TLI – Tech Expo Draws Educators Looking for Inspiration and New Ideas

Approximately 300 people attended the LHRIC's annual Tech Expo April 5, an event that attracted teachers and administrators from dozens of local school districts as well as vendors from 21 educational technology companies.

Dr. Yong Zhao speaks at Tech Expo 2013.

Dr. Yong Zhao, an internationally known scholar, author and speaker kicked off the day-long event with an entertaining talk on creativity in education, or more importantly, the lack of it.

In his presentation titled, "Global, Creative and Entrepreneurial: Defining and Delivering High Quality Education with Technology," he questioned the idea of creativity and if indeed it applied to today's education system.

"In human history for a long time we didn't have a need for it and in fact most of the time we don't use it," added Dr. Zhao, author of over 20 books, including "Catching Up or Leading the Way: American Education in the Age of Globalization" and "World Class Learners: Educating Creative and Entrepreneurial Students."

Surprisingly, Dr. Zhao is not always a fan of creativity, especially when it comes to some of modern society's inventions, like high-rise cities in his native China where pollution is at its highest.

But, he conceded, creativity is needed when it comes to shaping an education system that intends to adequately prepare students for the 21^st century working world.

"America has been one of the worst education systems in terms of homogenizing kids, and the Common Core is trying to make sure our children are homogenous, not creative," Dr. Zhao added, referring to the Common Core Standards that states across the country will be implementing in the months and years to come.

Because of the changing economy and as a result, the shrinking middle class, Dr. Zhao said students must acquire different talents, skills and affinities. "Traditionally, we did not need people to express their individual talents," said Dr. Zhao. "But in a new age, we have to because special talents can be very powerful and useful."

The spotlight speakers included Travis Allen, founder of the iSchool Initiative, a student-led, non-profit organization dedicated to revolutionizing the education system through innovative technologies.

In his presentation, "Becoming a Mobile Learner," Allen described his journey into the world of digital technology, from playing video games as a child to quickly adapting to social media after acquiring his first smart phone at age 16. Allen recalled "doing everything" with his phone, quickly realizing there was a "huge gap between education and real world experience."

At the time, there were no cell phones allowed in Allen's Georgia high school, and Allen still believes this is true today. "They are bound to four walls and a desk and they are killing creativity," he said. "The current education system is built on an outdated and antiquated model that fails to account for the different learning styles of today's digital natives."

While still a high school student, Allen spent four months making a YouTube video about his beliefs, talking about where he felt education could go if mobile learning was allowed to take hold in America's classrooms. The video went viral and Allen created the iSchool Initiative as a result of it.

"The power of an idea can lead to so much," noted Allen, who has since presented in over 26 states and three continents. "With technology today, our youth has more power than ever before." 

The day's other speakers included Karl Fisch, the director of technology at Arapahoe High School in Centennial, Co., and the original creator of the "Did You Know?" (Shift Happens) series of videos, in addition to representatives of local school districts and vendors attending the event.

They covered topics such as flipped learning, cloud networking, engaging students with language through technology, iPads in education, the use of Google Plus, blended learning and the Common Core, and the uses of SuccessMaker to support data-driven instruction, among other interesting discussions.

To add your own views on some of that day's topics, go to the specially created collaborative Google Doc at http://tinyurl.com/techexpo13.

LHRIC Teams Up with NYSCATE to Host First Mobile Learning Summit

The much-anticipated Mobile Learning Summit held last month at the Edith Macy Conference Center in Briarcliff Manor was well received by many of the region's school district administrators, teachers and college faculty who are eager to implement the proper policies and support structures that will enable mobile learning to flourish in their schools.

The all-day event, co-sponsored by the LHRIC and NYSCATE, served as an opportunity for the K-20 education community to discuss, learn and share best practices in this growing area of technology, a niche that is quickly changing the face of education nationwide.

In his keynote presentation, "Designing Mobile Learning: Personal, Portable & Engaging," Richard Culatta, deputy director of the Office of Educational Technology at the U.S. Department of Education, talked about the need for cautiousness and planning when creating a mobile learning plan for students. He also described the opportunities for enhanced teaching and learning as a result of it.

"It's extremely important to think it through," urged Mr. Culatta, who has worked in the K-12 community, higher education, corporate and government training environments as well as private consulting. "If you can't answer the question, 'why are we doing this?' then I think it's time to stop and think about what we're doing with mobile learning devices."

Some, said Mr. Culatta, believe mobile learning is all about switching to electronic textbooks. The reality is that schools need fewer textbooks and more mobile learning technologies. In fact, they are "way better" than the classroom learning that has prevailed for hundreds of years, he noted.

Mr. Culatta suggested that today's schools have a good chance at getting the mobile learning revolution right. "When we transition to mobile, we need to step back and redesign for that environment, and when we do that, phenomenal things happen."

To make this a reality, however, he suggested that schools capitalize on mobile learning's ability to engage students and to realize the advantages it offers because of its portable nature and its focus on personal learning.

Some strategies to follow include:

• having learners interact with experts in the form of real-time feedback
• allowing them to collaborate with peers, therefore instilling competitiveness in the learning process
• offering interesting content for them to learn from
• initiating a form of personal learning that means adapting to students' individual learning styles, offering differentiated instruction and leveraging their interests and experiences.

As these strategies develop, Mr. Culatta said schools will gather more tools that will help them enhance the kind of personalized learning that is needed in today's classrooms. Citing the Detroit Schools and the New York-based School of One as good examples, Mr. Culatta said those students are learning at their own pace and participating in projects designed around their interests and needs.

"As this happens in more schools nationwide, it will become easier to do the right things in teaching and learning," he added.

In the second keynote of the day, Travis Allen, president and CEO of iSchool Initiative, talked about his own experiences as a mobile learner. In his presentation, "Becoming a Mobile Learner," Mr. Allen described his foray into technology after getting an iPhone a couple of years ago. "I, like many others, enjoyed the endless list of applications on it and shortly after, I began looking into educational apps to help me in high school. I soon realized the amazing capabilities this device would have in education."

Mr. Allen, 21, wanted every student to realize the unlocked potential of the iPhone and shared his opinion on the topic by producing a video, titled "iSchool Initiative." The company is a student led non-profit dedicated to revolutionizing the nation's education system through innovative technology.

Participants also had the chance to explore a number of breakout sessions that took place throughout the morning and afternoon. They included information sessions on the use of mobile devices in the interactive classroom; the implementation of iPads for administrators, teachers and students; a step-by-step guide for administrators and instructors on how to use the iPad; using the Barnes and Noble Nook reader as a learning tool in the classroom; the advantages of using Prezi, a free software for educators and students; recording, composing and learning about music with iOS devices such as the iPad, iPhone and iPod, and much more.

A number of educational technology companies that partner with the RIC and with local school districts were also available to showcase their latest products and services.