Ed Tech Digest Online Periodical Review

EDTECH DIGEST looks and feels like a much bigger magazine.  Features include Video, Links, Interviews, and Cool Tools!  This is a great resource for every educator.  A recent article that caught my eye was "For Long Term Success, EdTech Need To Be Part Of A School's DNA" by Matt Harris, Ed.D.  The premise of the article states "For a school to have a truly sustainable and impactful edtech program it almost needs to be invisible."  It is a "Must Read" for every educator

The change to a 1:1 environment in the classroom is happening now whether you realize it or not.  All stakeholders in the educational process need to read this article, and come to grips with this fundamental change in the approach to technology now.  We should be educating our children to work in school the same way they will be required to work in future careers, or higher education.  It is imperative that we understand how technology should look in our schools, even as that technology is changing and evolving quicker than it can be implemented fully.


This is an approach that I have tried implement at every step of my career in education.  Every position I have held has brought with it the added expectation that I was the shaman of the school when it came to technology.  From setting up new systems, to coordinating budgets for technology purchases, to implementing new curriculum and applications (both on the fly, and pre-planned).  It seemed that at some point, technology was the supplemental afterthought of curriculum & instruction, rather than a tool used to guide the decision making process. 

While most technology advances, especially in under-served schools and districts, can be cost-prohibitive, there is always a way to make sure it is available.  One needs only to take the time to turn over the rocks of society, and find the gems of financing and supply that are there.

I believe the future of educational technology in schools deals more with providing the infrastructure to support networks, rather than providing the devices themselves.  Schools should focus on standardizing a model suitable for student growth from 6th to 12 grade, and require families to invest in the equipment.  This would eliminate the need for the district to continue to provide gear, and focus on the classroom level integration necessary to drive curriculum.  Families should be providing their own devices, based on a set of locally approved standards, just like they would buy practice equipment for sports, or music and art instruments and supplies.  A safety net, supported by local and national industry, government, non-profits, and charitable organizations could aid families without the means to provide these devices as well.  Devices could be insured (at a reasonably small rate) against theft or damage to make sure that equipment would last throughout the educational lifespan.

Once specified and supplied, students would be free to participate in every class according to the technology pedagogy and curriculum outlined.  21st-century learning and flipped classrooms would become the norm.  Teachers would no longer need to worry about laptop carts, equipment sign-outs, and other inconvenient and menial tasks, and be able to spend more time developing and implementing digital project-based-learning in every class.