technology integration

Congratulations to Della Curtis, coordinator of library information services for Baltimore County Public Schools and winner of Tech & Learning magazine’s 24th annual Leader of the Year program. Della, who has blogged for us here at SAFARI Montage HD Network, has been honored for her visionary leadership in the creation of a true library without walls through the use of the technology she has brought into BCPS, and the way it has been integrated into administrative and instructional needs in a cost-effective manner. 

You may already know this, but Texas is a rather large state. So, it stands to reason that working with school districts across this great state means lots of miles in the Tundra. Early on in this position (after reading Seven Habits of Highly Effective People and The Power of an Hour) I decided that drive time should not be squandered. So, I did what any other techno-nerd would do: I plugged in my handy dandy iPhone and began listening to all sorts of Podcasts to pass the time and hopefully learn something new that would help me in my mission to change education!

We hear a lot today about “flipping” classrooms, where the “lecture” happens at home with online media and class time is spent solidifying learning through small group activities, problem-based projects, or discussion. Teachers are creating their own mini-video guided lectures that incorporate other multi-media materials and hosting these learning objects on class websites, YouTube channels, or other district-sanctioned and protected social networks. In other words the homework, typically done at home after class instruction and classwork are flipped.

 At a recent presentation I used the Promethean ActivExpressions, a learner response system, to poll about two hundred teachers, administrators and technologists asking the following question among others: “Besides funding, what is the number one problem in education?” I received some very thoughtful and thought provoking responses as the participants texted in their answers, but one reoccurring theme stuck out to me. There is not enough time.

Forsyth County School District in Georgia is visioning for how to change education in our school district to meet the needs of students today and in the future.

View the recording of this ISTE session now on YouTube: ISTE 2011: Cabletime IPTV and Encoding to learn how together, Cabletime and SAFARI Montage offer high performance encoding solutions for 21st Century schools.

Is there a Rosetta Stone for instructional technology? IWB, LMS, LRS, PLC, DRM, BYOD, 1:1, VLE…AHHH it is easy to get swept away in a whirlwind of different educational technology acronyms (EDTAs) and buzzwords these days. As soon as you think you have mastered them all, a new one replaces an old term and the crazy cycle begins again.

It’s no secret the majority of those involved in education would like to make the most of the technologies represented in these letters in order to get the ROI they are seeking. However, the amalgamation of these distinctive pieces in pursuit of an effective digital classroom implementation is a complex, ever-moving target. How does it all fit together? What does seamless integration really look like?

View the recording of this ISTE session now on YouTube, ISTE 2011: Hitachi Interactive Projector and learn how the newest Hitachi Ultra Short Throw (UST) Interactive Projector and Pen can change K-12 classroom instruction while saving considerable money!

Virtually every school district in the country has been forced to accept the "new normal" of working with fewer staff and resources, while still needing to deliver services to teachers and students to support instruction and learning.  If this sounds familiar to you and you are looking for solutions to the growing number of challenges  you are facing,  watch the recording of this ISTE session now on YouTube,  ISTE 2011: Adapt to Budget Cuts with Technology.
 

We kicked off ISTE 2011 with 3 very successful workshops in the SAFARI Montage Effective Digital Classroom.