The Shift to Action and Empowerment

By Daniel Baham

In November, I attended the E-Merge conference held at the Region 11 Educational Service Center. It was fun and rewarding to get together with other educators and explore different aspects of educational technology integration.

One of the sessions I attended was moderated by Maria Collins (@CubanTeachrinTX). She led us through the traditional digital citizenship topics from the perspective of digital leadership. As I worked to both listen and take some notes for later review, I found myself typing two phrases that still stand out:

Go beyond yourself and influence others.

We won’t change things overnight.

I am excited about shifting the discussions regarding responsible technology use away from restrictions and prohibitions and into the realm of action and empowerment. Reminding students not to share hurtful information promotes good digital citizenship. Working with students to use social media to call attention to bullying and stand up to it is a step towards digital leadership. In taking those steps, we’re asking students and adults alike to do something that is most likely outside of their comfort zones. How can we encourage them, and each other, to leverage technology in ways that benefit and educate instead of just entertain?

The admonishment of “we won’t change things overnight” is not an admission of defeat. It’s encouragement to take small steps and recognize how small efforts and wins can build over time. I am going to spend more time thinking of ways to empower students, and myself, to strive towards being a digital leader in addition to being a good digital citizen. Won’t you join me?

Fort Worth Technology Conference

Join us for a day packed with technology learning. Dr. Scribner will kick the event off with an introduction of our Keynote speaker, Jaime Casap, Education Evangelist at Google. During Mr. Casap’s keynote, he will discuss the importance of preparing students for an unknown world. Mr. Casap will highlight the value of teaching students soft skills, such as problem-solving, collaboration, and critical thinking, to prepare them for success in an increasingly complex and digital world.

After an inspirational message from Mr. Casap, engage in a day of personalized learning. Choose from a range of session topics and styles. There are 45-minute session presentations and 90-minute workshops that will allow you to engage with new skills and ideas. Take a look at the different learning opportunities available to you:

Presenter Sessions: Hear from teachers, administrators, consultants, and more about technology-integration tips and strategies. There are sessions for all audiences about a wide range of technology tools and classroom ideas.

Digital Playground: What is a Digital Playground you might ask?! It is exactly what it sounds like! A playground overflowing with digital tools (and toys!) you can use in your classroom to engage and deepen your students’ comprehension. There are no set times – open all day and is come and go. Be warned though, you will want to schedule yourself plenty of time to check it out for it is a ton of fun!

Escape Room: Mission rundown: Work together to solve a 3D Puzzle Adventure. You can escape if you work together as a team. The escape room will immerse you into classroom technologies, like the ActivPanel, ActivInspire, Classflow, robotics, and virtual reality.

Tech Idol Panel: Looking to be inspired by some amazing educators who are seamlessly integrating technology into their classrooms? Join us for the Tech Idol Panel where the Top 12 participants in our Tech Idol competition will engage in conversation about their experiences, challenges, tips, and advice. This is a great way to learn more about our Tech Idol finalists.

Goosechase Competition: Join in on the fun with Goosechase! Goosechase is a virtual scavenger hunt played through an app on your device. There will be four Goosechase games going on during FWTC20! Get a team of no more than 3 people together, download the Goosechase app to one of your phones, choose one of the games (teams may only participate in ONE game), and complete the missions for a chance to win prizes!

End your day with short closing remarks, an exciting vote to determine the 2020 Tech Idol winners, and a chance to win Goosechase prizes.

Remember, the Fort Worth Technology conference is Flex eligible and worth six Flex and CTE points. Additionally, the campuses with the highest percentage of attendance will be awarded prizes, so spread the word. We look forward to a great day of learning with you!

Visit www.fwisd.org/fwtc for more information. We’ll see you on Saturday!