My recent presence in the press was set into motion by a request to cover the BestPrep Tech Integration Workshop by local news stations. As I’ve shared previously, I appeared on WCCO and KARE11 news.
I also spoke with the PioneerPress. I was waiting for the article to appear. Tonight was that night. I was a little hesitant to read the article because of the headline: School see a tech revolution, but will students see results? I was worried that the article would be tilted in a negative direction. But, I found it to be a balanced piece talking about the emergence of technology rollouts throughout Minnesota.
I am involved with technology integration because I have a talent and a love for technology. But in the end, I want to see students success take an important role in any educational setting. Technology can be a tool to increase student engagement and customized learning. But, the iPad will not teach students. A laptop will not teach students. It comes down to a shift in practice where student learning takes a focus, and each student is respected.
As technology can gather data about a student’s aptitude, it can also provide a portal to customize learning to a student’s passions.
Technology is not the only answer. But, it is a vital tool to bring students closer to the world- and make learning authentic to them.
I was quoted in the article that education is an awkward teenager right now. That’s an entire blog post on its own. But, I am excited to be part of a journey to create a learning environment in which my own children can excel.
On a recent morning, Jen Legatt, Spring Lake Park’s technology integration specialist,showed a group of teachers how to pull student work off their iPads and onto interactive whiteboards for classroom discussion. She advised them to make students record a short video of themselves solving an algebra problem rather than assign 30 problems on paper: That way, educators will know exactly where students trip up on their way to a solution.
The nonprofit BestPrep-sponsored workshop brought together more than 100 educators, including a contingent from St. Paul, to the University of St. Thomas.
“Education right now is like an awkward teenager — the next five years are going to be uncomfortable for everybody in the family,” Legatt told the teachers, some of whom, she later said, were “just getting comfortable turning on a computer.”
Educators across the metro are jumping in.
Check out the entire article here: School see a tech revolution, but will students see results?