Discovery Education Speakers Bureau
Supporting the most effective use of technology in classrooms and schools
Supporting the most effective use of technology in classrooms and schools
Students today engage with content differently than any previous generation of learners. Yet even with the irrefutable evidence that our students have a clear preference in how they choose to interact with information, we largely ignore these facts when considering instructional content. Come examine the future of instructional materials including recent legislation which allows the use of traditional “textbook” funds for digital content, the instructional benefits and examples of current success.
In a time where there has never been a greater discord about instructional methods, student learning processes, and the needs of the business world, it is imperative for administrators to provide an educational environment that is conducive to change and adaptation while addressing the concerns of standardized testing and parents perception of what education should be. Administrators are responsible for providing effective staff development and must provide leadership that is directive, facilitative, and nurturing. Learn how administrators can provide systems of communication that are clear, consistent, easily maintained, and limit the impact on classroom instructional time.
Social networks, web-based communication and collaboration tools, and "powered-up" student challenges are not only engaging, they teach 21st century skills while delivering core curriculum. Bring all your machines and mobiles to participate as this session becomes a giant classroom with challenges and resources reaching across boundaries --and time. Virtual environments, Web 2.0, and a network of contacts will be available and tapped for the challenges—and replicable in a classroom. Learn why bricks and mortar districts must adopt these strategies quickly or risk the growing proprietary poaching of their enrollment base.
Nothing is more frustrating to an educator than professional development that is not relevant to the classroom or does not enhance their teaching experience. To teach students in the 21st Century, teachers need quality professional development addresses the critical, yet frequently unemployed skills that teachers and administrators can use to enhance daily teaching, decrease time spent on activities other than teaching, make a measurable difference on standardized tests, and construct a culture of student focused activity. This session will help you separate the “fluff from the stuff” and mine the untapped resources within your own school resources. The session also speaks to the need to make staff development more than a one day session that has little long-term impact and turn it into a sustainable model that will directly affect teaching for years to come.
RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is the backbone of many of the most popular new web technologies, such as blogs and podcasts. However, that's just the very tip of the iceberg. Learn what RSS is and then learn how RSS can be used to create individualized professional development and learning communities. Explore built in browser tools and aggregators and gain an understanding of how you can take control of your blog's RSS feed as well as how to use other feeds to drive dynamic content throughout your site. You'll be amazed by the diverse ways RSS can be used.
Going digital means significant upcoming changes in education. Explore what this means to supplemental curriculum materials, individualized teaching and learning, and communication. Assessment and evaluation can be more effective and efficient. An overview of the near future that puts you ahead of the game and an exploration of tools you could be using today. Learn how create, publish, and effectively use media on the web. Tap the power of Web 2.0 social networking tools for professional strength. Also, learn to effectively monitor assets like instructional media in your school or district, and ways to use your cellphone and discover its secret power to make your job easier.
You buy technology and resources. But does your school use them effectively? What about monitoring and mentoring? Learn how to use the amazing data digital resources generate for these administrative tasks—and more. Digital media takes informative snapshots every, day, month, and year. Match it with data from state tests. Use data to increase achievement, steer in-house professional development, and increase differentiated instruction. Learn how to maximize classroom resources and craft strategies for elevating the instructional plan using powerful tools at your fingertips. Many products have admin features. For this session, DiscoveryEducationStreaming data will be the model for district, school, and teacher data.
You buy technology and resources. But does your school use them effectively? What about monitoring and mentoring? Learn how to use the amazing data digital resources generate for these administrative tasks—and more. Digital media takes informative snapshots every, day, month, and year. Match it with data from state tests. Use data to increase achievement, steer in-house professional development, and increase differentiated instruction. Learn how to maximize classroom resources and craft strategies for elevating the instructional plan using powerful tools at your fingertips. Many products have admin features. For this session, DiscoveryEducationStreaming data will be the model for district, school, and teacher data.
From the Pacific to the Atlantic, trailblazing states and districts have begun a serious conversion to digital—a move from trees to bits. Moving classroom practice more deeply into digital resources provides major benefits for differentiation, extended learning, remediation, and accountability. But how does it happen? What’s the immediate effect on test scores? Considering the threat of enrollment base erosion from propriety schools, adoption not an option but a necessity. Explore these issues with examples across the country. And bring your mobiles and machines for an interactive BYOT exercise.
We live in an era that has seen the democratization of knowledge, the flattening of the earth, and the rise of wikinomics. The amount of information online keeps increasing while the barriers to accessing it continue to decrease. 21st century students aren't merely products of these shifts, they are the instigators at the forefront of the next digital revolution. Are you prepared for students that live online in a state of transparency, defining 'private' as only being seen by a few thousand people? In order to guide students to safely navigate this new digital frontier, teachers have to learn to speak the same language. Thankfully, thousands of teachers are giving free lessons every hour of every day. While the tools may evolve at a dizzying pace, educators who create a personal learning network will always have the resources they need to stay ahead of the curve. Come learn how teachers worldwide have banded together to become their own best source of professional development.... and lost their digital accent along the way.
Become a film maker for a day and add that skill to your teaching toolkit. Learn how to make standards based videos using the American Film Institute's "Lights! Camera! Education!" curriculum based on years of experience with their K-12 Screen Ed program. Learn to brainstorm, write, film, and edit a polished video that can be applied to any subject at any grade level. Leave with access to media that builds on what you have learned. The skills acquired transfer to project-based learning, collaborative learning, and 21st Century skills. The path to mastery is just a workshop away.
The American Film Institute has released its K-12 Screen Ed curriculum as the video program "Lights! Camera! Education!" available through Discovery Education Streaming. Learn from a twelve-year audiovideo K-12 veteran how to use the AFI’s years of experience working with students to integrate movie making into creative collaboration for all grade levels in any subject. The skills acquired transfer to project-based learning, collaborative learning, and 21st Century skills.
In a time when there has never been a greater discord about instructional methods, student learning processes, and the needs of the business world, it is imperative for administrators to provide an educational environment that is conducive to change and adaptation while addressing the concerns of standardized testing and parents perception of what education should be. Administrators are responsible for providing effective staff development and must provide leadership that is directive, facilitative, and nurturing. Learn how administrators can provide systems of communication that are clear, consistent, easily maintained, and limit the impact on classroom instructional time.
In an era when student missteps can linger on the internet for years, and stories of predators and cyberbullies dominate the news, there are plenty of reasons for schools to tighten their firewalls. But is banning really a viable response? How do we help students learn to leverage the powerful new tools that are available to them? What policies do we set that ensure that learning and safety go hand in hand? See how some districts have embraced new technologies while still maintaining high standards and keeping their students safe.
Presentation with sample policies and articles
Presentation and resources from MACUL 2009
How do we design our instructional practices to support more integrated, inquiry-based approaches that foster meaningful and authentic connections between science and literacy? This session will explore how we can utilize technology to bridge science and language arts instruction in ways that will ultimately change the experience of today's science students. We will look at methods to blend media-rich, interactive, inquiry-based content with creative instructional strategies to engage students in science content while reinforcing literacy skills.
The benefits of the digital world have arrived. State legislatures recognized dynamic teaching and assessment environments match 21st Century learning styles. As a result, laws changed in states across the country, enabling digital supplementary materials to replace traditional texts. Suddenly, differentiated instruction became more effective, along with accountability and sharing. Leaders can now build an education that lifts their students into the world where they succeed.
The rapidly changing needs of the business world demand rapid changes in the way we teach students. Restructuring of teacher workdays and budget cuts reduce professional development time to a minimum. The answer: Enhanced use of forums, blogs, wikis, podcasts, twits, and educational communities for teachers to learn new skills with support from peer experts throughout the world. The model for professional development has changed without many of us realizing it or taking advantage of it. The advancement of Web 2.0 makes the opportunities for professional development easily accessible to even the most basic computer users.
Teachers used to threaten that if students didn't behave, it would go down on their permanent record. While there was no such record in the past, there is now. Students are leaving a trail of their online activities behind them that will last far longer than they ever might expect. This presentation delves into specific actions that students are engaging in now that have long term consequences for them and how we, as educators, can guide them to the right path..
Personal Learning Networks (PLN's) provide leaders the opportunity to create a culture of professional development that extends far beyond the traditional 3 institute days per year. We will discuss how learning communities are empowering educators and producing a climate of perpetual innovation within the schools that embrace them.
As presented at ISTE/TIE Leadership Bootcamp, Denver 2010
Web 2.0 technologies such as Podcasting and Blogging break down the barriers to publishing teacher and student created content on the internet. Schools that do so are finding the benefits reach far beyond the classroom walls. By making learning transparent, many schools are creating a strong sense of community while offering their students the opportunity to collaborate with others on a global level. See how some districts have embraced these new technologies while still maintaining high standards and keeping their students safe.
What veteran teachers suspected the research has proved: 21st Century students are different. With different attention spans, higher IQ test scores, and social networks, their sophistication comes earlier—with a different skill set. There is a silver lining: We can teach this “New Brain” more effectively, more efficiently, more engagingly. We have the technology! Media has evolved and education must evolve to match.
The cameras in their cell phones make them citizen journalists. The web is their personal library and media center. Social networks give them enormous group expertise. They communicate in real time with the ends of the earth. But can they convince their teachers to let them learn at school with help from such powerful tools? Beyond the "wow," technology provides nearly limitless potential for connectivity and education. See examples of how today's technologies can (and should) engage and teach a new generation of students.
Communication and evaluation are critical tasks for administrators. The job requires time and demands effectiveness. The tools of Web 2.0 can make an administrator’s job easier, faster, and more fun. Exploit dedicated Web tools for communication, vision, and interchange. Twitter, VoiceThread, wikis, blogs, and cellphones offer unexpected benefits. Using new tools effectively can change the way you work. Find the tools that will better and more engagingly connect you with your staff and community. Great classroom applications, too. Content creation, texting, and social sites-- they’re not just for students!
The word "blog" is on everybody's lips, come find out why! This session will provide you with your passport to the world of Educational Blogging. You will learn what a blog is, see some great examples of how blogging is being used in schools around the world, and learn how to get your very own blog. Come get a glimpse of what's going on in the EduBlogoSphere and what it means for you and your students.