Edina Digital Age Learning

Yesterday, I had two instances where I had to be the "Fun Police," in my role as Digital Learning Specialist. It is not a role that I rellish, as philosophically, I want our staff and students to have an authentic experience as possible and utilize tools that may be of benefit to their learning. However there are times, when for safety or due to missuse of a tool, I have to put on the hat and shades... Case #1 The first instance was when I got a request for a group of 5th grade students to use Prezi as a presentation tool. Now Prezi may not be as popular as it was a few years ago, and some folks wish they had kept their "Classic" tools and format , but it still offers a nice way to make non-linear presentations. However, for elementary educators, there is another component that makes Prezi problematic: their Terms of Service .  Given this restriction, unless the student has been held back 3 years, odds are the 5th graders will not be able to use Prezi for their p...

Michelle Cordy, a Third Grade educator from Ontario, Canada, blogger of " Hack the Classroom ," was the closing keynote at ISTE 2016.   She got jumped right in, and challenged the audience to think about who we are and our place in the world. It is her school's last day, and she'd rather be there, but chose to come speak to us! In 2012, she got her, "Magic Schoolbus!" a grant for 1:1 iPads. She was considered a "rougue" teacher, as her classroom was the only one. She sought out ideas online and found Howard Reingold, author of Netsmart. She tweeted to him, he commented on her blog, and she was shocked. He noted: "That's how it works, Michelle!" She wants her students to be seen and heard, in her classroom and beyond. She needed to connect with a PLN, because there was nobody in her district to help.  Here is what she has learned from the community Be a Connected Educator. Coming to ISTE is like an oxygen mask.  Going...

Michelle Cordy, a Third Grade educator from Ontario, Canada, blogger of " Hack the Classroom ," was the closing keynote at ISTE 2016.   She got jumped right in, and challenged the audience to think about who we are and our place in the world. It is her school's last day, and she'd rather be there, but chose to come speak to us! In 2012, she got her, "Magic Schoolbus!" a grant for 1:1 iPads. She was considered a "rougue" teacher, as her classroom was the only one. She sought out ideas online and found Howard Reingold, author of Netsmart. She tweeted to him, he commented on her blog, and she was shocked. He noted: "That's how it works, Michelle!" She wants her students to be seen and heard, in her classroom and beyond. She needed to connect with a PLN, because there was nobody in her district to help.  Here is what she has learned from the community Be a Connected Educator. Coming to ISTE is like an oxygen mask.  Going...

Dr. Ruha Benjamin, assistant professor of African American Studies at Princeton University was the Tuesday Keynote at the I STE 2016 Conference .  Her talk centered on the question, "How can we harness science and technology for greater equality?" What is the purpose of education? She is hoping to stretch our thinking on education and equity.  Big Picture There is little doubt we are living in social crisis. Most can't look to Hospitals for health, police for safety, politicians for leadership or even schools for imparting knowledge. The world is at war with itself. All manner of social struggle over material and social resources.  At the same time, the very idea of a society where we care and sacrifice for one another is undermined. In this context, the question is how do we make our schools laboratories of democratic participation? Where the potential for each individual child is realized, and we experiment with technologies of love, reciprocity and j...

Michio Kaku was the opening keynote speaker at ISTE 2016 . Kaku, author of " The Future of the Mind " is currently the professor of Theoretical Physics at City College of New York and a popularizer of science.    He noted that he was listed among the smartest people in New York, but also noted Madonna made the list! Physicists developed the laser, the World Wide Web, radio, the microwave, the X-Ray, and the space program and GPS! They kind of have a leg up on what the future might look like! One physicist predicted that the Internet would become a place of high culture!  Kaku's talk was on a "world tour" of current thought on the future. He has interviewed 300 of the world's top scientists for his BBC program asking their thoughts on the future.  Is there intelligent life on earth? NO! Just look at the presidential election! His book on the future of the mind, h e asks the question, " Why do we have income inequality?" First we nee...

 I had to leave the ISTE conference early due to transportation issues, so I finally got a chance to hear this amazing talk, from Chris Lehmann, principal of the Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia today. I've had the pleasure of knowing Chris for the last 3 years, and I consider him one of my heros! Many of the ideas Chris brings out in this talk are the reasons I am a teacher, and why I have been passionately involved in educational technology for the last 23 years. Someone else commented that all you need to know about the talk, and Chris's philosophy can be summed up in the first 7 minutes of the video...you'll see why!! So what do you think? Are these ideas worth spreading? How do we make that happen?

Hillary Goldmann, Director of Government Affairs with ISTE presented on Educational Technology Advocacy issues. The session was attended by Technology Directors, teachers, educational consultants, administrators interested in advocating for curricular and funding needs. State Level Carol McFarland , a Minnesota State Representative from White Bear Lake, Minnesota, came to share her thoughts on educational advocacy issues at the state level. Before she became a legislator, she was a parent volunteer and school board member. She reminded us that democrat or republican, you can not pigeon hole legislators, as they are all individuals. It is important to talk to both parties. Education is NOT about partisanship. She is on the Education Policy committee, and believes that there needs to be better alignment between K-12 and post secondary. What are issues regarding collaborating. Currently, cities, counties and townships do not have to go to the voters regarding expenditures. Schools do. Thi...

Don Knezek , CEO from ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) spoke about the new NETS (National Educational Technology Standards) for students. In 2006, ISTE began work on the next generation of NETS for Students, which focuses more on skills and expertise and less on tools. Specifically, they address creativity and innovation; communication and collaboration; research and information fluency; critical thinking, problem-solving, and decision-making; digital citizenship; and technology operations and concepts View the new NETS*S TIES wiki site