as to how students learn, what interests them, and ways that motivate them. In other words, the students of today are not within the same fabric as when we were students. Therefore, the educational system needs to change to meet the needs of our students today to provide the best learning opportunities that will benefit them now and in their future. For me, it clarified further the understanding of my role in the “problem”. Not as a subject to blame, but more as a teacher who is to be held responsible and accountable for the teaching and learning that occurs in my classroom. Thus, “reframing problems as opportunities” (15).
She continues by laying the typical students’ framework of mind in regards to the relationship set between students and technology tools. Though our students are “experimenting with new technologies in their daily lives, they are not necessarily fluent with all tools, nor do they understand how to use them to be productive, lifelong learners” (18). Dr. Pacansky-Brock highlights on how students spend much of their time using technology outside of the classroom; however, they lack in the skill in knowing how technology can be used to further their education. As educators begin to guide their students using emerging technologies, shifting from entertainment and socializing to the purpose of learning, it is crucial for teachers to “define, communicate, and demonstrate the purpose and ultimate goal when using a technology tool in the classroom for teaching and learning” (18). To support student success, an educator’s mere try of using a technology tool in the classroom does not suffice. There needs to be clear student expectations and objectives to meet. It is important to get to know your students as far as their access to technology, their skill and comfort level when it comes to using technology and sharing their work, and creating a safe technology community. Educators should know what features each technology tool provides students and how they can be used by students to engage in active participatory learning to meet such objectives. This is one area I would like to improve on. My students complete assignments with an understanding that they are following directions. However, the purpose is not clearly communicated as to why and how the technology tool being used is supporting learning for present and future purposes.
Starting with chapter 3, Dr. Pacansky-Brock shares her Technology Essentials Toolkit. “Typically, one of the most overwhelming elements of teaching with emerging technologies is deciding which tool or tools one should try” (41). This particular statement made an impact as I can easily relate to the overwhelming feeling, as with many other educators. Emerging technologies are developing at a rapid rate. Educators are struggling to keep up as we learn about or implement one thoroughly in the classroom, there seems to be a whole new list of emerging technologies to try. Pacansky-Brock highlights the “must-haves”, the essentials that are needed to create the experiences critical for learning such as “increase participation, communication, collaboration, and sharing of content” (65). The essentials provided by Dr. Pacansky-Brock lays the foundation to further incorporate additional technology tools in the classroom as well as produce successful results.
In the remaining chapters of the book, she provides readers with a variety of technology tools and how one can implement such technology tools in their own classroom. For each technology tool, Dr. Pacansky-Brock highlights a feature overview of the technology tool along with a helpful tip to keep in mind when one uses the particular technology tool. In some cases, she also shares a showcase of her personal experience in using the technology tool. This portion of the book was my favorite chapters to read as it was targeting where I am on the learning curve in using technology in my classroom. The overwhelming feeling I was beginning to experience started to subside as emerging technology tools were broken down into simpler ways to help decide which technology tools I would like to try in the near future.
I highly recommend this book for educators who are in transition of transforming their classroom to include technology for learning and further develop a 21st-century learning environment for their students. The way she organizes and delivers the content makes it easy for her readers to understand and relate to. Her personal trial and error experiences provided great insight to begin to make informed decisions as to implementing effective practices as well as to which technology tools to use the classroom.

References

Pacansky-Brock, M. (2013). Best Practices for Teaching with Emerging Technologies.
New York: Routledge.
Pacansky-Brock, M. (n.d.). About Michelle Pacansky-Brock. Retrieved from: http://brocansky.
com/bio-and-headshot

[John Marus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Michelle Pacansky-Brock’s book, “Best Practices for Teaching with Emerging Technologies,” is a great book to read. It is, apparently, a part of a series of books called, “Best Practices in Online Teaching and learning.” As the title says, this edition in the series addresses the emerging technologies that are available to use in online learning environments.

The book begins with the author’s background and the development of her interest in using emerging technologies. She talks about how she grew up with the development of home computers and personal technology. Then, she addresses how her own sensibilities are different than those of subsequent generations who were raised in environments after this technology developed. After she writes about her own generation (of which I am a member, by the way), she mentions the Millennial generation, those born between 1980 and 2000. These are the students who are in college now. She mentions how this generation is much more likely to be connected to technology than previous generations. Millennials are much more likely to be connected online and engage in social interactions online than in previous generations. Being online is more an integral part of their culture, not just an instructional delivery method most for which most colleges use it. She talks about the Millennial generation this way:

“The rich options and highly personalized, community-oriented experiences of Millennials have informed their expectations and preferences. Millennials prefer to understand why they are engaging in an activity and seek out clear expectations in advance.” (Pacansky-Brock, 4)

She then goes further to describe the generation after the Millennials, one that had yet to be named. These people have been raised completely in a digital society. While we have yet to find out their unifying characteristics yet, here is how this generation is described in the book:

“The Center for Generational Studies predicts that they [post-millennials] will likely be the most ‘racially and culturally diverse generation in US history’ and because of ‘advances in global communication, they may be the most transient generation as well.’” (Pacansky-Brock, 5)

She also mentions that this generation is more used to highly personalized experiences than past generations, mentioning the iPods of her children containing only music that they enjoy, rather than accepting the playlist designed by the DJ on the radio.

The author goes on to say that, because of these changes in which younger generations interact, that our instruction needs to change as well. She talks about her transition in her classes from more traditional structure to using emerging technologies to foster more student engagement and discourse – both the successes and failures. Then, learning from those failures to further improve her class structure.

The first chapter is on planning an online course. By the way, this can also apply to a face-to-face course as well. According to the author, there are two main things to consider when designing this type of online environment, student support and building community. Both are important to figure out well beforehand to avoid anxiety and to make sure no student is left out. A class of this design can easily fall apart if not planned well. One thing the author mentions is this:

“While today’s traditional college-age students are more comfortable with experimenting with new technologies than previous generations, they aren’t necessarily fluent with all tools, nor do they understand how to use them to be productive, lifelong learners.” (Pacansky-Brock, 18)

Supporting student success includes a list of tools that will be used and why they will be used, a list of required supplemental equipment to use these tools, how and how often will these tools be used, whether these tools are available on campus, availability of special pricing, software that may need to be purchased, possible mobile apps that could supplement or replace computer software, examples of how these tools will be used, and comments from past students.

Building community involves how to create the open environment to foster student discourse. While the current school-age generation is more used to doing this than before, they are not necessarily used to doing it in an educational environment. The author addresses the importance of creating the proper class culture this way:

“For those professors who wish to create a community-based learning experience for students, it’s necessary to realize that you will need to explicitly frame your class in this way from the very first day of class and then cultivate a learning environment that fosters and encourages trust, student contributions, peer comments, and the overall collaborative construction of knowledge.” (Pacansky-Brock, 24)

This process includes stating a class philosophy in your syllabus and introduction and establishing community ground rules.

The rest of the book is more of an overview of tools that can be used in this type of environment, from essential tools, tools to deliver content, tools that can be used for student sharing and discourse, and tools that are more mobile oriented. It would be a long list of tools that were covered in this book.

This was an eye-opening book for someone who has never thought of using technology in this way. It would take a long time to learn all the tools presented in this book. It is a comprehensive list and the tools are described in a way as to initiate the reader who is not familiar with these tools and does not insult the reader for not knowing about these tools already. That is greatly appreciated. What is also great about this book is that there is a website connected to this book where the reader may obtain updated information. The website is called, www.teachingwithemerginetech.com. It is highly recommended that you read this book if you are into teaching.

Michelle Pacansky-Brock began her career as a college professor, teaching art history and the history of photography at the college level. Over time, in order to increase student engagement and student to student discourse, she investigated emerging technology tools at part of her classes. Now, she teaches courses to help other teachers and professors integrate these technology tools into their classes. She has won several awards based on her work in online teaching. These awards include the “2007 Sloan-C Excellence in Online Teaching Award, a 2007 NISOD award for Teaching Excellence, a Sloan-C Effective Practice Award in 2010 for her use of VoiceThread, and the Capella Educator Advancement scholarship in 2011.” (Pacansky-Brock, back cover)

[Eric Hidalgo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary
Michelle Pacansky-Brock (2017) provides fellow educators with an approach for integrating emerging technologies into their classrooms in her 2nd edition of Best Practices for Teaching with Emerging Technologies. Pacansky-Brock opens the book by introducing her target audience (fellow college professors) to the idea of a flipped classroom. The purpose of this introduction is to demonstrate how the paradigm shift from teaching to learning can benefit education.
After the introduction, Pacansky-Brock spends time providing her audience strategies to help their students prepare for using emerging technology in their classroom. She advises her readers to list the technologies that students will use, explain the purpose of the technologies, and to address any concerns students may have. Her readers are also provided with ways to establish a sense of community with their classrooms such as “developing a clear set of community groundrules” (Pacansky, 2017, p. 33). After addressing any concerns readers might have, Pacansky-Brock provides them with questions that will help readers evaluate emerging technologies. The purpose is to enable her readers to be able to determine what emerging technologies are suitable for their own classroom instead of simply using all of the technologies she lists.
Once Pacansky-Brock (2017) has prepared her audience to evaluate technologies, she provides them with emerging technologies to consider. She categorizes them as technologies that can help “to share content, to increase communications with your students, and to create participatory, collaborative learning activities” (p. 78). The first category contains a very thorough list of technologies that can be used in every step of providing videos for students from the hardware needed to record oneself to providing captions for students. The second group of emerging technologies are demonstrated to provide teachers creative, digital, and personalized ways to communicate with their students. Pacansky-Brock uses the final category of technologies to help her audience encourage their students to play active roles in their learning. Whether her readers want to simply convert their lessons to digital lessons, open communication with students, or leverage technology to create active learners, Pacansky-Brock provides readers with answers.
Pacansky-Brock (2017) concludes her book by calling her readers to not be limited by the learning management systems (LMS) set by their campuses. While her peers may find outside resources as distractions such as social media, Pacansky-Brocks leave them with a reflection question: “What if these unwelcome intrusions are, instead, pathways to learning that offer students opportunities to foster skills necessary for succeeding in a digital society?” (p. 146). By the time the reader has reached this point, Pacansky-Brock has provided them with examples of educators, not just herself, using technology that may be seen as “intrusions”, or that are outside of the readers’ figurative arm’s reach, as ways to engage students in meaningful learning experiences. She concludes her attempt to persuade readers by encouraging them to join her in “empower[ing] our students to live productive, meaningful lives in the digital age.” (p. 163).

Themes
Throughout the book, Pacansky-Brock (2017) revisits a few different themes: welcoming mobile phones and social media into education; using technology for the learning experiences they enable; and using technology to develop digital literacy in students. Pacansky-Brock frequently mentions and address her peers’ concern about the role of social media in learning. She reflects on her own initial reluctance to use it like many of her readers, but like many of educators who have stepped into Twitter, Pacansky-Brock recognized its potential. Whether it is to communicate with other students, reach out to larger communities, or develop digital literacy, social media can be used in beneficial ways, and educators should consider its role in education to prepare our students for our digital society. Pacansky-Brock also does a good job of emphasizing that the role of technology is not to use technology, but its role is to enable learning experiences that would otherwise be out of reach for the students in the readers’ classrooms. This is illustrated in the first question of the evaluation checklist: “what function will the tool serve in your classroom?” (p. 56). She emphasizes that the “tool should always be used in support of pedagogy” (p. 56). It is crucial that educators use emerging technologies to improve or make their teaching more accessible. We cannot use technology simply for the sake of using it. Possibly the most important theme throughout the book is Pacansky-Brock’s emphasis of using technology to develop students’ digital literacy. We cannot assume our students are experts on using technology, particularly in productive ways. How better to develop students’ digital literacy than have them engage in productive habits in our classroom? If nearly all of our students are on social media, why not meet them in that environment and have them change how they use it? Pacansky-Brock encourages her audience to not be afraid to incorporate social media into their classrooms because it may be one of the best ways to help students develop their digital literacy.

Author’s Qualifications
Michelle Pracansky-Brock (2017) has an established history of being an educator that integrates emerging technologies in meaningful ways. Formally, Dr. Pacansky-Brock has held leadership positions within different organizations and institutions. She has also assisted numerous online instructors nationwide to help develop online learning experiences. Her leadership roles and work demonstrate the trust placed in her by her peers to help integrate technology into education. While not officially recognized, Dr. Pacansky-Brock also demonstrates her credibility with respect to emerging technology in education by sharing her initial reluctance to integrate technology in her teaching. She recognizes that her audience has the same sentiments that she once had, so she can address their concerns by relating to them. Her testimony helps her message reach many educators even if they are not her intended audience of college professors.

[Meredith Evans]

Michelle Pacansky-Brock is widely known as a leader in higher education, and has a renowned expertise in online teaching course development, as well as faculty development. After earning her Master’s Degree and spending a year teaching part-time, she received a full-time position at a community college where she quickly transitioned into the world of online teaching. She has since gone on to help educators develop relevant, personalized, online learning experiences that support the individual learning needs of students on a national level (Pacansky-Brock, n.d.). Currently, Pacansky-Brock is the author of Best Practices for Teaching with Emerging Technologies (2017), is the Faculty Mentor of the California Community Colleges California Virtual Campus-Online Education Initiative (CVC-OEI) system, and is heading a California Learning Lab grant project (Pacansky-Brock, n.d.).
Incorporating new technology into the classroom can be exciting and engaging for students, as many of them view technology as fun, entertaining, and a welcome change from the traditional text/lecture instruction that they are used to. However, it is important to remember that not all students come into the classroom with the same experiences, and new technology may not be welcome to all. Some students may find new technology daunting and scary - especially if they have not had much experience, or have even had negative experiences outside of the classroom. Some families may have special circumstances which make the use of the internet by their children a scary thing (privacy issues, for example). In order to incorporate technology in an effective manner, it is the responsibility of the educator to clearly communicate why the technology is being used (clearly showing the connection between the technology and learning goals, as well as potentially engaging reluctant learners), how the technology will add to their experience, and what is considered appropriate or inappropriate in that context (Pacansky-Brock, 2017). Not only is it important to communicate this information to students, but to families as well. Along with that outward communication, educators must be open and willing to listen and respond to any concerns that come as a result of technology in the classroom, and to be flexible and responsive when coming up with responses and solutions.
It can be overwhelming for teachers to undertake the mission of trying out new pieces of technology - largely in part to lack of experience and training (Pacansky-Brock, 2017).  The other piece in the puzzle is the fear of failure in the classroom and the repercussions that would follow - both for teachers and students. However, when you examine the issue closely, you would see that our brains are actually wired to learn from failure; meaning that if one avoids a lesson due to fear of failure, they are actually hindering the learning process (Pacansky-Brock, 2017).  Teachers should treat failures as learning opportunities for their students.  Although teachers may be reluctant to be vulnerable in their classrooms, by opening up those new pathways, teachers are then able to take their students from a “basic linear transfer of knowledge to interconnected participatory inquiry” (Pacansky-Brock, 2017, p. 56).
There are some basic procedures that teachers need to follow in order to ensure that they are using best practices for technology. First, providing thorough how-to instructions must be shared with students from the very beginning.  Next, explaining the purpose of integrating technology into a lesson helps students to understand how it will enhance their learning. Finally, giving students opportunities to give feedback and using those results to inform future instruction (Pacansky-Brock, 2017).
In order to best choose technology to use in the classroom, there are some questions that teachers can ask to help them in those decisions.  Is the tool accessible to all students? This should be a high priority for educators - taking into account socio-economic status, physical/learning disabilities, etc.  Is the tool easy to use and are online resources provided? Is the tool free, or will it require funding? Do students need to create an account to use the tool (and will they need to provide personal or private information to do so)?  What permissions do you need to use the tool? (Pacansky-Brock, 2017).
There are certain types of technology that lend themselves to many different applications in the classroom, and are easily accessible to most students. Smartphones can be used across the curriculum, and give students easy access to apps, microphones, and cameras.  Webcams have the potential to strengthen the teacher-student relationship by adding a personal touch and presence to lectures, conferencing, and other forms of communication. Other tools that are considered essential are microphones, screencasting softwares, YouTube, graphic design tools, and URL shorteners  (Pacansky-Brock, 2017).
As our world continues to change in response to new technological advances, our way of approaching education must change as well.  We need to look beyond the confines of our classrooms and embrace the new requirements that society will have for our students when they enter the adult world.  Teachers need to rid themselves of the fear of being vulnerable and venture out to try new methods of instruction, and share their findings. Only if teachers work together, using best practices when it comes to technology, can we truly empower our students to go into the digital age as productive adults. 

References
Pacansky-Brock, M. (2017). Best practices for teaching with emerging technologies (2nd Edition). Routledge.
Pacansky-Brock, M (n.d.). About. Retrieved from https://brocansky.com/about

[Sara Hosseini]

Summary

I had the opportunity to read the book titled, Best Practices for Teaching with Emerging Technologies by Michelle Pacansky-Brock and I chose this book as I thought it would be both an interesting read and a practical read for me to use in my classroom. The text is broken down into 6 major themes or key ideas that one needs to understand when working with technology in the classroom. She starts with however an in-depth explanation of a flipped classroom. If you are anyone in the educational technology world, then you know the flipped classroom is the newest trend to create more student engaged classroom where they are challenged to learn in a completely new way. As stated by Pacansky, "It puts students in control of their learning and also gives them a chance to learn how they learn" (Pacansky, 2013, p.14). This statement stood out to me throughout reading the rest of the book, how do I best help my students find out how they learn?
Moving forward, I found the theme of shifting paradigms throughout the text to be both valuable and useful information. She took the time to discuss Barr and Tagg instruction and learning paradigm and how one could use this as a scale on a continuum. As a visual learner, it is always vital when authors provide this type of detail in the text. As stated in the text, we start to shift from this transfer of knowledge to elicit discovery and construction of knowledge, and we no longer just cover material but instead design learning environments (Pacansky, 2013, p.43). This is, of course, the ideal model shift, which does not happen in every classroom but that is where this new shift is occurring in our education system due to the new technologies we have access to.
The second half of the book is more where we start getting into the technology and best practices that she has found success within her own experiences. Pacansky does an entire chapter on what she calls the "Essentials Toolkit." She goes through and explains a bunch of technology apps and tools for people to use in their classroom that is pretty essential especially if you are pretty new to using technology. One of my favorites is Screencast-o-matic which allows you to record your screen, perfect for people who would like to try a flipped classroom scenario! As discussed in the text, "Recording is possible with no account. If you create a free account you'll be able to view and manage your recording history" (Pacansky, 2013, p. 67). I appreciated the great detail put into this tool kit, as you can see by this excerpt she even went as far as to include account details.
Another major theme throughout the book is how to create engagement and creating participatory learning environments. She had many great tools for creating these amazing environments for students living in this technology-driven world. One example she shares is using microblogging. Microblogging is basically like a miniaturized version of a blog where students can be reflective and share critical thoughts. One such idea is shared in her text, "Poll Everywhere, with a free account you can easily create simple single question polls with multiple choice or open-ended response and build them into lecture presentations" (Pacansky, 2013, p.103). This application is unique in that it can allow students to give feedback quickly, and can be anonymous, so many students feel like they can be more honest with their answers if they do not understand the content. I think this is a great way to get more student participation most easily.

Critique
Overall this text was well done, thorough, and complete. The themes were clear and concise throughout the book which created an easy read. I think the Author did a great job setting the foundation of understanding for those who may be unfamiliar with some education and technology practices early on. My only reservation is I was itching for more! I wish there were more resources and practices and less foundational information because my depth of knowledge was farther along I had a good understanding of many of the earlier topics she explained. However, I appreciated the review. So this book is great for new teachers, or people who are just beginning to learn how to implement technology strategies within their classrooms. The examples provided are well explained and detailed. She walks you through her toolkit which is probably my favorite part of this entire book and teaches you how to use each of the tools, which is most important. Overall I think the Author's purpose was clear and success in teaching some of the best practices for emerging technologies. However this book is best for newer technology people, and it should be labeled as such.

Author’s Qualifications
Michelle Pacansky-Brock is more than qualified in her field. She has a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Management. In 2007 she received the Sloan-C Excellence in Online Teaching Award as well as a National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD) Award for teaching excellence in 2007. Furthermore, she received a Sloan-C Effective Practice award in 2010 for her use of VoiceThread, as well as the Capella Educator Advancement Scholarship in 2011. (Pacansky, 2013). As seen in her multiple accolades, Pacansky has dedicated herself to the improvement of student learning, engagement, and best practices. She is constantly searching for ways to improve her teaching methods to help future students.

References
Brock, M. P. (2013). Best practices for teaching with emerging technologies. New York, NY: Routledge.

[Tram · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Best Practices for Teaching with Emerging Technologies, author, Michelle Pacansky-Brock, details numerous ways on how college professors could maximize student learning and engagement through integrated technologies. Pacansky-Brock offers benefits and examples of specific technology tools and applications that can target the interest of Millennials also known as Gen Z, by drawing on her experience as a college professor, as well as her experience growing up as a member of Generation X. She breaks down the benefits of teaching with emerging technologies very well, highlighting brain research by "John Medina, an affiliate Professor of Bioengineering at the University of Washington School of Medicine and director for the Brain Center for Applied Learning Research at Seattle Pacific University” (Pacansky-Brock, 2013, p.7) on how to teach to support the way the human brain works that are relevant for the 21st-century learner. It basically winds down to optimizing the technology tools that students use everyday—their mobile devices—and tapping into all the sensories—namely vision—to maximize student engagement and interest which potentially leads to learning. In other words, students today have all the tools to learn, and the instructor should help facilitate learning by providing directions and opportunities to help students learn, instead of acting like the bearer of knowledge. The idea of a classroom converted into a place for discussion that elicits creativity and ideas in this flipped classroom concept will “shake the foundation of the traditional instructional paradigm in which higher education is rooted,” (Pacansky-Brock, 2013, p.9) and Pacansky-Brock goes into extensive details on how to accomplish this throughout her writing.

Throughout the reading, Pacansky-Brock incorporates her own experiences which helps enrich her ideas. Perhaps it is because I am part of Generation Y (the older end), or that she is a History major, like myself, but I found her personal stories to be very relatable to my own. For instance, when a student introduced her to YouTube for the first time, I remembered my own experience with YouTube, uploading my first video to the now-super famous website, recorded from a Nikon point-and-shoot back in the early 2000’s, and how it felt sifting through the hundreds of nonsensical videos online just because it was entertaining. Or when Pacansky-Brock’s friend expressed concerns about privacy issues if she were to create a Twitter account. I had the same thoughts and feelings not too long ago, but today, I feel much more lax, quickly creating accounts on Uber, Venmo, Poshmark and the likes, all phone applications that require me to provide a credit card or my debit account information for financial transactions. Pacansky-Brock remind readers how it was like for people like me who grew up and witnessed the emerging technologies that revolutionized every part of our lives. And with this growing group of Millennials, educators, in K-12 and higher education, must learn to adjust and equip themselves with the proper learning technology tools and how to effectively integrate them into their curriculum if they expect this generation of future leaders to stay interested in learning in school.

Although my peers who teach at the high school level may find Pacansky-Brock’s writing to be outdated (published in 2013) and perhaps targeted specifically to college students only, I find it quite informative and refreshing as a high school teacher, myself. As we work to close the gap between high school learning and college learning, if educators hope to make the transition easier for high school graduates entering universities, they can learn a lot from this book. We are a quarter in to this “new” century and Pacansky-Brock explains the new paradigm that should already shift from instruction to learning. For example,

“designing a learning environment in a...class that is targeted at eliciting discovery, constructing knowledge, and achieving specified learning results for a diverse student group requires an instructor to engage with students...have a willingness to adapt and shift the direction of activities in response to the group’s unique needs.” (Pacansky-Brock, 2013, p.43)

Pacansky-Brock offers a variety of ways to accomplish this by listing showcases and technology applications throughout the book that can be applied at the university level and, as I personally feel, the K-12 levels. And for those who feel this book is outdated, Pacansky-Brock highlights a lot of current applications that are still trending today, such as add-ons and apps through Google, Screencastify, bitly, Polleverywhere, VoiceThread and more. Currently the Teaching and Learning Innovation Specialist at Cal State University of Channel Islands, Pacansky-Brock has the credibility and experience that properly supports what she has examined as best practices for teachers using technology in the classroom. Furthermore, for readers who remain focused on the intended college students being the recipients of these best practices for teaching with emerging technologies in her book, they will not enjoy this book. However, if readers could step back and look at the readings through macro lenses, they will discover that much of Pacansky-Brock’s ideas reflect most of what K-12 educators are also seeking: a practical list of technology tools that can help create authentic, participatory learning environments catered to 21st century learners that will prepare them for the “real world”.

[Jose Rosas · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Best Practices for Teaching with Emerging Technologies (Second Edition)” by Dr. Michelle Pacansky-Brock is an excellent resource for teachers in the 21st century. Dr. Pacansky is currently employed as a Teaching and Learning Innovation Specialist for California State University Channel Islands. She is Faculty Mentor who coordinates professional development for integrating online instruction and utilizing 21st century emerging technologies in the classroom. Through her work and mentoring she has assisted instructors across the nation to meet the diverse learning needs of college students. Her education background includes receiving a EdD degree in Educational Leadership and Management, a Masters in Art History, and a Bachelors in B.A. Studio Art/Photography. The author of this book brings high qualifications based on her experiences.

“Best Practices for Teaching with Emerging Technologies (Second Edition)” begins by identifying four types of emerging technologies which are defined in the context of the book; cloud-based applications, Web 2.0 tools, social technologies, and mobile apps. As a teacher, I think it is important to identify and the understand the various emerging technologies out there. If these technologies are applied effectively, I believe it can improve and support the learning of students in K-12 schools. As stated by Dr. Pancansky-Brock, “the tools featured in this book have demonstrated potential to enhance college learning by making it easier for instructors and students to create and share multimedia content, build relationships at a distance, and make learning more interactive and collaborative” (Pacansky-Brock, 2017, p.1). Students today have grown up using technology, I strongly believe the various types of emerging technologies can and will support the learning needs of students in the k through 12 education system. It is the teachers job to prepare students for the 21st century.

The introduction and chapter one of the book focuses on building the foundation of your classroom to succeed with the integration of technology, which I believe is most important to succeed. The introduction presents the flipped classroom approach and how it “puts students in control of their learning and gives them a change to learn how they learn,” (Pacansky-Brock, 2017, p.19). I do believe the flipped classroom approach is very important when working with technology. Technology today provides students will endless amount of information at their fingertips. I agree students need to be given the opportunity to take control of their learning, but with guidance. The teacher’s role in the 21st century needs to change instead of creating a hierarchy of teaching as referenced by Dr. Pancansky-Brock, where the instructor is above the students and students are the bottom listening and taking notes in class (Pacansky-Brock, 2017, p.18). From various text I have analyzed, Dr. Pancansky-Brock also emphasizes that instructors need to “shift from ‘sage on the stage’ to ‘guide on the side,’” (Pacansky-Brock, 2017, p.18). In addition to creating a flipped classroom, it is important to create a foundation with expectations on which and how technology will be used in the classroom. As pointed out by the author, even though students know how to use technology it doesn’t mean they know to use it as lifelong learners. As a teacher, I do believe it is important to prepare students and set the standards on how to utilize technology effectively.

The most useful part of the book is chapters 3 through 5, the author provides a variety of tools with examples on how to apply them. Chapter 3 addresses Screencasting software, Jing-TechSmithcom/jing, and how to access it. In chapter 4, you are provided with two scenarios on how Jing has been utilized by teachers. I believe this is very helpful for teachers to know how it is used by others before implementing it themselves. Therefore the book is a very useful tool for teachers to have.

In the last part of the book, the author provides insight on how educators should rethink their teaching when utilizing Learning Management Systems and textbooks. These tools can keep students learning sheltered if not used appropriately, especially LMS. Learning cannot be contained but should be expanded for students to the web. In the last chapter, the author provides a link to online resources in relation to the book. In addition, the author encourages the reader to share your online resources in relation to the book. I really like how the author is trying to expand and share ideas with everyone. This is a great way to collaborate with other teachers.

This book has provided me with valuable information on setting up my classroom to utilize today’s emerging technologies. I will continue to reference to this book to on building a flipped classroom foundation in my class. Since implementing a flipped classroom approach, my students have become more motivated and engaged to their learning while using technology. I look forward to growing my expertise of providing a flipped classroom and integrating the best technologies for the classroom.

Pacansky-Brock, Michelle. (2017). Best Practices for Teaching with Emerging Technologies: Second
Edition. New York, NY: Routledge.
Pacansky-Brock, Michelle. (n.d.). Michelle Pancansky-Brock @brocansky [Blog post]. Retrieved
from
http://brocansky.com/about

[Nick Reicher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Michelle Pacansky-Brock, who authored the book Best Practices for Teaching with Emerging Technologies, is the faculty mentor of digital innovation for the California Community Colleges. She has received two OLC/Sloan-C awards for her effectiveness of teaching and speaks all over the country at conferences and faculty development gatherings. She hosts numerous podcasts on emerging technologies. One can debate whether hosting podcasts and speaking at conferences makes you an expert on emerging technologies. I believe that this is a tough sell to a lot of people. Personally, I have always believed that someone trying to sell their own agenda and their own products are tough to have a sell. Michelle does a great job of all of the emerging technologies and her systems of using them in the classroom is second to none.
This book is features numerous examples of teachers integrating technology into their classroom and should inspire and encourage the most tentative teachers to try something new. As with any book that focuses on emerging technologies, there is a lot of different content throughout the text. One example of this is as follows: “While today’s traditional college-age students are more comfortable with experimenting with new technologies than previous generations, they aren’t necessarily fluent with all tools, nor do they understand how to use them to be productive, lifelong learners—which, I believe, is a skill that all classes can contribute to developing.” Think about this statement for a minute. Most people in the world today view the youth of America as technology experts and they should be able to use each bit of technology. I believe the opposite is true. This quote symbolizes it. The students in our classroom are not the ones who are experts in the technology. That should be us. What I believe they are the best at is learning how to use the technology faster than we learned how to use it. They are also more adept at finding more impactful uses for the technology than other generations.
Michelle continues to challenge the norm in this book, thinking outside the box, and trying to meet a growing, diverse population rich with varied technological backgrounds and perspectives where students are is the hallmark of good teaching. Michelle talked about a student who did not want to be lumped in with all the other teenagers. She did not believe in social networking. She wanted to interact with her peers on a personal level, not so online. This changed Michelle’s thinking about her teaching. She shares her story in this quote: “It changed my understanding of what it means to teach effectively with emerging technologies. It made me think more inclusively about who my students are and how their own experiences contribute to the way they learn. While my younger students generally jumped in enthusiastically to the social network, my older students weren’t yet engaged in social networking and were suspicious and unsure about how it could correlate.” This is a great quote, because if something works for one class, it does not mean it is going to work for another class. A great teacher is not someone who does something his way just because it has worked in the past, but rather a teacher who knows the heart of his students and how to best reach them through the technology.
Michelle then starts talking about teaching online. She talked about the anxiety of teaching online and not having that social interaction with students. “I have observed that when faculty take the hard road to confront their anxieties and move beyond the skills they know they’re good at, they grow enormously. Skepticism is washed away with excitement, pride, and enthusiasm for teaching online. At the end of the humanizing course, one faculty shared, “I knew that learning in a classroom was a social interaction, but for some reason, I left that at the door when I tried to teach online. …Now I get it! And, I have learned that there are so many simple (and free) tools online that can help me make the experience more personal and more social.” It is amazing the relationships that you can develop when you are conversing with others online. That is why online learning is becoming more and more the norm.
Michelle finally talks about the learning management system (LMS). A LMS is software application for the administration, documentation, tracking, reporting and delivery of educational courses, training programs, or learning and development programs. Michelle talks about LMS and the rigor of it in this quote: “In an LMS, the rigidity of the technology determines who your students can interact with, how they may express themselves, and what content they may engage with. For example, when I use Blackboard, I can choose to use folders or the learning modules feature to arrange the content with which I want my students to engage. I could choose to set up a link for my students that would take them outside an LMS into the public web. But when we are used to teaching in an LMS, we understand these moments as intrusions that need to be tamed.” LMS is a way to give teachers the benefit of some control in an otherwise control free environment. LMS allows teachers to set deadlines, assign work, and have great discussions within your organization.

[Felicity Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Summary
Teaching effectively with emerging technologies by Michelle Pacansky- Brock attempts to shine the light on the importance of integrating technology within the classroom settings. Pacansky-Brock placed a significant emphasis on how to keep students engaged in the learning process. At the start of the book, the author goes into great detail about her instructional shift. She starts by stating how she lectures and taught her classes in the traditional sense. She describes how she saw student engagement and the need to adapt to it, "Outside the walls of the classroom most college students learn through connected and highly personalized experiences. (Pacansky-Brock 2017)" The transformation of curriculum instruction into a different online learning platform is the next point of the book. She describes her struggle with integrating the new technology (at that time) into her lectures and curriculum.
The rest of the book lends itself to a step by step model of how to incorporate technology into the classroom and how to set up expectations and prepare students for a new learning experience. The setting up of the classroom and laying a good foundation was incredibly eye-opening, especially in today's new platform of learning. Students are accustomed to a teacher or professor just lecturing for a given amount of time; after that, they leave the classroom. In this traditional model of learning, student interaction was minimal, as well as student engagement. Students were more passive learners and benefiting and working with the material.
Setting a foundation allows students to do what is expected of them and gives them the insight that your classroom is not a typical one. One part of building that foundation is creating a sense of community within the classroom. "Participatory learning situated individuals within a fluid community in which members make contributions by sharing ideas of their own and responding to the contributions made by other members (Pacansky-Brock, 2017). Pacansky-Brock emphasis the importance of educating your students on what technological tools will be used in the classroom or course. She states that this should be done before the first day of class to allow students time enough to become acclimated with the technology. Technology should be explained to the student, "...students also want to understand why you are using the technologies" (Pacansky-Brock, 2017). Students should know why they are using a specific technology. In doing so, we hope to gain more buy-in from the students and make them feel more comfortable using technology.
Critique

Pacansky-Brocks gives her reader a view into a shifting paradigm of education. The technology that she has embraced as of the writing of her book has evolved dramatically. However, the ideas and the slow shift education is taking is more visible in today's world more than ever. With the COVID-19 pandemic caught, many educators off guard, and school districts and colleges were scrambling to continue education for our students. Many of the author's ideas of integrating technology into the classroom become very poignant in today's world. Educators were not genuinely ready to fully integrate technology or to even rely on it as the sole means of delivering instruction. Although the author focuses more on the college experience, her ideas and techniques can be applied to a multitude of educational settings. Pacansky-Brock allowed the reader to view her evolution and uses her book as a how-to manual to integrate technology in our own classrooms.
Discussion

Michelle Pacansky- Brock is fully qualified to speak on the subject of integrating technology in the classrooms. She has won numerous awards in integrating technology. One of the most poignant examples is how Pancansky-Brock takes the reader through her journey and her transformation. She gives her reader an inside view of her struggles on integrating technology and overcoming each of those struggles. While she is no expert, she provides an end-user perspective of technology and how incorporating technology into her curriculum and how she increased her student integration. She then goes on the give a step by step tutorial on how an educator can go about integrating technology into their classroom setting.
Conclusion
The ideas and themes that Pacansky-Brock presented in her book are very applicable to the adult school setting. Take, for example, the purpose of the "Flipped classroom" in a computer training class students can view videos on how to open a “Word” file and how to set it up. When the student arrives at the classroom, the teacher can spend time with hands-on activities and one on one guidance. Another idea the author had was building a foundation and community within the classroom. While a social media platform may not be feasible for the adult school classroom, am E-Portfolio may be. The E-Portfolio could be shared on Google Docs, and classmates can create a career portfolio and even add suggestions or questions. The book was like a step by step manual; some ideas and techniques may have to be modified for different settings so teachers can incorporate the strategies in their curriculum.

[Irais]

I selected to read, Best Practices for Teaching with Emerging Technologies by Michelle Pacansky-Brock. The book examined whether or not current learning practices are still relevant in light of emerging technologies. The text defines emerging technologies as tools that fall into one or more of four categories: cloud-based applications, Web 2.0, social technologies and mobile apps. These emerging technology tools have made it easier for instructors and students to work, learn and interact at a distance. The book suggests fewer lectures and more online learning organized into modules with VoiceThread interface. The concept is to engage students in learning with choices as to how to access the lesson with clear learning objectives, assignments, and expectations. The author attempts to shift her viewpoint and think about her classes from the perspective of her students to appreciate clarity in the lesson. Brain research is also addressed and explores the ways that emerging technologies can be used to foster the type of multisensory learning that all brains crave. “When that brain is exposed to each of the five senses-seeing, hearing, listening, tasting, and smelling a different region of the brain is activated. The more senses that are engaged in an experience, the more a brain is stimulated and the longer a person remembers what has occurred” (p. 12). The recommended activities include visuals so students may see samples of work and increase their success.
Dr. Michelle Pacansky- Brock wrote her book in the first person as she shares her experiences teaching at the college level. Her background in teaching includes expertise in online faculty development, course design, and facilitation at the college level. Her interest in learning makes this book enjoyable to read.
The book’s table of contents includes seven chapters with an introduction on the topic of the flipped classroom. The concept of the flipped classroom is for students to view the lesson outside the classroom via-internet and use the classroom time to discuss the topic and provide support to students. “And within our classes, using it in support of a course’s learning objectives in one way we can make our students’ learning more relevant, more supportive of diverse student needs, and more engaging, as well prepare them for a successful life in our digital, interconnected, collaborative society” (p.20).
My intake is that the flipped classroom concept may work best for self-motivated and disciplined students who remain on-task without any supervision. Young students in pre-college school years may benefit from having a teacher provide pacing, timing, and interventions for viewing the lessons via-internet. My concern is how well will students view the lesson at home and be prepared for the discussion the next day in the classroom. I found chapter one to be useful for teachers to assure students understand what the course will cover, expectations, and for students to understand the proper way to use the materials found on the internet in accordance to the law. The role of the teacher is to make sure students are safe using the internet and abide by copyright rules. Chapter three very engaging appreciate the information and introduction to online services that are great for teaching such as canva.com, amara.org, Google, and others. I feel this chapter is great especially if I had not learned and experienced these services in my master’s courses. Chapter four is beneficial for teachers who are looking for technological tools to enhance learning. The internet can be overwhelming and with so many apps and tools it can be exhausting and expensive too. The list narrows the tools to the most teacher-student friendly and great resource for learning. I enjoyed chapter five and became familiar with additional tools that I may use in my classroom. I appreciate how it went into detail on the features of each tool and how to create engaging lesson plans with these tools. I also understand that one learns best with experience and look forward to exploring the tools I have not yet used. Chapter six is suitable for the needs of college professors yet I do appreciate the concern to make online learning more accessible and easier to use for students and faculty. Chapter seven, “Online Resources” is a one-page chapter where the books online resource site is share. TeachingWithEmergingTech.com and Facebook.com/BPTET. The sites share a collection of resources aligned with each chapter.
I enjoyed this book and gained an appreciation for the material shared to augment learning and the use of technology in the classroom. Dr. Pacansky-Brock presented experiences using the technological tools discussed in the book and provided tips to make it easier to use the resources with success.

[April Heisey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I chose this book to learn about the new technology that is out and how to incorporate that technology in the classroom. I was thrown off when I got the book and found out it was for college professors. I teach high school not college, but I read it anyway and found out there are some things I can use in the high school classroom.

The author, Michelle Pacansky-Brock, was an art history college professor for online and face-to-face classes. She wrote about her own experiences with technology as well as other college professors experiences. She has won the OLC/Sloan-C award twice for her effectiveness in online teaching. Michelle is currently a teaching and learning specialist or California State University, Channel Islands.

The book starts off with an introduction. Michelle Pacansky-Brock describes how she started using emerging technologies in her online classes. It made sense to her that students on the internet should use more tools from the internet. She started giving her lectures on a podcast and had her students write blogs. Students can type or speak their responses to questions using VoiceThread. Michelle’s online students were engaged and differences between them and her face-to-face students were like night and day. She restructured her regular classes and divided up the curriculum into learning modules similar to her online classes. Before coming to class the students needed to listen to the podcast and leave questions or comments using the voice thread. When the class met, she would go over the questions and lead a class discussion about the topic being taught. Even though Michelle’s flipped class uses multiple types of technology she believes “the foundation of success [for a flipped class] is a clearly structured instructional design model that organizes content into learning modules, each aligned with a series of measurable learning objectives and a continued focus on modeling the importance of community” (p. 14).

For any teacher wanting to use emerging technology in the classroom, the author believes there are steps to take before starting with the technology. Chapter One reveals the steps needed to get started. She states that students should be frontloaded with the technologies and applications that will be used throughout the course, why each technology will be used, and any equipment or software the student will need to use these technologies and applications. Part of using technology is making a community out of your students, they will need to collaborate more, participate more, and work together well. Because of this, groundrules need to be established and shared with students. “Students need to feel safe and perceive their learning environment as a trusted space to share and collaborate with their peers…the groundrules empower students to play a central, rather than peripheral, role in their learning” (p. 26). Many examples of groundrules are given, for instance, students need to treat each other with respect.

Privacy is another topic discussed, the author believes it is more important to teach students how to participate responsibly in a public online environment. That might be fine for college age students, for my high school students, I would not want them collaborating in a public space. I would want them to stick with private options that only my students can see. Also in this chapter is information on copyright law. There are different levels of copyright, to avoid a lawsuit, teachers should use copyrighted material that has a Creative Commons License or that is considered public domain.

The next chapter gives a list of criteria to think about when deciding what technology to use in the classroom, as in, what function will the technology have in the class and who will use it, how will it affect the teachers’ workload. The teacher also needs to determine if every student has access to the tool, the difficulty, and price of the tool.

“Teaching with emerging technology is, by nature, experimental and failure is an implicit step in an experiment. If we don’t fail, we don’t learn, and if we don’t learn, we won’t improve upon what we’re already doing” (p. 41-42). This is my favorite quote from Michelle Pacansky-Brock! It is what I tell my math students every day. It is through our mistakes that we learn. If we expect our students to experiment without worry of making a mistake, then we, as teachers, need to be willing to try new things and possibly fail as well.

Chapters 3-5 is a list of tools to promote collaboration, participation, and creative presentations. With each tool is an example of how Pacansky-Brock or another professor used it as a tool in the classroom. This book was written in 2012, so many of the tools are outdated, but she does talk about some popular tools. Some of the tools that are discussed are social tools like Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest. High school students love Twitter, a suggestion by the author is to make a special hashtag for the class and have the students use the hashtag on all questions and comments for the class. For Pinterest, it is suggested to make a board for the class and have students pin websites or pictures of specific topics on the board for the class to discuss. These are great ideas, but I am concerned about the privacy of my students using these sites. I would do something like make a google slide show for the class and have students use their phones to take a picture of a conic section and post it on a google slide. Even better is if they take that picture and upload it into the Desmos Graphing Calculator to calculate the equation of the conic section and make a google slide of the picture and equation.

Chapter 6 is about integrating mobile apps into the lesson. There are examples of game-based learning apps, like a QR code scavenger hunt, these are designed to get the students out of the classroom, moving around, and communicating. “Mobile devices are at the core of this workforce transformation and encouraging students to learn and encouraging students to learn how to use them to foster collaboration, is an important step in preparing students for success in the 21st century” (p. 135). Almost all students have smartphones, they need to know their phones are for more than just playing games and socializing. Those phones are valuable tools, that if utilized fully can be amazing learning devices. Being confident in using smartphones and tablets will increase their job opportunities in the future.

The last chapter gives a link for online resources and videos used to write this book. The book was a little outdated in terms of the technology, but the themes can be applied for many years to come. The ideas can be adapted to current situations and technologies. It was easy to read and will be used as I plan to incorporate more technology in my classes.

[Timothy · Rating 5 out of 5]

“As the lives of our students continue to be transformed by social, mobile technologies, we have uncharted territory in front of us. As we struggle to fend off the distractions of Facebook and texting in our classrooms, in an effort to sustain our traditions, are we missing something grand? Something dazzling? We will never know if we don’t pause and reframe our problems as opportunities”. (15) This statement from author Michelle Pacansky-Brock sums up the current state of classrooms across the globe. Teachers everywhere are having to rethink everything that they have been taught in order to find a way to reach the 21st-century student. In her book, “Best Practices for Teaching with Emerging Technologies”, Pacansky-Brock gives the reader insight, through her own personal experiences, on how to reframe those problems as opportunities.
The author begins by establishing the need for technology and lays a groundwork for teaching with emerging technologies. She also carefully examines strategies and techniques that will ensure students are successful in this new environment. The author cites a problem with student engagement as one of the main issues that teachers are faced with today. She states that students learn through flat, interconnected, highly personalized experiences. They are used to learning with their peers in a virtual community in which their opinions and ideas matter. (6) Unfortunately, this directly contradicts the standard classroom experience that students are expected to learn in. Students are connected to the world in ways that older generations would never have imagined. This is why you see many schools with anti-technology policies in place for the classroom. The author recalls a time when she was very frustrated with her students and their new-found love of iPods, and how she thought it to be rude that a student would leave one earbud in while talking to her. Then after a while, she began to see things differently and saw the possibilities that lie in technology like the iPod. As educators, we need to start looking at the potential benefits of the emerging technologies that are at our disposal and start to make new pro-technology policies for our classrooms that will benefit our students.
The author also points out that just because our students’ lives are immersed in technology, does not mean that their skills with technology will transfer over to the classroom. She states that although today’s students are more comfortable with technology, they are not necessarily fluent with all tools, nor do they understand how to use them to be productive learners. (17) The author claims that to support the success of all students that the teacher should provide a solid foundation for the students by explaining the tools that are going to be used and their purpose for using them in the class. The teacher should clearly communicate the expectations of the technology use, and most important they should model these expectations to the students. As a teacher who has tried many different technologies in my classroom, I can relate to this very much. I have overestimated my students’ technological abilities and set them up for failure by thinking that they would just “figure it out”. It has taken me a while to understand that just giving them technology is not enough, but I should also show them how to use it in an educational situation.
Much of the rest of the book is devoted to different tools and how to implement them in the classroom. I found this part of the book to be my favorite. I often would immediately try out a new tool that was shown in the book to see if it was something that I could use in my classroom.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and think that it would be helpful to any teacher looking to add technology into their classroom in a meaningful way. The author makes a good case for why technology is needed and then gives the reader a solid framework on how to use technology in the classroom. Her use of her real-life experiences are very relatable and make for an interesting reading experience.
Dr. Michelle Pacansky-Brock is a noted leader in higher education with expertise in online teaching, course design, and faculty development. Dr. Pacansky-Brock is a Faculty Mentor, with the California Community College system, where she coordinates professional development efforts related to emerging technologies in online teaching and learning for @ONE (Online Network of Educators) and the CCC Online Education Initiative.

References
Pacansky-Brock, M. (n.d.). Retrieved from Brocansky.com: http://brocansky.com/
Pancanky-Brock, M. (2013). Best Practices for Teaching with Emerging Technologies. New York: Routledge.

[Winnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written by Michelle Pacansky-Brock, the book “Best Practices for Teaching with Emerging Technologies” contains valuable information on how educators, at any level or experience, can teach more effectively with all of the emerging technologies. The book as a whole, gave me insight into how educators are beginning to transform their teaching. Much of what Pecansky-Brock brings up is relatable, and makes me ponder about the subject even more. For instance, she discusses how it is a common perception that the internet is “ruining society, creating a generation of disrespectful, entitled, copyright pirates.” However, for many Millennials, going online is a way for them to connect with other people who share the same interests (p. 4). I know that for many of my teacher colleagues, and even for me, we rely on what other people share on the internet. Many of us use Teachers Pay Teachers, the largest educational marketplace with millions of resources that are easily and readily downloadable. Additionally, many of us seek advice, training, and expertise through the internet.

Pacansky-Brock shares her experience with the flipped classroom. As an educator, this is the path that I want to start heading on, but there are still so many unknowns, due to the knowledge and questions I have about it. However, just like learning and implementing a new curriculum, I know that transitioning into a flipped classroom is something I will just need to start, and make adjustments from there as needed. Pacansky-Brock shares her survey results from her students about the flipped classroom, which allows me to see that it is effective. She reported that her survey revealed an increased amount of “student satisfaction, engagement, sense of community, and critical thinking (p.13). Additionally, she shared that the majority of her students said that the flipped classroom experience was a more enriching learning experience, allowed students to ask more questions during the class time, their ideas and perspectives felt valued in the classroom, and that the class-time was more relevant to their individual needs. Through my minimal personal experience of flipped classrooms, it seems to work more effectively in high school or college, where students are more independent with their learning. As an elementary school teacher, it’s difficult to see how a flipped classroom would work. There are so many other factors that come into question, such as: What do the students who don’t have reliable internet access at home do? Will there be allocated time in class for those students to watch the videos? How can we engage younger students who are still learning to type on online networks, such as VoiceThread? Pacansky-Brock most refers to students in college or university, but I would like to use her ideas on a smaller scale with elementary school students. This way, they can be familiar with the process and become comfortable with a flipped classroom at a young age.

Chapter 2, “A New Paradigm for a New Century” is very relatable in the way that Pacansky-Brock says that teaching with emerging technology is “by nature, experimental and failure is an implicit step in an experiment” (p. 41, 42). She goes to explain that failure is a part of learning and improvement. This reminds me of all the times I have failed when trying a new curriculum. Students would get bored, the lesson would get confusing, there would be a plethora of misunderstandings, and the list goes on… However, often times, I find that getting started is the hard part. Like Pacansky-Brock says, failure is such an important step in learning. With the failures, I’m able to take a look at what went wrong, and plan for improvement in that area. From that point on, it just becomes more and more successful.
“Best Practices for Teaching with Emerging Technologies” is a great handbook as it includes a lot of helpful tips and resources with getting started on a flipped classroom. One of the most helpful sections I found was in Chapter 3, Essential Toolkits. In this chapter, Pacansky-Brock shares online content hosting services and tools that help with captioning the videos. She mentions YouTube, box.com, wistia.com, and universalsubtitles.org. While YouTube is very well-known, I had not thought about captioning the videos prior. Captioning is quite essential because it gives students the option to follow along with the words, see the spelling of certain words, and makes it more accessible to all students (such as those who are hearing impaired). I love how Pacansky-Brock ends the chapter with saying “the toolkit outlined above is like a Swiss army knife for teaching with emerging technologies.” It truly is a great resource for getting started with our own online community with our students.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is highly informative, engaging, and also balanced--even for skeptics like myself. If you are a teacher adamantly opposed to social networking or any web-based and public applications, you may want to skip this one. However, even those who are cynical about good old Web 2.0 might find value in the broader take-aways regarding student engagement. As Pacansky-Brock stresses in the introduction: "The point here is that "online" is a culture to young people. Yet to most colleges, it is a delivery method" (7). It will be interesting to see what impact the pandemic has on the third edition of this book. Indeed, a "next edition" there must be, because not all technologies can be still considered emergent, and some, of course, have probably faded away into the ether of "cool and awesome" apps. This second edition is from 2017, and while I have not conducted an audit of all the sites and apps she mentions, I'm reasonably confident not all of them are available anymore.

Pacansky-Brock most strongly advocates for using VoiceThread, and to be sure, she is at an advantage teaching art history, which is easily curated and viewed by students online. Her aim is true -- these are tools to help build community, and to that end, they should be used thoughtfully and carefully, without burdening students.

The other big piece of this is accessibility. Pacansky-Brock's work has been touted by UDL (Universal Design for Learning) advocates, and as many of these emerging technologies do allow for greater access and different modalities, it is easy to see why. I struggle sometimes with the concept that using multiple modalities is ALWAYS a road to greater accessibility, particularly if they are engaged simultaneously (for example, I have a very difficult time listening in a Zoom meeting AND reading what shows up in the chat). She advocates for a "backchannel" (e.g. live Tweeting) as a form of participation and as Derek Bruff would have it, a form of "active" listening. My own experience is different --- I find that I listen perhaps more selectively (rather than actively), hoping to have a good sound byte to comment on or share with the world at large. Other suggestions for participatory learning activities I've found to be very useful, such as collaborative slide decks. And it is this spirit of collaboration that seems to drive most of Pacansky-Brock's suggestions: "...these learning activities in Voice Thread are peer-to-peer, so the students are doing more than submitting an assignment; they are working together to create content from which the group learns" (129).

What was one of the more compelling and interesting ideas for me was connected to DS106, an open online course through the University of Mary Washington. Evidently the course includes an "Assignment Bank" to which students submit ideas for assignments and class participants may rate the difficulty of the assignment by giving it one to five stars. Then, for a particular section of the course, participants are asked to complete x number of stars-worth of web assignments. I'd really love to know more about how this works out in terms of equity in workload --are ten 1-star activities truly equal to two 5-star activities? (152 -153). Are the learning objectives balanced out? I have lots of questions and Pacansky-Brock does not necessarily provide answers.

Ultimately that's ok, but it does get tricky to "experiment" with these emergent technologies if one wants to also build a solid foundation (the guidance of Chapter 1). My sense is that Pacansky-Brock would recommend only trying one or two tools for a class at a time and she does recognize that packing a course with these participatory activities can have the exact opposite effect. The book hovers between a survey of technologies and a "best practices" manual, the latter of which needs to be extracted a bit with a step back from the myriad apps and case studies that the book offers. Chapter 2 is probably the most valuable in this regard ("Toward Participatory Pedagogy") as it highlights theoretical foundations that can be applied in moving from a general "Instruction Paradigm" to a "Learning Paradigm" which borrows from the work of Barr and Tagg in a 1995 article published in Change Magazine. Generally speaking, Pacansky-Brock's work is balanced in terms of experiential and theoretical knowledge, and some instructors may find it possible to skim through basics of the "essential toolkit" and the like. While I remain skeptical of technological saturation, I do feel it is responsible pedagogy to know what tools are out there, and Pacansky-Brock's work helps provide a glimpse into possibilities for both online and blended learning.

[David Gago · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Typically, one of the most overwhelming elements of teaching with emerging technologies is deciding which tool or tools you should try.”(50) Never has a sentence rang so true in education today. As technology has advanced, educators are struggling to keep up with the demands not just for ourselves but for the educational achievement of our students. Dr. Michelle Pacansky-Brock, in her book Best Practices for Teaching with Emerging Technologies, highlights the struggle she personally has had incorporating different technologies in her own teaching, but also provides insight on how educators can use the same tools for their classroom as well.
One of the major ideas that Dr. Pacansky-Brock focuses on throughout her book is that students entering higher education are more comfortable with technology than in previous generations. The major issue that she notes is that while technology is embedded in their everyday life, using the technology in such a way to further their education is one skill that many lack in. (24) It is this issue that she writes to educators to think about as they look at new technology. It is not enough just to try new technology, but you must demonstrate and communicate clearly what is the purpose and goal of using the technology. (26) As an educator looking for ways to bring technology in the classroom, I can see that I personally need to work on communicating the reasons to my students, why the technology I am expecting my students to use is essential and helpful.
Another major idea Dr. Pacansky-Brock uses, is not just using new technology but also looking at what expectations we have for our students. Participatory learning, where the student is more active in their learning, rather than a typical teacher-student role, is something that, while new in education, is not new to this generation of students. (30) It is easy to forget that while students are locked in to their phones and technology, they use it primarily for socializing, but not for education. It is our job as educators to show our students how they can be in charge of their own education. By changing the focus of how the students learn, passive to participatory, they will be able to dig deeper into the topics in each class. She speaks to how the changes she has made, while tough at first, has brought greater depth to the students she has taught.
Lastly, Dr. Pacansky-Brock spends the last few chapters in her books demonstrating many of the different tools that are available for educators to use. She would describe the tool, its usage, and what features it has for not just the educator but also the student. This is helpful for an educator to weed out certain technologies that might look good but have not be thoroughly fleshed out for use in the classroom. She also takes the time to talk about copyright law and the potential implications this has on using all of the tools she has mentioned in the book. (43) This is especially important because technology has advanced so quickly, the law has not had time to catch up to all of the issues. It is made clear to the reader that before using any media (video, audio, text), that any and all copyright issues should be explored not just for the protection of the educator, but also for each student.
It is strongly noted throughout the entire book that there is a learning curve not just for educators but also for students when using emerging technology. It is very possible to have technological issues such as availability, accessibility, cost, and technical support. “The modern educational system and, in turn, Western culture defines failure as something bad that should be avoided at all costs.”(50) Dr. Pacansky-Brock notes not just her successes in using technology, but also the failures that she has had. This is important to consider when using new technology, that failure is inherent at the start. There will be hiccups, and setbacks, but it should not be considered a failure when that happens, but part of the learning process.
This book is one that I would consider essential reading for teachers wanting to incorporate technology in their classrooms. Dr. Pacansky-Brock provides concrete examples on how to not just implement the technology but also how to infuse it within the curriculum. The recognition she has received working on emerging technology is well earned. While this book is geared toward higher education classes and teaching, her writing and examples are easily transferred towards use in a K-12 environment as well. As this is the second edition, I would definitely be interested in purchasing this again if she chooses to write another edition.

Pacansky-Brock, M. (2017). Best Practices for Teaching with Emerging Technologies (2nd ed.).
New York, NY: Routledge.

[Jennifer Guzman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Best Practices for Teaching with Emerging Technologies written by Michelle Pacansky-Brock discusses ways that college professors can incorporate technology in their online and physical classes. Pcacansky takes the reader through the journey of laying a foundation for such an interactive class and outlines the reasons for moving toward a participatory pedagogy. She states it’s important to let students know before class even begins what tools they will be using along with required equipment and software because, “it empowers students to be able to register for classes that meet their own learning styles and overall preferences, “ (Pacansky-Brock, 2017 “List of Tools...” para 2). It’s also important to explain the purpose of using the specific technologies. A participatory pedagogy or learning paradigm shifts the traditional lecture and transfer of knowledge from professor to students to discovery and construction of knowledge and creating learning experiences and environments so that all diverse groups achieve success (Pacansky-Brock, 2017 “Toward Participatory Pedagogy,” para 6). After setting the stage for a shift in the teaching style, Pacansky discusses many tools for communication, content creation, and participatory learning. She includes many examples of how she or other professors use these tools with their classes. Links are also included to some projects or videos made with these tools. The tools that she recommends are geared to creating a more humanistic experience to her online classes as well as creating a participatory experience for her students. When choosing a tool, she recommends that you should, “start with clear, measureable learning objectives,” (Pacansky-Brock, 2017 “What Function Will the Tool Serve in Your Class,” para 3). Pacansky includes a checklist for choosing just the right tool which considers things such as accessibility, to the learning curve, to cost, to privacy. (Pacansky-Brock, 2017 “Checklist for Evaluating Tools,” para 2).
Pacansky’s book is a refreshing look at why one should choose to use technology in the classroom. She argues, “that low student engagement and motivation is a difficulty that college professors face as a result of using class time to deliver passive lecture content to students who are thirsty for something different,” (Pacansky-Brock, 2017 “From Teaching to Learning,” para 3). Digital natives are no longer satisfied with receiving knowledge from a dull lecture. They can find the same information on the internet. They need to be engaged in meaningful activities. Creating authentic experiences where students master the content and then create something to show their mastery and share it with others is much more meaningful than just taking in information from a lecture or text book. One of the stories shared by the author illustrates how authentic learning can take on a life of its own when she discusses a high school class in which the students and teacher connected with a professor from another country. This interaction was initiated by the students and they spent their own time planning questions and came to school early for this meeting. None of this was required, they were genuinely interested in the learning. (Pacansky-Brock, 2017 “How Live Video Tools Open...” para 4). That sounds like the goal of student engagement was definitely achieved.
Pacansky has first hand experience with the information she discusses in her book. She was an Art History professor for many years. Through her dissatisfaction with her own teaching experiences, she transformed the way she taught classes. She made them more engaging and added a human element to her online classes. She seems to enjoy using technology and is not afraid to try new things. Pacansky is careful about what she chooses to use, making sure what tools she picks are meaningful and purposeful. She now helps prepare teachers for teaching with technology and in online classes. She is an example of how learning by doing is often the most meaningful type of learning with the biggest impact.
This was an enjoyable and practical read. I recommend it to anyone teaching in the 21st century. She recommends great tools and examples of how to use them effectively in the classroom.

[Michelle Rake · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the book, Best Practices for Teaching with Emerging Technologies, Dr. Michelle Pacansky-Brock, delivers a magnitude of programs, examples, and best practices for creating a classroom focused on community, engagement, and real-world applications while using purposeful emerging technologies. Pacansky-Brock (2017) expresses, “Beyond the boundaries of our college campuses, technology is the driving force that has shifted our society to a highly collaborative, participatory model. And within our classes, using it in support of a course’s learning objectives is one way we can make our students’ learning more relevant, more supportive of diverse student needs, and more engaging, as well as prepare them for a successful life in our digital, interconnected, collaborative society” (p.20). Throughout her book, Pacansky-Brock shares examples of how she and other instructors have moved their students outside of the four walls of the classroom and had them participate and get involved in the real and digital world around them. Pacansky-Brock's focus is on higher education instructors and students. However, teachers of primary students can utilize almost every aspect of this book. With-in the pages of the book, she provides detailed tips and application ideas about specific programs which educators can immediately implement into their learning environments.
One of the main themes of this book is to help teachers to step beyond their comfort zones, and throughout the book, Pacansky-Brock (2017) encourages us to take chances: “Typically, one of the most overwhelming elements of teaching with emerging technologies is deciding which tool or tools you should try. Note that I say, “try.” Teaching with emerging technologies is, by nature, experimental, and failure is an implicit step in an experiment” (p.50). Noted by many scholars; failure is one of the essential parts of the learning process. Learning through trial and error is critical for both educators and students. Through the application chapters of her book (Chapters 3-5), Pacansky-Brock shares many tools and examples of her findings that educators can attempt and adapt to their classrooms.
Educators have different types of teaching styles, but we all focus on helping our students to learn. Pacansky-Brock (2017) ensures us that “Emerging technologies hold an array of opportunities for teachers committed to achieving the outcomes of a learning paradigm. By nature, social media, Web 2.0 tools, and mobile apps are participatory and easy to use. In short, they create a cascading array of opportunities for students to be active contributors in the learning process, yielding fabulous ideas for assessments and strategies for increasing student interaction” (p. 52). Throughout her book, she gives specific examples of these types of programs she and her colleagues have found useful in their classrooms.
In conclusion, Pancansky-Brock (2017) summarizes, “The pages of this book have demonstrated the potential emerging technologies hold for making student learning more active, relevant, and engaging. The technologies that have been featured in this book enable opportunities for developing online content that is visually appealing and rich with human presence, as well as connecting individuals across distances in conversations, reflections, and professional learning networks” (p.142).
Dr. Michelle Pacansky-Brock is recognized for her work as a higher education instructor. She holds an Educational Doctorate in Educational Leadership and Management from Capella University and is currently a Faculty Mentor for California Community Colleges where she assists teachers toward humanizing online teaching and learning. Pacansky-Brock is dedicated to sharing her knowledge and the knowledge of other professionals with anyone interested, even if they are not enrolled in a class. She has worked towards helping instructors feel comfortable and confident with new emerging technologies which in turn help students to additionally take risks. One of her goals is to help instructors move away from traditional lecture-based classrooms to flipped or blended learning classrooms, where student participation leads to students internalize their learning and applying what they learn to real-world applications.
Pacansky-Brock, M. (2017). Best practices for teaching with emerging technologies. New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Best Practices for Teaching with Emerging Technologies is a book that every teacher must read. Michelle Pancansky-Brock's book paves the way for teachers teaching in the 21st century. Even though she is a college professor and has anecdotes about her college courses, teachers from Pre-K and beyond can benefit from her know-how.
This quick read starts off talking about the idea of a flipped classroom and how the author was nervous about losing that personal touch once she began teaching online courses. After doing research and trying out small bits and pieces, she explains how she ended up not losing that relationship with her students and instead built a stronger one because she connected with them on a different level.
Chapter 2 gives the "Essentials Toolkit" that every teacher should consider. Some of the essentials include a webcam, screencasting software, a smartphone, as well as others. As a teacher, smartphones have always been a disruption within the classroom. After reading this book, I'm beginning to question if this distraction isn't a key to helping my students grow.
Chapters 3 and 4 have a wide variety of tools for teachers of all digital skill sets to implement within their classrooms. Not only are there an assortment of tools, but Pancansky-Brock includes step-by-step guides for how to use the tools. Some examples include Twitter, Padlet, VoiceThread, and Adobe Spark. With the use of these in your newly updated 21st-century classroom, there is "the potential emerging technologies hold for making student learning more active, relevant, and engaging" (Pancansky-Brock, p.142).
According to brocansky.com, Dr. Michelle Pacansky-Brock, author of Best Practices for Teaching with Emerging Technologies (2nd edition, Routledge), "has received national recognition for her excellence in teaching and has held various leadership roles with the Online Learning Consortium (OLC) and the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI). She is currently Faculty Mentor, Digital Innovation with the California Community College system, which includes 114 colleges in 72 districts and serves 2.1 million students per year with roughly 60,000 faculty members". Michelle graduated from Capella University with her doctorate in Educational Leadership and Management.
I worry that with all that is changing when will I no longer be necessary. Michelle eloquently states, "My advice is to remember that your role is still essential. It's not any less important, just different" (Pacansky-Brock, pg.118).

Pacansky-Brock, Michelle. Retrieved from https://brocansky.com/bio-and-headshot

Pacansky-Brock, M., & Ko, S. S. (2017). Best Practices for Teaching with Emerging Technologies. New York: Routledge.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Michelle Pacansky-Brock is a college professor who has taught using technology for many years. She wrote "Best Practices for Teaching with Emerging Technologies" in 2013. Her primary focus for this book is to introduce and instruct college professors on how use emerging technology to effectively teach to 21st century standards. She addresses professors who teach online, in classrooms and half online/half in class. Michelle Pacansky-Brock encourages professors to reach all mediums of technology, whether it be using a PC, laptop, smartphone or other handheld devices. Some of the technologies mentioned in this book may be outdated due to how quickly technology evolves. Hence, her examples and guidance throughout the book are extremely useful guidelines to consider.
Michelle Pacansky-Brock has an extensive list of qualifications and experiences. She has a B.A. in Studio Art/Photography that she obtained from San Jose State University. She also has an M.A in Art History, obtained from University of California, Riverside and an Ed.D in Educational Leadership and Management from Capella University. Michelle Pacansky-Brock has written five books pertaining to the use of emerging technologies and online learning. Since 2007, she has received numerous awards connected to teaching, including the NISOD Teaching Excellence Award, Sloan-C Excellence in Online Teaching Award, Edublog Award, Sloan-C Effective Practice Award and Educator Advancement Scholarship from Capella University.
Summary
Introduction
In the introduction for her book, Michelle Pacansky-Brock discusses how her students seemed unambitious, didn’t care much about what they were learning and were not willing to work for good grades. Her first discussion is about how to administer a flipped classroom. This is where the instructor video records the lesson and shares it with the students online. Then the students are instructed to view it online in their own time at home, by a certain date. The next time the students come to class, they need to be prepared to actively participate in discussions about the lesson. The significance of a “flipped classroom” is to move the learning experience from apathetic to an operative one. Michelle Pacansky-Brock reminds her readers that by the time her book is read, some of the technology pieces that she discusses may be obsolete, since technology is an ever evolving entity.
College students, categorized as Millennials (born between 1980 - 2000) are the focus in this book. These students are the ones who are not engaged in class. “Millennials are accustomed to learning from their peers in a virtual community in which their opinions and ideas matter.” (Pacansky-Brock, 2013, p. 6) These students need to be taught in different ways than the traditional teaching model. The following chapters discuss different websites and tools to use to keep the Millennials engaged in class.
Chapter 1 - “Building a Solid Foundation”
In chapter one, Pacansky-Brock discusses specific tools for professors to use to engage students to improve their success. The chapter outlines how to reinforce student success by informing students of any auxiliary devices that might be required prior to the start date of the class. This may consist of a list and a motive for using such devices. These devices include operating systems, supporting frameworks and applications. This will allow the student(s) ample time to decide whether or not the class fits into their personal comfort zone. She also provides many suggestions for dealing with students who may not feel comfortable with technology or have financial hardships. Most of the chapter discusses how to build community by using social media to coerce students to participate. Pacansky-Brock goes into detail on how to encourage safe boundaries by establishing privacy settings. The end of the chapter discusses copyright limitations.
Chapter 2 - “A New Paradigm for a New Century”
This chapter Pacansky-Brock discusses trying new “tools” to support learning. She references Barr and Tagg’s article “From Teaching to Learning.” The teaching paradigm is the traditional way of teaching, where the professor lectures and teaches specific material. The learning paradigm is more of a 21st century learning approach which is where students will effectively engage in the learning process. The author then details how to get started. Getting started includes determining who will be using the tool, requesting feedback from students, determining how it will affect the professor's workload, how students can access the tool, the cost, how to share information and privacy concerns. At the end of the chapter, Pacansky-Brock discusses 21st century learning and skills. “Twenty-first-century citizens are expected to be able to search for and evaluate digital information (which now exists in text, image and video), synthesize ideas, construct opinions, as well as analyze and respond to viewpoints in an ethical way.” (Pacansky-Brock, 2013, p. 64).
Chapter 3 - Essentials Toolkit
This chapter discusses the necessary tools for your computer, what to look for and how to use each one. Some of the tools introduced are webcam, microphone, screencasting software, online content hosting services, methods for captioning video and URL shorteners. Pacansky-Brock warns that some of the tools and their attributes may be outdated, as technology is ever changing, and to refer to the specific website for updated details.

Chapter 4 - Tools for Communication and Content Creation - Beyond Text!
This chapter goes into detail about tools for communicating to students. Some of these tools include visual communication, video email, synchronous voice, video and text, presentation tools, videos created from images, text, video and audio, conversation media and eBooks. There are great ideas and explanations on how to use each one. “When students sit in front of a computer to learn, they will be more engaged and motivated week after week in a long semester journey when they can see you, hear you, and have options to learn from anywhere.” (Pacansky-Brock, 2013, p. 92).
Chapter 5 - Backchannels and Tools for Participatory Learning
Backchanneling is having students log in at a specific time and having real-time conversations with professors and peers. The focus of this chapter is learning within communities. Pacansky-Brock gives exemplary examples of tools to use for these goals and goes into depth on how to use each one.
Chapter 6 - Mobile and Beyond
This chapter discusses the impact that mobile devices have on teaching and peer to peer interactions. Mobile devices can include smartphones, tablet type of devices and iPods. She focuses on smartphones and iPads. She proposes that mobile devices can be very assistive in allowing most students access to the content of classes at any time, anywhere as long as they have access to the internet.
Critique
I was very interested in reading this book. As a kindergarten teacher, I am not able to use a lot of the ideas and technology that she has discussed, however, I will be able to take a lot of her suggestions and alter them to fit into my pedagogical practices. I think she is extremely effective and thorough in her research and has exemplary guidance for teachers and professors that fall within the middle school to college level learning. I will be able to use this book as a guide when I have questions about emerging technologies within my own learning. I would recommend this book to all teachers trying to implement technology into their teaching.

[Roxana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought that the book was very informative and relevant to the current educational trends. Pacansky-Brooks makes the reader feel super prepared with various emerging technologies. She provides detailed explanations of the various Web tools and social media outlets. She gives examples of how to use them and when they can be used. She really did a great job at how our new social era is providing educators some simple easy to use web tools that will support and make learning more engaging for our students.

The topic that I really enjoyed reading about the most was about participatory learning. I really liked how she encourages educators to utilize participatory learning environments with their students. For example, educators can assign students to create/comment on blogs, to collaborate on a group project with peers on Google Slides, etc. to regularly contribute to their own learning. During the COVID-19 pandemic, I began my Master’s program in C&I and I had the opportunity to witness and be a part of participatory learning. My professors encouraged us to post our opinions on discussion boards and communicate with our peers. I also had the opportunity to create a PLN to learn more about education from fellow educators. I also had the opportunity to collaborate with my classmates. I really enjoyed working on projects with my classmates and coming together to create presentations to make the learning process more engaging for ourselves. In my future teaching practices, I would love to incorporate more participatory learning opportunities so that my students can connect with the world and make connections with their learning. I want to make sure that the learning is meaningful, and they will be able to take in the knowledge and apply it to the real world.

One downside is that this book was mostly geared towards higher education educators. When I was reading the book, I found that most of these Web 2.0 and social media outlets can also be used in elementary and secondary school settings. Many of these resources can also be taught to elementary and secondary educators. These will assist their students with developing the 21st century skills they need in order to be successful individuals within a competitive global market. Teachers can use websites such as Twitter, Zoom, Voicethread, Blackboard, etc. to communicate with students and give them multiple opportunities to teach students how to apply the 4C’s of 21st century skills into the curriculum they are teaching.