From December 14th to December 17th I will be attending the TIES Conference in Minneapolis. This conference is focused on the potential use of technology in today's classroom. I have just completed the first day of this conference and the sessions I attended involved the use of Evernote and Twitter in K-12 classrooms.
Evernote is managed by the cloud. Students and teachers can utilize Evernote to eliminate paper, increase engagement, and enhance achievement. There are many features in Evernote that can be tapped to move our educational capacity forward. As the JWP School District continues its journey to engage the student population through technology, Evernote will be a strong contributor.
Twitter is a social media platform that many utilize in a variety of ways. Although Twitter has received negative attention, it can actually provide a positive influence on the education of our students. Please click on the following link to learn more about the use of Twitter in the K12 classroom: http://fluency21.com/blog/2013/02/19/60-inspiring-examples-of-twitter-in-the-classroom/
While I attended the conference I overheard educators talk about the ability our youth have with technology. After listening to the dialogue, I came to the conclusion that educators need to begin discovering new social media tools prior to our students discovering them. Right now, Facebook and Twitter are almost a foregone tool for teenagers. Our students are now moving onto Instagram and Snapchat from Facebook and Twitter. A reflective question we need to begin answering is the following:
What can we do as educators to discover the next best thing for our young learners and begin including it into our instruction?
Although we are all comfortable with the tradition of education, we need to begin adapting our practice to meet the needs of the new learner. This is a call for all to embark on the challenge of evolving education!
With Regards,
Bill Adams, JWP Superintendent
No comments:
Post a Comment