|
U.S. educators in the early 21st Century face formidable challenges, but are blessed with access to unprecedented tools and opportunities for shared professional learning. As teachers we must help our students master content area knowledge and skills, but also develop and refine a set of important 21st century literacy skills which are not measured on traditional, multiple-choice examinations. How can we effectively and realistically enable our students and teachers to meet the learning demands we have inherited from 20th century legislative mandates, and simultaneously embrace and encourage the development of 21st century skills? A focus on creating and collaborating within a context of project based learning offers hope in the face of these challenges. Lets explore together practical ways students and teachers are using digital tools to create and collaborate together, reaching new heights of student achievement and documentable learning. (Visit: http://teachdigital.pbwiki.com/keys)
Quick Link: Wesley Fryer's workshops!
Wesley Fryer is an educator, author, digital storyteller and change agent. With respect to school change, he describes himself as a "catalyst for creative engagement and collaborative learning." His blog, "Moving at the Speed of Creativity" (www.speedofcreativity.org) was selected as the 2006 "Best Learning Theory Blog" by eSchoolnews and Discovery Education, and is utilized regularly by thousands of educators worldwide. Wesley secured $1.3 million in grant funding for West Texas schools participating in the Texas Technology Immersion Pilot Project in 2004-2008. He was named an Apple Distinguished Educator in 2005. He was an elementary classroom teacher for six years in Texas public schools, and a college director of distance learning for five years. Wesley is completing his doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction in 2008 at Texas Tech University, studying the impact of podcasting on student learning in higher education. He joined AT&T in 2006 as the Director of Education Advocacy (PK-20) in Oklahoma.
Wesley serves as a co-convener for the annual K-12 Online Conference and is a leader in the statewide Celebrate Oklahoma Voices digital storytelling project. He has published numerous articles relating to education and technology integration in Technology and Learning, Learning and Leading with Technology, District Administrator, Interactive Educator, The TechEdge, and the journal Internet and Higher Education. He also publishes a weekly podcast. He has presented numerous times at national and international conferences and is a vocal advocate for:
Progressive pedagogy
• Learning contexts which engage rather than enthrall
• High (rather than minimum) expectations for student learning
• Development of higher order thinking skills (HOTS) for all students
• Comprehensive school reform focused on 21st century skills
• Project-based learning
• Differentiated instruction and learning pathways
• Differentiated and on-going assessment
• Regular collaboration (teacher-to-teacher, student-to-student, and novice learner-to-expert)
Digital learning
• Student created media
• Digital storytelling
• Safe digital social networking
• Parent education about Internet safety, digital media and learning
• Educator professional development via personal learning networks (PLNs)
• Digital citizenship and digital ethics
• Blended learning which combines digital and face-to-face media and modalities
• Videoconferencing for collaboration and "digital show and tell"
• Collaborative uses of read/write web (web 2.0) technologies
• Citizen journalism with new media tools
• The uses of primary sources to study the diverse voices of our world. |
