Discovery Education Speakers Bureau

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.

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.

From California and Texas to the Atlantic, trailblazing states, districts and classrooms 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, assessment, remediation, and data gathering for effectiveness. Far beyond text-bound PDFs, digital resources offer links, translations, expansions, and incorporate the wild energy of Web 2.0 tools. The different needs of learners are more easily met and digital resources foster networking, innovation, and curriculum support. Digital assignments and assessments move from white boards to mobile student pockets. A snapshot of what can be done right now, and a preview of where digital is heading.

What are the factors in selecting works for contemporary, digital classrooms? The forthcoming national standards for reading and mathematics--the Standards of NCTE and IRA will force education to make important decisions. Using Mark Twain as an example, explore the relevant questions of which texts should remain in state curricula and which should not and the rationale behind an intelligent decision. This session explains the changing nature of 21st century students--their perspectives, their expectations from classroom teachers and core content areas--in this case, ELA and social studies--and our responsibility in this new instructional paradigm.

This presentation entails discussion and recommended instructional strategies for rethinking 21st century education--the needs of our students, the needs of our teachers, the expectations of administrators. How can we now meld the canonical, or traditional, with not only modern writers and non-traditional writers but also the new technologies and our tech-savvy students with sound, robust, rigorous, and engaging instruction? How can we assure ourselves, our colleagues, our administrators, and reassure our parents that we will produce the critical thinkers necessary in today's challenging global society?

Remember your “Magic Eight Ball” popping up answers”? Web 2.0 can work like that for Professional Learning Networks (PLNs), providing resources, anecdotal experiences, and much more. Through the connective and collaborative power of online technologies we have access to a vast and vibrant network of educators that provide ongoing, timely support and encouragement. Learn to power-up your professional learning network with customized and interactive Web 2.0 applications and get in front of the eight ball!

Students learn and demonstrate their understanding in diverse ways. Meet this need by tapping the extensive learning pathways available to students through technology. Enhance instruction with digital curriculum tools, creative activities, and engaging media.  Learn to create rigorous and relevant learning experiences that motivate and inspire the 21st century learner.  

Educational leaders know that the inspired and invested teacher is the most valuable asset to a school system. This session will explore network-building applications that can be leveraged to connect teachers to each other and to the tools and resources for vibrant and ongoing professional collaboration.

One of the unforeseen consequences into technology’s integration in the social fabric is the creation of new knowledge, including new content and new strategies for teaching and learning. The challenges of content creation especially match 21st Century learners and the digital classroom. Jobs, global problems, and communication will be intertwined with the creation of both knowledge and content, and the ability to look at and analyze what is newly created will become a 21st Century skill. Originally created as a strategy for teachers of the gifted, this approach applies to all learners and gives a new perspective on what to do with all those digital tools

The “stand alone” method of teaching is fading and being replace by a model that taps colleagues, content, experts, and communication from both around the world and across the hall.  Collaborative projects with 'real time' elements take boldness and planning but building 21st Century Learners into 21st Century citizens makes it worthwhile . Watch some case study previews of coming classroom practice that tap Web 2.0, state curriculum standards, and student dedication .