As many of you know, the high school recently celebrated the honor of
being named the first Apple Distinguished School in Iowa. Although this
is a noteworthy accomplishment, it is only valuable if it continues to
motivate us to work harder to provide the best quality education for
Newell-Fonda CSD students. This brings me to the question, what does
the "best quality education" look like? Our teachers have spent the
first part of this school year exploring this question by reading and
discussing The Global Achievement Gap. However, at some point
these discussions and beliefs have to be put to the test in the
classroom and for many of us that means changing the way we have always
done things.
I recently read a blog post written by Nick Sauers that really made
me think. In the beginning stages of our 1:1 laptop initiative, it was
OK to experiment and use technology for the sake of using technology.
And although I'm certainly not saying we do not need to continue to
experiment with technology in our classrooms, as educators we need to
start using a "purposeful" approach to technology integration. One way
our teachers can do this is by answering some simple questions during
their lesson planning. Does this technology being used in my lesson
advance student learning? Does the use of technology in my lesson give
my students a deeper understanding of the content? Are my students
using the technology to problem solve or collaborate? Can I easily
explain the benefit the technology brings to my lesson? Overall, I
think Nick Sauers said it best, "Technology must be used as a tool
to enhance learning. When used appropriately, that tool will
drastically change teaching rather than just doing the same thing in a
flashy new way." This is our challenge for the future!!!
