My NECC Proposal:

School 2.0 — Combining Progressive Pedagogy and 21st Century Tools

In our hurry to learn "What’s new," we can’t lose sight of "What’s best?" Examine using the new tools in a school-wide, constructivist manner.

Every day brings new tools so that even the most tech-savvy among us can feel overwhelmed. Fortunately, we can use what we know as educators to ground ourselves in sound pedagogical practice so that we can make smart choices about what tools to use and when. Looking at the work of theorists as old as Dewey and as new as George Siemens and the success of schools such as High Tech High and Science Leadership Academy, we will examine how to make smart decisions about how, when and why to use 21st Century Tools.

When we design curriculum that is build around inquiry-driven, project-based learning, where students and teachers work together to create new meaning and deep understandings, then we can use 21st Century tools to allow students to create meaningful, creative and authentic work, using the best available research, while collaborating with and presenting to people from all over the world.

In this workshop, participants will examine pedagogical and technological tools that can be used, school-wide, to create a progressive culture of innovation in schools. How can we look at pedagogical tools such as Wiggins’ and McTigue’s Understanding by Design to create constructivist curriculum built to allow students to demonstrate deep understandings with technology-embedded curriculum? How can we look at content and course-management tools such as DrupalEd and Moodle, collaborative tools such as Google for Educators and wikis, and social/academic networking tools such as Facebook and Twitter to create school-wide embedded technology strategies that allow access points for 21st Century learning for all teachers and students?