This school year began with a conversation I had with my building administration in early August. They had just finished reading Tony Wagner's book, The Global Achievement Gap, and were influenced by the book's message: "Why even our best schools don't teach the new survival skills our children need -- and what we can do about it." This book became an open door for conversations about the importance of using resources that engage students in learning, particularly technology resources.
My building principal asked me if I would be able to pull together some information and create a presentation for the opening faculty meeting. How much time are you willing to give me? I have enough to fill an entire day or more! After agreeing to a half an hour time limit, I began perusing resources I have collected over the last few years. What should I focus on? What should I include? After days of planning, the following video shows pictures of slides I used in the presentation to the staff:
- 21st Century Learner video: Edutopia's Welcome to the Digital Generation
- What is a Digital Native?
- Loss of Imagination? video clip: Edutopia's Digital Youth Portrait Cameron
- Do you have an accent?
- Students learn differently today
- As educators, how can we support our digital learners?
- Who owns the learning? video clip: Alan November YouTube - Who Owns the Learning?
- Speak Up survey results
- Top five gifts for teenagers
- So, they've got the stuff...how do I use it in my classroom?
- Poll Everywhere demo
- 21st Century Learning video: YouTube - A Vision of K-12 Students Today
- Example: iPods as learning centers and more!
The presentation was well received by the faculty, which was a sigh of relief for me. My plan is to continue adding technology integration resources and lessons to this blog, creating a hub for teachers and other interested followers. Continue to visit this blog weekly for updates - feel free to leave comments and suggestions. Here's to the beginning of a new school year and many new technology adventures!
