There’s a great article by Kimberely Ketterer in the Dec/Jan issue of Learning & Leading with Technology. As I read through the article, it was amazing to me how many of these topics I had talked with people about at either Discovery’s Leadership Symposium or Discovery’s National Institute. The 2010 national institute is almost certainly being planned at this very time. I would like to encourage all Arkansas STARs to register to attend what I consider to be one of the most cutting edge professional development opportunities available.
According to Ketterer, the following can be found in a 21st century learning and teaching environemnt:
Access to all technological tools needed for learning
Beacons of global asynchronous conversations
Confident universal engaged learners
Dynamic online information made available anytime-anywhere
Engaged cohorts of learners immersed in simulations
Forecasted possibilities of collaborative solutions to real-world problems
Global awareness through real-time participation inmajor events
Harnessed creativity through multimedia for authentic learning
Innovations encouraged by out-of-the-box thinking
Jpegs that augment reports and storytelling
Knowledge transfer across curricular areas
Legal and ethical discussions fueled by overproliferation of opinion and fact
Morphed teaching strategies from passive delivery to multisensory presentations
Networked video resources for worldwide information exchange
Opportunities to enroll in online courses
Production of analyzed and synthesized information presentations
Quantitative data showing increases in academic achievement
Responsibility for learning shifted fromsolely the teacher to mainly the student
Streaming video access 24/7
Transfer of technological skills that are seamless between tools
Ubiquitous access to the technical tools needed for learning and teaching
Virtual tours and immersive learning opportunities
Web 2.0 tools integrated across the curriculum
Xerox copies as an archaic practice
Zoning-out of learning is prohibited