Iowa Technology Education Connection

Today was the first day of ITEC11. It’s been a challenging and thought-provoking day. ITEC is populated by technology leaders and newbies, alike. The name Iowa Technology and Education Connection is a good name. We are not only making connections with other educators, but we are discussing how education is connected to technology. Just some random thoughts…

Which is more important in our technology-driven environment? The pedagogy or the technology? They are interwoven into one. We’ve always taught with technology–pencils and books are technology. I enjoyed hearing Punya Mishra’s comments about this.

The terminology is changing from technology use to technology integration. Now, to technology innovation.

Can we teachers get out of the way enough to allow students to solve problems innovatively with technology?

Evaluate where you are and where you want to go on this Technology Integration Matrix. I am nowhere near the lower right hand corner, but that’s where I’m headed! I want to get out of the way so my students can be involved in goal-directed transformation. Sounds like Student-Centered Learning to me!

My favorite takeaway from today was Gary Stager’s keynote address this morning. So simple, yet so profound. “Ten Things You Can Do With A Laptop” are all available for children and adults to accomplish in school together. There are resources galore for these and other activities for our geniuses. What are we waiting for? Let’s get out of their way.

  1. Write a Novel
  2. Share Your Knowledge
  3. Answer Tough Questions
  4. Make Sense of Data
  5. Design a Video Game
  6. Build a Killer Robot
  7. Lose Weight
  8. Direct a Blockbuster
  9. Compose a Symphony
  10. Change the World
  11. (Bonus) Be a Scientist, a Mathematician, an Engineer, a Luthier, etc., etc., etc.

Can’t wait for tomorrow! Day 2 of ITEC.

2 thoughts on “Iowa Technology Education Connection

  1. Denise – Thanks for posting the “Ten Things You Can Do With a Laptop.” I noted about half of the list before I realized that I was just listening and not taking anymore notes. 🙂 I thought Punya Mishra was the most enlightening speaker, if only because what he put out there was so true – technology and pedagogy are hard to separate, and really shouldn’t be necessarily be considered separate. Great site, by the way.

  2. Thanks for visiting, Bill. It is great to be a teacher in Iowa! Thanks for joining in the conversation here. Are you on Twitter too?

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