2019 SC Midlands Summit

Few empirical studies may be more detrimental to advancements of effective technology use in K-12 education than Mueller and Oppenheimer (2014) and Carter, Greenberg, and Walker (2016). Both assert that students in lecture-style courses perform worse when allowed to use technology. However, neither mentions any instruction to help students capitalize on digital tools! Too often, educators project their own learning habits onto their students, applying paper-based strategies to digital contexts. However, what if we considered digital note taking as a completely new task? When students can harness the power of tagging, searching, and sharing as a new way to approach how they interact with course content, they will be able to ask better questions, build stronger connections, and engage in deeper inquiry. Ultimately, students need to not only be able to search for knowledge across disparate sources, but also within their own brains.

Too often, when teachers consider redesigning their curriculum to take advantage of new technologies, they get stuck digitizing existing practices. In this fast-paced, hands-on, design session, participants will work in teams to blend four different lessons or activities with the express focus of leveraging digital tools for content delivery, instruction, creation, personalization, and feedback. From Chopped to Fixer Upper to The Amazing Race, groups will complete four reality TV inspired design challenges to see who can best embrace a new approach to rethinking teaching and learning.

What does research say about learning space redesign? How can educators redesign their spaces even if budgets are limited or nonexistent? What is the purpose of such redesign and what role should student voice play in the process? Redesigning learning spaces is about understanding how design impacts the brain and learning; not about being pretty for Pinterest. Join Future Ready’s Thomas C. Murray, author of ASCD’s Learning Transformed, to discuss, learn, and design innovative learning spaces for today’s modern learners. Come ready to engage, discuss, and design!

Join this hands-on session to explore a myriad of digital tools that will empower you to further engage the students in your classroom. From dynamic open digital content, to tools for formative assessment, to ways to communicate effectively and efficiently and teacher time savers, this session will be learner-centered and collaborative. Various tools will be modeled and participant ideas explored. Bring your devices and come ready to share your favorite digital tools!

Participants will get a quick overview of Universal Design for Learning principles that can help teachers provide personalized and differentiated instruction to support all types of learners. Mix this with GSuite for Education and other educational tools, and you have the perfect marriage of pedagogy, strategies and tech tools! This session is full of FREE resources to take back to school, share with coworkers and use immediately.

https://wke.lt/w/s/-3_mD5

The 4Cs (Creativity, Communication, Collaboration & Critical Thinking) are soft skills that the majority of today's STEM employees are searching for in applicants along with content proficiency. During this session, you will learn a plethora of Digital/Web 2.0 tools that address the 4C's and tips for effectively using them in your K-12 classrooms! Participants will need a device (i.e. tablet or laptop) to fully engage in session activities.

Digital devices are intended to enhance learning. But sometimes devices can result in distracted students and disappointed teachers. During this session, participants will identify the elements of a successful digital learning environment (culture, curriculum, and conditions) and the steps for effective implementation. Discussions will also include room layout, behavioral interventions, and free/inexpensive ways to reward students for being responsible digital citizens. A cell phone, tablet, or laptop is required.

Do you want to provide feedback to your students that is meaningful and does not just end up being disregarded? Come learn ways to make your feedback actionable using G Suite. Don’t let the feedback be one sided. We will look at ways to turn it into a conversation. The application of Google Classroom, Google Docs, Google Keep, Hangouts and other tools will be shared.