Greetings from ISTE on Day 2 or the first official day. Today started with TeachMeet ISTE where individuals could share ideas for 2, 7 or 20 minutes long. I had the ability to present on our new technology plan and encouraged individuals to use our materials in creating their own technology plan for the district. [...]
First Impressions of ISTE 2016
So I just arrived at ISTE2016 about 3 hours ago and I have had the time to walk through the Colorado Convention Center and peek into a bunch of rooms. My first impressions are I love the convention center, it is well designed with wide hallways and lots of extra spaces to sit and relax [...]
My Trip to ISTE 2016
So this year, I have the great opportunity to attend the ISTE 2016 Conference. This giant of EdTech Conference has over 1,000 sessions, 500 EdTech companies, and over 10,000 attendees. I have attended the Ohio Education Technology Conference (OETC) for the past nine years and I thought that was a big conference. OETC is tiny [...]
My Evening with Tony Wagner and Most Likely to Succeed
Just recently I had the honor of meeting Tony Wagner, who is the author of "Most Likely to Succeed" and "Creating Innovators: The Making of Young People that will Change the World". Through our Battelle For Kids SOAR partnership, I had the opportunity to be one of 65 people to get to spend 90 minutes [...]
Doing Professional Development Differently
Just say the words Professional Development around any teachers and most of the time you get a disgusted look and an explanation of wasted time. I think everyone has seen a variation of this picture: So the question needs to be asked how can we do professional development differently? How can we make PD purposeful [...]
Going One2One Week 1
As we (Pickerington Schools) venture into the world of Going One2One, I plan on posting a weekly update to the items, activities and leadership pieces that we have created and taken part of during the week. If you haven't read about our Going One2One program, I would encourage you to check out our website at: [...]
Need More Teaching Geeks!
I recently found this image/quote on Dr. Justin Tarte Twitter's feed, which is a great follow by the way. But the quote here (from David Geurin) symbolizes everything that we are currently working towards. In the past technology drove the instruction, we could or could not reach students or learning objective based on the limitations [...]
Why Chromebooks?
The District in 2015 transitioned all email systems, file storage, calendar services, video conferencing services, classroom learning management systems to Google Apps for Education. With this transition more of more of the District’s educators are using Google Apps for Education products in their classrooms, ranging from Google Classroom to collaborative Google Docs. The past practice [...]
Common EdTech Definitions
Digital Learning - is any instructional practice that effectively uses technology to strengthen a student's learning experience. Synchronous Online Learning - refers to a learning event in which a group of online students are engaging in learning at the same time. Asynchronous Online Learning - is a student-centered teaching method that uses online learning resources [...]
The Educational Purpose of Technology
Why Technology? In the 21st century, understanding and using technology will be an integral part of virtually every aspect of daily life. It is the school system's responsibility to prepare students for this future. The classroom is the primary place where this preparation will occur; therefore, every classroom must be equipped with technology to support [...]