He Regional technology and Learning Leadership Summits are unique opportunities to interact with other school and district leaders whose work is based on national, state, and educational technology organization standards such as NGSS, CCSS, and ISTE. For educators, it provides a think tank-like space to dream and build innovative and accessible futures for students.
At this year's Delaware, Maryland and Virginia regional event held at the Maritime Conference Center in Baltimore, teams of colleagues, many of whom met for the first time, worked around the clock to create their own versions of schools based on the new National Educational technology Plan. Much of the content used to inspire the construction of these model learning centers was derived from the different sessions throughout the day.
Breaking the ice
Naturally, ai was a topic on everyone's minds, and as such, the day began with a fun icebreaker developed by the summit's enthusiastic and trusted facilitator, Carl Hooker, called “KarAIoke.” In the activity, attendees had to guess popular songs based on ai-generated images. The icebreaker was a great success and provided a fun opportunity for teams to work together and experience using ai in an exciting, low-risk way.
<h2 id="emerging-tech-xa0″>Emerging technology
ISTE CEO Richard Culatta sat down for an intimate conversation with Carl Hooker to discuss emerging technology trends on the horizon. Culatta reminded school and district leaders in attendance that trends throughout the ai year are equivalent to 100 years of educational policy changes. I mean, it's moving pretty quickly!
Culatta highlighted the importance of educators understanding that ChatGPT is not ai, but rather a technology tool that uses generative ai, and that there is a shift from generalist ai to specialized ai. For example, ai” target=”_blank” data-url=”https://info.iste.org/stretch-ai“>Stretch ai for Education is in Beta testing and is based on a “walled garden” approach in which all data supplied is carefully selected by ISTE and ASCD. This is important because it protects the accuracy of the information.
Moving from focusing primarily on academic integrity concerns with ai, Culatta highlighted three trends in schools that are doing ai well:
- It's time to play with ai: Provide time for educators to explore the use of different types of generative ai. Some schools use weekly faculty meeting time to allow open experimentation with ai tools.
- Modeling the use of ai: School leaders are modeling the use of ai. For example, a school leader will include an ai-generated image in her weekly newsletter to show that it's okay to use ai in a fun way for teachers.
- Talking to students about ai: Instead of banning ai outright, schools are having intentional discussions with students about what ai is and how it could or should or should not be used. For example, children can consider how they can use ai to support writing a college application essay or not; having the discussion is key here.
Future of education
Sharing that a constant in educational technology is change and that none of the top five themes from ten years ago are the same as they are today, this is how Keith Krueger, CEO of CoSN, began his presentation on the future of education. Krueger showed images of “older” technologies (cell phones, Palm Pilot, Disk Man, big computers) that in many ways still perform the same functions we rely on today, but we use newer technologies to do so. This was a great reminder to focus on the function of technology rather than specific technological tools, and then he laid the foundation for the presentation very well.
Kreuger's three big challenges affecting technology leaders are:
- Cyber security: As of 2018, cybersecurity concerns continue to rise and K-12 schools are the number one target population for ransomware attacks, at 57%. Unfortunately, there isn't much data protection or people keeping things secure in K-12, and districts have large amounts of employee and student personal information, including SSNs, DOBs, and addresses. The impact of ransomware includes lost learning time and loss of reputation. He edtech-topics/cybersecurity/” target=”_blank” data-url=”https://www.cosn.org/edtech-topics/cybersecurity/”>CoSN website provides resources that districts can access to be more proactive in addressing cybersecurity.
- Digital Equity: Despite increased attention to access, which can still be a challenge, student connectivity remains an issue of equity. The type of device matters (not all devices can videoconference, for example), and what the government considers a high Internet connection speed is not enough for remote learning tools. As we move into the future, the lack of connectivity will be a focus and will ensure that not only does every student have a device, but that they also have the right device to handle robust computing and sufficient processing.
- ai in K-12: ai will undoubtedly be a challenge in the future. Currently, there have been three responses from school districts regarding the use of ai: ban it, accept it, and duck and cover. CoSN is working to support districts and has created a generative K-I2 program ai Readiness Checklist and Toolkit. The cross-cutting impact of ai on cybersecurity, as well as its influence on analytics and adaptive technologies, are also areas to watch.
Other emerging themes explored during the summit
The day was quite packed and a dozen other topics were presented and discussed. Some of the highlights include:
eSports: An esports presentation by Tarrin Morgan of Morgan State University and CEO of REALdigitizED was exceptional and showcased the alignment between esports, student well-being, and career readiness, among many other areas.
Esports has been around since 1972 and is a testament to the power of computing. Individual growth benefits for participating students include:
- Emotional, mental and physical well-being.
- Analytical and critical thinking.
- Increased hand-eye coordination (i.e. transferable skill to being a surgeon)
- Learn to be a good teammate and leader
- Effective communication skills
- Networking and community building
- Adaptability
- Strategic planning (shoot and build at the same time)
- Computer fluency (many video games respond to coding skills)
- Expands career opportunities in STEM (e.g., cybersecurity, animation, game design and coding, sound design, block chaining, digital currency management)
Next Generation Science Standards in Action: Dr. Godfrey Rangasammy and Jessica Leedy from the Prince George's County School District provided insights on how to change the STEM status quo through an equity lens by working toward multilingual, justice-centered science education. They shared how they had helped their students think about how they can change the world through teaching, using the NGSS. Their work is the culmination and continuation of a decade of innovation, curriculum audits in 3rd-8th grade biology, ambitious science instruction, and use of ai + Scratch for multilingual cohorts, as well as K-5 robotics .th degree in science teaching.
The changing role of educational technology trainers: Dr. Amy Jackson and Krystle Pearson discussed the changes in educational training in this post-pandemic era and acknowledged that many teachers are feeling fatigued with the use of technological tools. Change management using Kotter's method was suggested, as well as intentional long-term planning with other coaches by forming coaching teams with reading, math, and science coaches, since educational technology coaches are independent of the plan. of studies. Modeling digital pedagogy, engaging in more collaborative learning, and focusing on capacity building were recommended.
Putting a bow on learning
The day concluded with group presentations from model schools, which were showcased with drop-in music, in the form of poetry, and featuring D-ID Avatar Generator. The model school examples had eco-friendly materials, including state-of-the-art tables, and focused on developing students' interpersonal skills, cultural competency, and engagement with community and industry partners.
After the presentations of the model schools, the Innovative Leader Award The winners were recognized, including:
The best example of innovative digital curriculum: Amanda Lanza and Valerie Schaffer, Baltimore County Public Schools
The best example of providing equity and access: Godfrey Rangasammy and Jessica Leedy, Prince George's County Public Schools
Innovative technology Director: Chad McGaha, Belton Independent School District
He Regional technology and Learning Leadership Summits They are unique opportunities to learn, network and be at the forefront of all the latest in educational technology. Please use some of the information shared in your own work and join us in the future.
