7 Thinking Back, Looking Forward

I was recently asked to write a follow up blog post on my experience at ISTE13 highlighting the most compelling ideas that I took away from my time in San Antonio.  By far, the ideas that have impacted me the most are the role of Design Thinking and Gaming in Educational Technology.  These two themes were certainly supported through the keynote speakers, Steven B. Johnson and Jane McGonigal, who spoke passionately about their respective topics.  Their passion clearly inspired me as I wasn't back for more than 2 weeks that I've already implemented many ideas based on what they Begdiscussed!

In the weeks since the conference we've:

• Sponsored a Kickstarter project on 3D printing to support our fledgling Design Thinking curriculum
• Began our first Innovation and Design Thinking Unit with our 9th grade students by exploring where Good Ideas Come From by Steven B. Johnson
• Held our first Imagine It! Post It challenge to kick off our innovation unit
• Purchased an educational mod for Minecraft to explore the use of gaming in educational technology

Each of the links or pieces of information above were shared with me while I was at the conference through keynotes, workshops, and one on one meetings with other attendees.  While these are only small actions, they are huge leaps forward in getting the vision of Design Thinking and Gaming in Educational Technology noticed in my school and in our area.  With so many valuable ideas at my fingertips during the conference, it was hard to decide which ones to share and implement first!

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4 Still Not Catching On!

I'm mad.  Yes, mad.  I read an article about Educational Technology from the Economist last week and I've been stewing waiting to calm down before writing this blog post.  While the title is "Catching On At Last," I believe that the Economist in their article only shows that The Economist and America still has NOT caught on to what we are trying to do as educators with Educational Technology!

In the article they talk a lot about data driven computer programs and content software that collects data about the responses of the children.  They mention that this data can be used for tracking success and individualising education to improve scores and help schools and teachers improve the retention and graduation rates of students.  More than 2/3s of the article highlights the use of computers, iPads, and 1 to 1 programs for CONSUMPTION purposes only.

We, as educators in the educational technology sector, have been fighting too hard and for too long about the CREATIVE uses of technology to let an article like this go by without comment.  What they fail to mention in this article is the other side of educational technology that uses software like Edmodo (which was actually mentioned in the article!), Show Me, Educreations, iMovie, My Create, etc. etc. etc. that teach and help students use technology to CREATE and COMMUNICATE their understandings to the world.  Nothing in the article mentions the use of technology for these purposes or in any way that supports collaborative or interactive use of technology with their peers.

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