By George H. McShan
12/14/04 — NSBA launched the Technology + Learning (T+L2) Conference in the 1980s not only for school board members but for all stakeholders in education technology and its role in improving student success and closing the student achievement gap.
Although attendance waned for a couple of years following the Sept. 11 attacks, I am pleased to report that attendance at this year’s conference, Oct. 27-29 in Denver, climbed to more than 2,200 participants — over 1,000 more attendees than last year’s gathering.
What participants discovered at this year’s conference is that school technology leaders are using all sorts of new tools and resources to energize the teaching and learning environment and to further position the use of technology as the great equalizer in closing the achievement gap.
The school technology industry is exploding with new ideas for incorporating technology into the instructional process, new applications for existing tools, and new ways of thinking about the role of technology in education and society.
With everyone’s attention focused on the No Child Left Behind Act, there was a lot of interest in finding the best tools to disaggregate and manage student achievement data — and plenty of products on display to help administrators do this.
And with limited resources, school leaders are learning how to adapt the latest business practices to public schools — to track student attendance, monitor transportation and food service, enhance security, and much more — while using the savings to expand the instructional program and focus on raising student achievement.
But throughout the conference, there was enormous interest in using technology to broaden students’ cultural experiences and to integrate real-world experiences into the curriculum.
Students in the Natrona County, Wyoming, school district, for example, are using a geographic information system application to develop an atlas of their community in both digital and hard-copy formats. And the Delaware Joint Vocational School District in Ohio is using “digital storytelling” — the application of sound, images, narration, and art — to develop technology skills and encourage creative expression.
Schools across the nation are using handheld computers to enable students to work on collaborative, long-term projects. They are taking advantage of online learning opportunities to enhance the curriculum and improve teachers’ skills. And they are creating networks to expand parents’ involvement.
It’s all about the transformative power of technology to inspire students to think creatively, to prepare for an interdependent global economy, and to make learning more efficient and more personalized.
Keynote speaker Sir Ken Robinson, senior adviser to the president of the J. Paul Getty Center in Los Angeles, told the audience it’s time to end the current Industrial Age-based notion of schooling and put more of an emphasis on creative thinking in the classroom. That’s the only way this nation will be competitive in a post-Industrial Age world.
Technology must be a part of this process, not “an add-on to the existing curriculum,” Robinson asserts, but as a “means by which the future will be created.”
Another keynote speaker, Michael Hawley, director of special projects at MIT, spoke about how teachers must be able to use technology to give students a different perspective on life that motivates them to improve their skills or explore new subjects.
Some school districts are already doing these kinds of things, and the T+L2 Conference showcased the most innovative technology programs from around the country.
This year’s Technology Leadership Network (TLN) Salute Districts — Orange City Schools in Ohio, Liberty (Mo.) Public Schools, and Colorado Springs (Colo.) District 11 — illustrate how well-executed technology programs, collaboration, teamwork, and continuous improvement can lead to higher academic achievement for all students.
Among the successful programs in Colorado Springs, for example, are a digital school at a shopping mall, a student-produced cable television channel, and the conversion of each school’s librarian into a resident technology expert.
Community Consolidated District #15 in Palatine, Ill., received a Trailblazer award to acknowledge the special accomplishments of this district — including a Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award — since it was honored as a TLN Salute district in 1998.
This year’s Arts Spotlight offered the first annual MovieFest program, honoring student-produced videos — with help from Apple Distinguished Educators. Escondido (Calif.) Union School District and the St. Tammany Parish, La., school district received awards, and Springfield (Ill.) School District 186 received honorable mention.
Apple Computer lent digital movie cameras to a team of students from the winning districts, which the students used to interview conference attendees and produce a short video shown at the last General Session.
Another competition showcased the best student-produced electronic music. Performances by Eva Sachsse of the Norwich, Vt., school district; John Huenemann of Tiffin (Ohio) City Schools; and Dave Peacock of Reading, Pa., showed how schools are using technology to enhance arts instruction.
Throughout the T+L2 Conference, school officials found new ways to inspire students’ creativity, raise student achievement, and adapt the latest business practices for public education.
Next year’s conference promises to build on this success. The 2005 T+L2, scheduled for Oct. 26-28 in Denver, will feature more innovative programs, best practices, and the latest advances in the education technology industry.
Join the nation’s key leaders in education technology and your colleagues from the most forward-thinking school districts to learn how to use technology to transform the learning environment, inspire students and teachers, and make the most of limited resources.