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
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
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.
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 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.
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 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.
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.
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 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.
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..