An Excitement Around Learning: Five Teachers Share Their Stories

On Monday, December 12, a group of five teachers presented to the CCSD Board of Education the ways in which Google Apps (free to the district) and Chromebooks have transformed student learning in their classrooms and beyond. Their presentation was far from traditional; it contained only four slides and was presented using Google Presentation to model the value "anytime/anywhere" access and collaboration.  

The evening was simple yet powerful; five teachers sharing their students' work, exuding the same enthusiasm and excitement that is evident in the examples they used.  A video of the entire meeting, including the presentation, will be available on the web later today in the Board of Education video archive. 

During the presentation, I couldn't help but think back to the viral video, A Glimpse of Education Today, that I had watched several years ago.  Rather than share that video with the teachers I serve (a video I considered quite doom and gloom), I chose to show ones with a subtler, more lighthearted approach. Doing this put things in perspective.  It recognized the challenges we face, yet underscored student centered learning and the value of leveraging emerging technologies to enable such learning.  I had seen the videos in other presentations and chose to co-opt them.

In sharing the irony of being stuck on an escalator, it became easier to explore the true value of constructivist, "figure it out together" learning and the risks of being overly dependent on others to solve one's challenges.  

Similarly, Jack Bauer saves the world with AOL 3, helped illustrate the value of using today's tools and opened conversations regarding the many advances and opportunities for learning that weren't available five or ten years ago.  It was interesting to listen to comments after the video, and on more than one occasion it was noted that many "under 30" in the audience didn't get all of the allusions. Upon further exploration, it was evident that this phenomena actually strengthened the point of the video.  Those younger than 30 years of age would not have experienced much of what took place in the video; the technology had improved so much in that short amount of time!

As a district, we continue to seek out ways to engage our students.  We explore new tools of collaboration, infusing them into the framework of the Common Core State Standards, and empowering students to take control of their learning. Looking over our collective shoulder, it is clear that positive changes have taken place in Clarkstown.  As a community, we can take pride in the opportunities we provide for our students.