Winners' Circle

 

Dan DeGrow, St. Clair County RESA
21st Century Learning Symposium

The 21st Century Learning Symposium is an annual event designed to encourage educators to embrace a new culture of learning. This culture is shaped by 21st century technology; its goal is to provide today’s young people with the knowledge and skills necessary to succeed in the 21st century. The symposium annually attracts around 300 educators for an all-day series of workshops, presentations and guest speakers. It is the centerpiece for a series of spin-off activities that include targeted professional development, technology-related grant applications and an ongoing “think tank” investigating opportunities to more effectively integrate technology into the classroom.

Many educators talk about educational innovation, but St. Clair County RESA found those individual ideas had little hope of being put into practice if the discussion remained unfocused. The 21st Century Learning Symposium, sponsored by St. Clair County Regional Educational Service Agency (RESA), has drawn about 300 educators in both 2008 and 2009. It brought a focus to the subject for participating educators, as well as leading to a variety of action-oriented efforts an implementation. Over the past two years, a team of RESA colleagues came together, committed to learning more about how schools can respond to the changing world and changing learners. This evolved into what is now called the “Technology Think Tank.” The RESA team’s commitment has resulted in changes in the way the organization plans and delivers programs and services. The powerful result of the Technology Think Tank collaboration was the support teachers received during the seminars from people representing each of RESA’s departments. While math teachers learned how to use graphic calculators, they corresponded with teachers in a neighboring intermediate school district who were also taking part in the series via live videoconference. Technology and real-world applications came to life when a RESA Technology Center teacher shared math applications used in electronics. The demonstration was a hit with the middle school teachers who often have to answer the question, “How will I use this in real life?” RESA’s Think Tank leveraged opportunities to learn from others equally as passionate about bringing 21st century learning and technology innovation to schools. Dr. Elaine Weber from Macomb ISD introduced members of the team to digital tools she was using in her work with students and teachers. Soon, “protopages” became a standard in the RESA Education Services Department, and teachers across the county began using them to support their own classrooms. Kurzweil software, digital tools and UDL resources enhanced RESA staff development sessions. In another example, when RESA provided digital cameras to participants of the Literacy Learning Community, the impact was unanticipated.

An elementary teacher took the camera back to her room and decided to try it out with a student who struggled with writing. “If you write me a story,” she bargained, “I’ll let you tape it on this video camera.” The resulting story brought tears to eyes as the groups watched a cute little boy with bright eyes and a tentative smile reading the story he had written into the little camera. For three months, his teacher had tried unsuccessfully to encourage the boy to write. Yet a $90 digital camera caused him to take that step. In early 2008, Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s Education Summit focused on 21st century learning. The summit provided a framework for extending the vision in St. Clair County. RESA hosted its first 21st Century Learning Symposium in August 2008. Nearly every school administrator in the county attended, as did teachers, university professors, business leaders and board members. Keynotes and breakout sessions focused on global challenges, the changing digital learners and innovative resources to reach them. A key component of the symposium was the student exhibition. Kids dazzled audiences with what they could do. In breakout sessions, a 4-year-old demonstrated building an animated graphic using a Linux platform. A middle schooler shared his impressive knowledge of social studies, acquired in part by playing the video game “Civilization.” A group of middle schoolers tested a health curriculum delivered in a gaming format. An after-school robotics club demonstrated skills that earned them top honors at a national competition in the club’s first year. Following the symposium, a concerted attempt to support failing and struggling students in the county resulted in the establishment of a task force to explore online options. The efforts resulted in adopting Education 2020, an online tool that provides course content in a variety of curricular areas. More than 1,100 St. Clair County students have used E2020 to date. Continuing its investigation into online learning, the RESA took steps to charter a virtual high school for students who have dropped out or been expelled from school. RESA pursued a seat-time waiver from the state to offer a program in which 100% of the high school course content is delivered online, with on-side and online support for students. Currently, 100 students are enrolled in the county’s Virtual Learning Academy. With on-site and online mentors, the virtual environment is meeting the needs of this at-risk population. Significant changes have occurred in the short time since RESA’s first 21st Century Symposium. One local principal called shortly after the symposium to ask how RESA could support him in leading 21st century learning in his school. Now, one of his staff meetings each month is devoted to helping teachers learn a new technology tool. Recently, he hosted a Saturday learning session in which participating teachers received digital tools and learned how to create podcasts to support their classroom instruction. A regional superintendents group devoted a Friday afternoon to learning how to Skype and connect via DimDim. A subsequent countywide professional development day focused on technology integration. National and RESA experts taught teachers how to blog and create podcasts, design protopages and create digital stories.

Extending their learning to the classrooms, teachers now use interactive white boards, classroom responders and tablet PCs to engage students. At a recent staff development day, a principal and his staff created a pbwiki, blog and podcast to share their learning. If we want students to be equipped for success in a digital world, we need to push our own limits of technology expertise; to test and try, to explore and learn what it can do. Only then can we be credible when we encourage administrators to develop their own skills, and teachers to integrate technology into their classrooms. RESA’s Think Tank members are using Ning as a social networking platform, Skype to communicate with others, DimDim to conference without travel. We are blogging about digital learning and hosting web pages providing curriculum and instructional resources. We are LinkedIn to other education and technology innovators to extend our learning, and Twittering to capture current trends. RESA’s 21st Century Learning Symposium has been both the catalyst and centerpiece of an ongoing effort at truly integrating technology into effective teaching methods.

 

For more information regarding this program, please contact Joanne Hopper at (810) 364-8990 or hopper.joanne@sccresa.org.