iPads, Chromebooks, Kindles, oh my! How is today’s teacher supposed to keep up with the ever-changing landscape that is “Educational Technology”? With buzzwords like “innovative” and “transformational” being dropped into the taglines of most new products on the market, how do we decipher the good stuff from the... less than good stuff? And then, how do we figure out how to use these tools in our classrooms on a daily basis? I don’t know the answer to all of these questions, but I do have some ideas. And I have some amazing and inspiring friends who have some ideas of their own. This blog is meant to be a space for us to share these ideas, get your thoughts and explore the digital learning world together.
My name is Jennie Magiera. I am the Digital Learning Coordinator for a network of 29 Chicago Public Schools. In 2010, I was a 4th/5th grade math and science teacher with 32 iPads in my classroom and no clue how to use them. How did I make that leap? A lot of trial and error, the willingness to fail and just enough courage to ask for help from my colleagues - both those with whom I worked face to face and those whom I met in virtual spaces. Take a look at this post where I share more about my journey with digital learning tools, and what I learned along the way.
This blog aims to support you in your own journey. I hope that the posts and discussions inspire you to think differently about how we leverage technology in our classrooms, pushing our pedagogy and our students. As we kick off, I’d love to know: What new and exciting things are you doing in your classroom? What questions or challenges do you have? What do you wonder about the classroom of tomorrow? Share your thoughts below and let’s dig into these questions together. After all, tomorrow is just a day away.