Based on the book Growing Global Digital Citizens.
By this time of year, most of us have reflected on the past and thought about the lessons learned and resolutions made. 2017 has been a year of milestones, events, and changes. There are many that we can examine critically, but there are two that are significant and worthy of discussion and review: “Wanna Cry” and fake news. Read more
Based on The Quest For Learning: How To Maximize Student Engagement
Have you ever tried to pry yourself or someone else away from an immersive experience? You might hear back, “Just a few more minutes … then I can stop,” or “When I figure this out, then it is a good time to take a pause.” The real value of games is in how they balance problem solving and engagement. They do this with no sense of failure but rather a commitment to hope and gamers’ genuine belief that if they keep trying and working, they will win. Read more
Last week, a client I have consulted with for almost a decade asked me a simple question: With a ton of digital tools being embraced by teachers but a limited budget to pay for districtwide subscriptions, how could he be sure that he was making the right choices about which tools to invest in and which tools to walk away from? Read more
I don’t read the latest fashion trends, but when it comes to educational technology, I want to make sure I agree with the trends and how they align with my work with educators and students. One of the trends is computer coding (coding) in K–12 schools. This is happening today with clever tutorials, gadgets, and special events like The Hour of Code, sponsored by the nonprofit Code.org. President Trump signed a memorandum for STEM education funding, which devotes at least $200 million per year for grant funds to be used by K–12 and postsecondary schools to expand access to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and computer science programs. Read more
When it comes to digital technologies, facilitating effective learning integration is the most important—but also perhaps the most difficult—task school leaders face. Like teachers, administrators often are unfamiliar with the affordances of many digital devices and environments. Even if they are users of digital technologies in their personal lives, school leaders may not adequately understand the learning and teaching uses of those tools. Ramping up entire schools to robust technology-suffused pedagogy is necessary but also can be quite a challenge. Read more
Andrew Churches
