Discovery Education Speakers Bureau

If students could be taught using the skills and tools they have today, and teachers provided instruction that worked to meet the needs of the world tomorrow, what would it look like? This session will give a glimpse of what is taking place in far too few classrooms across the world today. Pulling examples from lessons using digital stories, Google Earth, podcasts, blogs, wikis, and many Web 2.0 resources, educators will get a glimpse of what education can look like. Integrating current technologies with instruction will provide increased student motivation, development and use of higher-order thinking skills, and better connectivity with the needs of the world today.

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.

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.