Learning Unleashed: ISTE Radio

The updated U.S. National Ed Tech plan highlights the digital divide regarding access, design, and use. We discuss the challenge of getting reluctant adopters to use technology equitably. We also touch on the need for more diversity in ed tech leadership and the importance of using tools like live captions to promote equity. We wrap with thoughts on bridging the digital use and design divide using the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) standards as a blueprint.

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Victoria Thompson is an education industry executive at Microsoft, an instructional designer for EduSpark and an ISTE Ambassador. She began her journey teaching fifth and sixth grade math and science in Summerville, South Carolina. After completing her master’s degree in curriculum and instruction, she moved to the Seattle area, where her career pivoted to focusing on STEM integration in schools; K–12 mathematics instruction with research on decolonizing mathematics curriculum for teachers and learners; creating inclusive math environments; and using technology to bridge equity gaps in education. She has presented at ISTELive, the ImpactEducation conference, the CUE conference and the DigCitSummit on topics such as creating inclusive math classrooms, culturally responsive STEM education and equity in educational technology. She was recently named one of the top 30 K–12 IT influencers by EdTech Magazine.

Our guests zero in on how to use teaching strategies we already know in new ways that yield better results. I see, I think, I wonder, and the six-word story are among the familiar strategies they leverage in effective new ways. They highlight the versatility of these strategies across different subjects and age groups.

Follow on Twitter: @ISTEofficial @mrhooker @drjennparker @k_grunow @hickstro @jonHarper70bd @shellthief @hyphenatic @bamradionetwork

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Jennifer Parker, Ed.D. is a Faculty Development Coordinator at the University of Florida. With over 30 years in education, she spent her last 15 years as an Instructional Technology/School Data Consultant for Macomb Intermediate School District. She is an adjunct faculty for Central Michigan University’s Master of Arts in Learning, Design, & Technology, an ISTE Recognized Program. She has collaborated on hundreds of educational websites and online courses, most notably as co-creator of the 21things4 sites. She is recognized as a leader in connecting standards to best practices in educational technology and has led many state initiatives.

Kate Grunow has been in education for over a decade as a K-12 digital media specialist and English teacher. She currently serves 130,000 students and over 10,000 teachers in metro Detroit. She is one of the co-creators of the 21 Things 4 project and a presenter at local, state, and national conferences on topics such as blended learning, free technology tools, learning management platforms, and digital-age teaching and learning. She is the Schoology implementation lead for Macomb ISD where she has trained over 3,000 teachers on Schoology basics and tech best practices during COVID-19. Learn more about Kate at kategrunow.com

Dr. Troy Hicks is a professor of English and education at Central Michigan University, where he serves as Chair of the Department of Teacher and Special Education. He also directs the Chippewa River Writing Project, a site of the National Writing Project, and collaborates with K–12 colleagues to explore how they implement newer literacies in their classrooms. Dr. Hicks speaks regularly at conferences, workshops, and webinars and has authored dozens of resources, including books, articles, chapters, blog posts, and other media broadly related to the teaching of literacy in our digital age.

The ground beneath teaching social-emotional learning has shifted for multiple reasons, some understandable and others not. How can we recalibrate our thinking and approach to SEL to meet the emerging needs of school districts nationwide?

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Rachelle Dene Poth is an accomplished edtech consultant, presenter, author, blogger and teacher. She currently teaches Spanish and a course on emerging tech that covers AR/VR, artificial intelligence, coding, gaming, digital citizenship, video animation and more. She presents regularly at conferences on technology and ways to drive student learning. Poth is the president of the ISTE Teacher Education Network and serves on the leadership team for the ISTE Mobile Learning Network. At ISTE19, she received the Making IT Happen Award and a Presidential Gold Award for volunteer service to education. She’s a Buncee Ambassador, Edmodo Certified Trainer, Nearpod Certified Educator and PioNear, Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert and Google Certified Educator Levels I and II. Poth is the author of In Other Words: Quotes That Push Our Thinking, The Future Is Now: Looking Back to Move Ahead and Unconventional Ways to THRIVE in EDU. She’s a contributing author to Education Write Now, Volume 3; several volumes of the Edumatch book Snapshot in Education; and the ISTE book Gamify Literacy. Poth is a regular blogger for Getting Smart and DefinedSTEM.

AI is ramping up the urgency for digital citizenship while these initiatives are struggling to get traction. Our guests walk through some steps they’ve taken to strengthen digital citizenship in large school systems and help other school administrators do the same.

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Carrie Rogers-Whitehead (@Digital_Empower) is the founder of Digital Respons-Ability, which works with educators, parents and students to teach digital citizenship. Her company provides training to tens of thousands of students, parents, and educators across Utah and beyond. Carrie is also the author of several books, including Deepening Digital Citizenship (ISTE, 2022) with Vanessa Monterosa and Digital Citizenship: Teaching Strategies and Practice from the Field (Rowman & Littlefield, 2019).

Vanessa Monterosa (@DrMonterosa) serves as a senior associate partner for NewSchools Venture Fund, a nonprofit committed to investing in bold, innovative ideas to transform education. Prior to joining the NewSchools team, Dr. Monterosa dedicated seven years to successfully shaping system-level digital citizenship efforts across Los Angeles Unified, the nation’s second largest school district. She is co-author of Deepening Digital Citizenship (ISTE, 2022).

The rapidly emerging age of AI demands new thinking about the purpose and practice of digital citizenship. We’re past the days when the focus was simply on students being safe and managing their digital footprint. Join us as we map the contours of a new, more flexible framework for guiding students in the age of AI.

Follow on Twitter: @ISTEofficial @mrhooker @RCulatta @emilydavis4edu @jonHarper70bd @bamradionetwork @hyphenatic @shellthief

Get the Book: Digital for Good

Richard E. Culatta is the CEO of the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). Prior to holding this position, he was the chief innovation officer for the state of Rhode Island and the director of the Office of Educational Technology for the U.S. Department of Education. Richard is the author of the new book, Digital for Good: Raising Kids to Thrive in an Online World.

Emily Davis served as a Special Assistant for teacher leadership to U.S. Secretaries of Education John King and Arne Duncan. In this capacity, she led national educator outreach efforts, teacher leadership initiatives, digital campaigns, as well as strategic partnerships with national education organizations. After serving in the Department, Emily joined the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) as Director of Educator Engagement, where she was responsible for strategic partnerships with government agencies, education organizations, and global partners.

Generative artificial intelligence is creating a complex new world that requires us to think differently about how critical thinking is taught and assessed. As we head back to school, join us as we begin a discussion on rethinking teaching critical thinking in the age of generative AI.

Follow on Twitter: @ISTEofficial @mrhooker @drlangraad @jonHarper70bd @shellthief @bamradionetwork
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Nathan D. Lang-Raad, Ed.D., (@drlangraadis) is an international speaker, author and professional learning facilitator, and the vice president of strategy at Savvas Learning (formerly Pearson). Prior to joining Savvas, he was chief education officer at WeVideo. He has served as a teacher, principal, university adjunct professor, consultant and education strategist in the course of his career. He was the director of elementary curriculum and instruction for Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools, and the education supervisor at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. Lang-Raad is also the co-founder of Bammy Award-nominated #LeadUpChat, an educational leadership professional learning network (PLN) on Twitter. He has also served as the president-elect of the ISTE Education Leaders PLN. In addition to The Boundless Classroom, Lang-Raad is the author of several books, including The Teachers of Oz: Leading with Wisdom, Heart, Courage,and Spirit with Herbie Raad.

Our guest starts the school year by assigning every student a movie-making project. This practice engages all students quickly and has the added benefit of setting up a model for uncheatable assessments in the age of generative AI. In the episode, she explains how to align this practice with demands for standardized tests.

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Jessica Pack: As a middle school teacher for 16 years and a California Teacher of the Year (2014), Jessica has continually worked to redefine what learning looks like in her classroom. An ISTE author, Jessica’s book, Moviemaking in the Classroom, will be released in August 2021. She is an advocate for student choice and voice, as demonstrated by the original content her students regularly publish for a global audience. She also spent over a decade as a professional development instructor and Consulting Teacher for a digital storytelling non-profit organization called DIGICOM Learning, aimed at promoting moviemaking in southern California classrooms.

Join us to discuss designing compelling learning experiences, using digital technologies, and how generative AI can help make the process accessible to the busiest teachers.

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Get the book here.

Angela Elkordy, Ph.D., is chair and assistant professor, learning sciences, and program director for learning technologies at National Louis University in the Chicago area. Her writing has appeared in numerous platforms and publications, including books such as Foundation of Digital Badges and Micro-Credentials and Gamify Literacy. Her research focuses on the learning sciences, design and technology, teacher learning and instructional design.

The always-on, always-available teaching lifestyle can be overwhelming and stressful. Education technology can add to the problem unless we set some clear boundaries. In this episode, we explore ways to use technology to maximize well-being.

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Get the book: Tech for Teacher Wellness

Meredith Masar Boullion is an ISTE Certified Educator and a district technology facilitator with the Calcasieu Parish School Board in Louisiana, where she works with K-12 teachers to support the integration of technology in the most relevant and meaningful ways. In this role, Bouillon communicates with all district teachers through a weekly educational technology newsletter, website and professional development app. She designs learning experiences to meet the professional development needs of teachers, including face-to-face events, online courses and webinars. She holds a master’s degree in instructional media from Wilkes University.

While some teachers have turned to plagiarism detectors to thwart students using ChatGPT to complete assignments on the down low, others are moving toward a more reliable solution — “uncheatable” assessments. Today we discuss the mindset and strategies we’ll need to create them.

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Get the Book: Storytelling With Purpose | ISTE Webinar: Oct 3, 2023 from 10:00 to 11:00 (PT)

Michael Hernandez is an award-winning educator and speaker who brings more than 20 years of classroom experience to addressing some of the most existential challenges in education today: artificial intelligence, steep declines in student engagement, and the need for authentic learning experiences. The solution: digital storytelling as a framework for learning.

Rather than viewing storytelling as a nice-to-have reward for students after their “real work” has been completed, this book shows educators how to use story projects — from data visualizations to social media posts, to podcasts and video documentaries — as the scaffold upon which to position curricular skills and knowledge. The process helps students make interdisciplinary connections, activates higher-level thinking and critical analysis skills, and provides multimodal learning opportunities.