The Coalition of Lighthouse Schools

Earl from Echo Horizon School has just put together his thoughts about this years iSummit in Atlanta. Download the PDF to get his unique perspective!

Teaching and Learning for Tomorrow, Today

Student communication of the Future
Global communication of the Future

Are you wearing a watch? You’re not a “digital native”.

Communications of today: text messages, emoticons, smart browsers, evite, wiki, blogs, BlackBoard, podcasts, iChat, AIM, mobile chat, Creative Commons, eFax, bluetooth, iTunes U, FaceBook, etc.

Educational Media

Baby Boomers - listening to music
Generation X - watching a video
Mellennials/Gen Y - producers

Barriers to the opportunity to create and produce are removed in the one-to-one setting.

Reach all learners - iPod is a great example.
Learn by listening - not just music. Can be listening to anything… podcasts on every subject your can imagine

Communications of Tomorrow

Example: Webkinz - safe web2.0 site that is tied to a cute doll. Very tight control over what is allowed, games, invites, safe chats…

(videochat with Marks kids - talking about what they are learning by playing with/using Webkinz - science, money responsibility…)

Proximity Alerts -
Future use: RFID tags - GPS your students on a fieldtrip
What this means for education… getting bad grades consistently, checks tutors schedule and email you to see if you want to set up a tutoring lesson.

A Look Back into the Future - Apple video from 1993 about the future of computer use in our life.

Preparing for learning the future
continue learning
meet students where they are
give students options
hire the right people
administer with students in mind
review curriculum/technology plans
living priority lists

In a word… (people voice their summary of the conference in a word)

With the filter of this conference, go to your next conference or go home and prep for next years students, go with your word in mind.

Student Communication of the Future will not look anything like today.

Opening activity by Mark Benno - top ideas for enabling students in a “Flat World”

Thinking Globally

Why should we care?
Books:
The World is flat - Thomas L. Friedman

A Whole New Mind - Daniel H. Pink

It’s a new age:

• Agricultural Age
• Industrial Age
• Information Age
• Conceptual Age

Six aptitudes for success: design, story, symphony, empathy, play, meaning

The Asia Society
www.internationaled.org

www.askasia.org

www.worldcitizenguide.org

Digital learners… video games, cell phones, tv…

How much “richness” does your cirriculum provide?

What do your students create?

Why should students care about globalization?

Building relationships - cultural understanding

Email, snail mail, IM w/ iChat, iSight and iChat A/V (video-conferencing), Blogs, Wikis, Podcasting

Rock Our World - Garage Band file that went around the world w/ different tracks from each continent.

Resources:

• Apple Learning Interchange
• NAIS Challenge 20/20
• www.mywonderlulworld.com
• www.google.com/educators/ - google docs, google earth, etc.
• iPop
• Jane Goodall Institute

What is Web 2.0?
MySpace, Facebook - meet the kids where they are

http://globaleducation.ning.com - School 2.0, Classroom 2.0 on Ning

• http://www.teachertube.com
• http://karmatube.com
• http://www.flickr.com
• iTunes podcasts for education

Teaching the www - whenever, whatever, wherever.

iPod + podcast = anytime learging

These are just some ideas…

I love to think different

Its all about perspective - (The Phantom Tollbooth - example)

Perspective - a time of wonder, awe amazement, surprise and exploration. Connecting new experiences that create our understanding.

When we stopped growing physically did we stop also growing in our experiences.

Talking about great-grandparents, etc. - went back to hometown Pritchard, AL, was not ready for the amount of change that has taken place since childhood. Devastation. Pop. has been in decline for 40+ years… What happened?

Asia - steel import is cheaper, advances in technology & chemistry.

More children in China than people in America

Asia has more honor students than we have people

completecase.com - $50.00 online
Stanford has entire degree program online

Ubiquitous computing and pervasive connectivity - Thomas Friedman

Will these concepts drive international economies into a “Pritchard, AL”?

The new bad word… ROUTINE

Anything that is routine can be automated. Don’t want our student to prepare for careers that will become routines that get automated and outsourced.

Bob Metcalfe - inventor of Ethernet - world needs to substitute comm. for transportation.

Online video will replace face to face

Daniel H. Pink - author - schools are focused on preparing students for a workplace that doesn’t exist today and wont when they enter the work force
1/3 of americas workforce works as independent contractors. But we keep training people in the Industrial model.

School 1.0 - emphasis on routines and rituals, right answers - its not enough.

John Dewey - direct experience, engaged in authentic tasks, social process…

The Big Question for Every Teacher: Who owns the learning?

The future is already here: it’s just not evenly distributed. - William Gibbson

Our students world is a very collaborative, social experience.

The # of text messages that are sent each day is greater than the pop. of the earth.

Amount of new tech info doubles every 2 yrs.

What does it all mean?

The way we work, play comm. build and maintain rel. travel, entertain ourselves, conduct business, etc. has been utterly changed by technology.

But school is pretty much the same.

This is a message of new beginnings, transformation…

School 2.0

• Engaged learner
• self-directed learning
• project-driven instruction
• Independent problem-solver
• empowered by technology innovation
• collaborative learning community
• relvant

Its about connectedness, contribution…

Global distribution

Adds tons of validation that your work has a global reach. Authentic assessment. Children take ownership in a whole new way.

The concept of childhood has not been around very long. In the past children had to make meaningful contribution to the family to keep the family going.
Children’s contribution is ignored/not valued very much.

When does meaningfulness start?

We act like its always off in tomorrow. Meaningfulness is about this moment.

What do you (11, 12, 13) have to say that is so important that everyone on the planet needs to hear it?

What is on their minds? (projects for Marbury film festival)

• Human embryonic stem cell research
• commercialization of our drinking water
• children’s slave labor on the ivory coast
• caring for our mentally handicapped
• captivity of elephants
• Horor of child abuse
• Religious intolerance
• Immigration in the US

Children want project driven experiences.

They have the untapped capacity to make the world a better place.

Well, iSummit 2007 is underway and the list of presenters looks awesome. Stay tuned for some entries re: keynote speakers and other resources. Oh, and don’t forget - if you are posting to a blog or putting photos up on sites like Flickr - be sure to tag your stuff with isummit-atl!

Global learning is critical for today’s students. Educators must leverage technology and online resources to provide structured experiences to deepen students’ understanding of the world as they explore environments outside the classroom. Collaborative project ideas, tips and tricks for global education, relevant Web 2.0 technologies, resources for locating partners for projects, and information on the NAIS Global Initiative’s “Challenge 20/20″ will be explored as we discuss ways to educate our students to become responsible and active global citizens.

Julene Reed is the Director of Academic Technology at St. George’s Independent School in Collierville, TN.

Julene is an Apple Distinguished Educator, she works with Dr. Jane Goodall as a member of the Council for Dr. Goodall’s Roots & Shoots program, and she is the Director of Tennis for Special Olympics in Memphis. Julene has traveled and worked internationally and has been actively involved in the creation of global educational content for the Apple Learning Interchange. She has worked in Tanzania with schools at the base of Mount Kilimanjaro and also collaborated on projects with organizations in Nepal and Uganda. Julene has presented at local, regional, and national conferences for several years, and she regularly conducts training workshops for teachers and administrators nationally.

Julene holds a Master’s Degree in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Memphis and a B.S. in Elementary Education from the University of Kansas. Julene was the president of the Memphis Association of Independent Schools–Technology Educational Consortium (MAIS-TEC) for two years, she was the president of the West Tennessee Educational Technology Association (WTETA) for one year, she served on the Tennessee Education Technology Association (TETA) board for three years, she has organized and led both state and national technology conferences, and she has been a spotlight and keynote speaker at several regional and national conferences. Julene has taught for eighteen years in all levels of K-12 schools, both in the classroom, as a science coordinator, and as a technology coordinator prior to becoming the Director of Academic Technology at St. George’s Independent School where she has worked the past eight years. Prior to St. George’s, Julene worked for ten years at St. Mary’s Episcopal School in Memphis.

Student communication has changed through the years, and the tools and methods that they employ can have an important impact in the classroom. This three–part keynote includes a reflection on the past and the present as well as a look at the student communication tools we may see in the future. It is those tools that will enable students to successfully connect and collaborate globally both in school and in the workplace.

MARK S. BENNO, PH.D. is an Education Development Executive for Apple Computer in Florida. In this role he helps people to envision and develop effective technology integration programs. He likes to challenge people to exceed their dreams; professional development is his passion. Most of his work over the past fourteen years has been in faculty development (for educators of students in preschool - graduate school). Among other places, he has worked at Nolan Middle School in Killeen ISD in Texas, Hillcrest PDS, a professional development school for Baylor University in Waco, Texas, and Tech4Learning in San Diego.

As a speaker, Mark addresses educators nationwide on the future of technology and education and how students today impact our educational systems. He also leads workshops that explore curriculum integration, technology planning, film production in the classroom, digital photography, clay animation, and video conferencing applications for grades K - 12. He has delivered keynotes in 35 states, Australia and New Zealand.

Mark completed his Ph.D. in technology and teacher education, with a minor in curriculum and instruction, at Mississippi State University in 2000. He is an Apple Distinguished Educator from the class of ’99 and is writing his third book. Mark is also past president of the Texas Association for Educational Technology (TAET).

Dr. Tim Tyson, principal at Mabry Middle School in Cobb County, Georgia, has been referred to by the School Library Journal as the “Pied Piper of Educational Technology.”

Dr. Tyson’s innovative use of technology to maximize student achievement has been featured in a variety of national education magazines and has earned Mabry Middle School the prestigious School of Distinction Award for Technology Innovation from Intel Corporation and Scholastic. The school’s annual student-led digital film festival has received attention from the Lucas Foundation, Georgia Public Broadcasting, and internationally renowned education reformers.

The school’s website, Mabryonline.org, features student digital work (including movies, video and audio podcasts), blogs from every teacher on the staff, and now offers the Global Learning Collaborative, an interactive project collaborative for educators, practitioners, and students all over the world. Teachers and administrators around the United States visit Mabry to see what is possible today using the digital tools of tomorrow.

La Jolla, California was the place to be this past July for the fourth annual iSummit conference of the Coalition of Lighthouse Schools. Educators from across the country (and globe!) came together for a four-day immersion into all things One-To-One. The energy and innovation that came from the presenters was truly an inspiration.

In the true spirit of nostalgia, below is some of the information we posted leading up to last years iSummit:

iSummit 2006 - July 9-12

Point Loma Lighthouse
Cabrillo National Monument (1891)
San Diego, California

Following the success of the third annual iSummit in Memphis, Tennessee, The Gillispie School is set to host the fourth annual iSummit on July 9–12, in beautiful La Jolla, California. Plan for wonderful weather, inspiring presentations and the chance to be a part of something truly “Ahead of the Wave.”

The list of iSummit 2006 attendees is now up. Have a look.

Featured guest Speaker: Bernie Dodge

Bernie Dodge is a professor of educational technology for San Diego State University, creator of WebQuest, and one of the country’s most esteemed experts in computer-based learning.

iSummit

iSummit is the fourth annual conference of the Coalition of Lighthouse Schools. Our conference focuses on three critical teams: Leadership, Learning, and Infrastructure. Tracks are provided for each of these groups to share knowledge and discuss common opportunities and challenges as related to 1 to 1 learning. Many schools engaged in 1 to 1 computing report that many conferences lose their relevance because there are few sessions dedicated to 1 to 1 computing. iSummit is all about 1 to 1 computing for independent schools.

If your school would like to take a more active role in The Coalition of Lighthouse Schools, visit: the mebership page for more information.

Oh yes, bring a digital camera and/or a DV camera, you’ll need it. And dress casual. This is Southern California!

We are looking forward to seeing you all in Atlanta this year!

iSummit Related Articles

Attendee List Is Live
Imaging and ARD
GeoTeleWikiPodBlogcasting for Understanding
Bernie Dodge - Keynote Speech
Blogging the iSummit
Reflections on iSummit 2005

The list of iSummit 2006 attendees is now up. Have a look.

A big thank you to everyone who came, presented, set up, tore down, and more. This conference was truly amazing because of you.

Don’t forget the forum is now open and we are encouraging all of you to use it and give us feedback as to how we can better enable collaboration amongst all of the schools.

Safe travels and we’ll see you next year!