Blogs on Technology Integration

I was raised back in the day when teachers showed 16mm films in the classroom. It was a special event: the A/V librarian would wheel in an aqua-colored Bell & Howell projector, one of us nerdy types would wind the film through the various rollers, the screen would come down, the lights would go off and the magic would begin. Even the most boring film was still surrounded by this specialness, which set it apart from business-as-usual in the classroom.

This year my school district in Vermont ventured into a sort-of BYOD/1:1 hybrid program. We realized the importance of allowing our students access to technology to enhance their learning, but the infrastructure wasn't in place to tackle a traditional BYOD. And we, like many if not all schools, were also constrained by budgets, so a traditional 1:1, where each student receives the same device, was also out of reach.

The end of the year is certainly a time for reflection, but it's also ripe for predictions for the year to come, and the chatter on social media about what's next for education is deafening. Blended learning! 1:1 devices! Flipped classrooms! Gamification! Design thinking! And each new idea that comes along generates a cadre of proselytizers and naysayers. While experienced educators know there's no silver bullet, one must admit it feels like a sea change is in the air.

I think it's fair to say that Twitter can no longer be dismissed as a trivial passing fad. Though I had dabbled with a personal account, my entire opinion changed when I started my @VideoAmy account and dove in to the conversations educators were engaged in. While some people certainly do tweet about what they're having for breakfast, teachers, administrators, and educational organizations use Twitter in a whole different way -- making smart use of those 140 characters to share resources, wisdom, and inspiration.