EduCon 2018

Innovation! Project-based! Blended learning! Formative assessment! Exit ticket! Flipped classroom!

All educators have heard these terms, and innumerable others. But what do they mean? What do they look like? What do they do to instruction? Where does tech come into play?

Too often education—that is, instruction and learning—gets obscured by jargon, buzzwords, checklists, or some new mandate or movement. Technology, which should open worlds and transform classrooms, becomes a burden or, worse, a babysitter. In order for instruction to mean something for our teachers and learners, we need to bury the buzzword.

This conversation will explore what happens at the point of instruction, and how technology can empower teachers to elevate learning. This conversation will not posit an educational utopia of limitless resources; instead, we will draw on real-life instructional scenarios—and real-life teacher disinclinations or fears—and explore how common or easily-accessed technological tools can transform and personalize the educational experience for both teacher and student.

In discussing best practices for technology-infused instruction, we will also be exploring the ways in which empowered instruction establishes a self-sustaining culture of growth.