Admin Guide at Your Service

We love interacting with TIM Tools clients via email, phone, or videoconference. Sometimes a conversation with a real live human is the most efficient way of getting started with TIM Tools. When we get a phone call from a tech director who says, “I need to...

“C” is for Coaching: Introducing the TIM-C

The August update of TIM Tools will include a new tool: the TIM-C. Many of our current clients have been using data from one or more of the TIM Tools to support their coaching programs, while documenting coaching cycles within spreadsheets or other tools that weren’t...

Collaborative Learning: Building Knowledge in Community

This is the second in a series on the characteristics of a meaningful learning environment. The first was Active Learning: Engaging Students’ Minds. The Collaborative characteristic describes the degree to which technology is used to facilitate, enable, or...

Check out our updated TIM Research page!

  It is exciting to see more and more examples of people using the Technology Integration Matrix (TIM) and TIM Tools in their research! We recently updated the Research page on our website to share these with you. Our goal is to strengthen the body of knowledge...

The Invisible Technology Integration Matrix

On the surface, the TIM looks pretty simple. There are five characteristics of effective learning environments: Active, Collaborative, Constructive, Authentic, and Goal-Directed. And there are five levels of technology integration ranging from the Entry to the...

When Old Tech Is Better

Each week at FCIT, we interact with a wide range of schools and districts in a number of different countries. Many have enviable levels of the latest technology available to their students and teachers. Others struggle to provide even outdated, shared digital devices...

What do we mean by “independent access”?

I was recently talking with a friend at a school district about their upcoming round of TIM observations and we went down an interesting path talking about independence as it is discussed in the Technology Integration Matrix. A lot turns on independence. At the first...

Third Edition of the TIM Descriptors Arriving Soon!

Nearly a year in the making, the revised TIM descriptors are ready for publication. Last summer, we began conversations with some of our TIM Tools clients about revising the wording of the setting descriptors so that they applied equally well in virtual environments....

How many observations do I need?

Here’s a great question I recently received: In your experience, what are the optimal numbers of TIM Lesson Plan (TIM-LP) reviews per teacher and TIM Observations (TIM-O) per teacher to get actionable data? This is an interesting question and there is no...

3 Things To Look for in Any Classroom Observation Protocol

There are many protocols for observing classroom technology integration, including FCIT’s own Technology Integration Matrix and our corresponding TIM-O tool. In this post, I’m using the word “protocol” broadly to refer to any checklist, survey,...

Active Learning: Engaging Students’ Minds

The Technology Integration Matrix was not designed simply to promote the use of technology, but rather to encourage the use of whatever technology is available to promote effective, researched-based pedagogy. When constructing the TIM, we examined how technology could...

Leveraging TIM Tools Roles for Research and Evaluation

The addition of customizable roles in TIM Tools v6.0 has made it convenient to create and track different groups when evaluating technology initiatives, PD programs, or other interventions. The new roles feature defines eight different sets of permissions, or roles,...

Seeking TIM Descriptor Input

The Technology Integration Matrix (TIM) was developed in 2003-2006 to help guide the complex task of evaluating technology integration in the classroom. Its goal was to provide a common vocabulary for pedagogically sound technology integration for use by teachers,...

Nail Your Next Tech PD with the Quadrant Graph

“Teachers are the toughest students.” Everyone who has ever conducted professional development has muttered some variation of that quote at one time or another. It’s no surprise that a classroom of teachers is a tough audience. They spend their days...

Rockin’ Roles in TIM Tools 6.0

Each new instance of TIM Tools includes eight predefined roles: Super Administrator, District Leader, Zone Leader, School Leader, District Observer, Zone Observer, School Observer, and Teacher. The default permissions for each of the eight roles are preset to what is...

TIM Tools 6.0 Arrives!

FCIT is rolling out a major upgrade to TIM Evaluation Tools this month. Site administrators will now have much greater flexibility to create and define roles within the system. The standard TIM Tools installation now comes with eight default roles: Super...

Regional Agencies, Associations, Consultants, and Others Who Manage TIM Tools on Behalf of Others

Version 6.0 of TIM Tools now makes it much easier for regional service agencies, consultants, foundations, and others to manage multiple clients within a single TIM Tools instance. It’s always been possible to do so and has been done most frequently by...

Using TIM Tools around the World

TIM Tools have been successfully used in individual schools and entire school systems around the world, but the new version 6.0 now makes it even easier to configure a TIM Tools instance to match the structure of just about any type of school system. The addition of a...

TIM Tools 6.0 and Private Schools

Much of the attention surrounding the version 6.0 release of TIM Tools regards the new flexibility of creating and defining roles within the system. While this may be somewhat more important to large school systems, it also has practical application to individual...

TIM Tools 6.0 in Higher Ed

Although colleges of education have been using TIM Tools for years, with the rollout of version 6.0, it is now much easier to manage any combination of research projects, grant evaluations, and intern observations in a single “district” version of the software. The...

A Teenager in the House: TIM Turns 13!

As the Technology Integration Matrix officially becomes a teenager, we take a look back at TIM’s formative years and speculate just a bit about the future. Originally published in 2005, the Technology Integration Matrix was produced by the Florida Center for...

Custom Banners for Your TIM Tools Instance

While most TIM Tools clients use one of the 100 or so built-in page header images for their site, some clients prefer to make a custom banner to match their other websites or sometimes just their school colors. With just a few minutes effort you can create a custom...

Overcome Survey Fatigue with Cute Robots

Survey fatigue is a well-documented phenomenon that lowers both the response rate and quality of responses. Two types of fatigue are generally distinguished: 1. Survey Response Fatigue happens when people are asked to take too many surveys. They are simply tired of...

Three ARTI Scenarios

Most districts begin their use of TIM Tools with the TUPS to capture a snapshot of their technology and professional development needs. They then begin implementing the TIM-O with their teachers. And then, well, they often don’t get to the equally useful action...

A Simple Trick to Find Your School Roster

Did you know that in the current version of the TIM Tools (6.0), you can view your school’s entire roster through the Members tab? This is a simple trick that can be completed by following the steps below. Step 1: Sign in to your TIM Tools account and click on the...

How often should we administer the TUPS?

We are sometimes asked how often the Technology Uses and Perceptions Survey (TUPS) should be administered. The answer, of course depends entirely upon your purposes, the implementation timeline, and the professional development opportunities available to your...

iTeach Professional Learning and the TIM

Is your district looking for ways to help their teachers and administrators further their knowledge of the Technology Integration Matrix (TIM)? We offer online professional development courses to help educators learn about the TIM and how to implement the TIM Tools....

4 Tips for TIM Observers

We integrate technology, not for technology’s sake. We integrate it in varied ways, in ways that are pedagogicly sound, and in ways that relate to the subject matter. We integrate technology in ways that play on the strengths of the teacher and address the needs of...

TIM Single Sign-On and Classlink

No one likes remembering multiple passwords. At FCIT, we have worked hard to provide TIM Tools administrators with plenty of options for managing user accounts and passwords within the TIM Tools, including user-controlled password management and a batch-change process...

Presenting the TIM to Your Teachers

If your school or district is moving to the TIM model, you’ll want to provide an introduction and on-going professional development to your teachers. Fortunately, the TIM website provides many convenient resources for you to use. This two-minute tour will save...

The TIM and Assistive Technology

The levels of the Technology Integration Matrix describe a range of different pedagogical approaches applied to the use of technology in K-12 classrooms. But how does the TIM relate to assistive technologies that are designed to be used by students with disabilities?...