This week at the CoSN 2019 Conference educators and technology leaders are imagining what the world will look like when today’s kindergarteners graduate in 2030. But more than just thinking about the changes that might come to be, today’s learning leaders are thinking carefully about how to prepare today’s youngest students so that they thrive when they graduate from high school and have the skills to succeed regardless of the path they choose.
CoSN 2019 kicked off by sharing the priorities of school IT leaders. It’s interesting to see the evolution of priorities over the last three years. Keeping student information and networks safe from cyber attackers is now clearly the number one priority.
For the first time I can recall, “broadband & network capacity” has dropped out of the top 3 priorities in the @CoSN annual school district IT leadership survey. And now “cybersecurity” is alone at number one. Both feel significant. https://t.co/PrMnkrQjzN #edtech #CoSN2019 pic.twitter.com/YEgfONUT1O
— Frank Catalano (@FrankCatalano) April 1, 2019
However, as participant and veteran high school teacher, Matt Heifeld, tweeted, issues of equality of access to digital tools – including basic access to the Internet at home – still need to be addressed so that all students can be prepared for their futures.
Home internet access is still a critical issue for students and schools and has not improved. Read @CoSN report: https://t.co/rBn7Twl5H6 #CoSN2019 #edchat #edtech #education #digitaldivide pic.twitter.com/ygNXrPgQsa
— Matt Hiefield (@MattHiefield) April 2, 2019
After all, technology is just the means to enable today’s kindergarteners to build a life and a society that can address, and move past, some of the problems we’re struggling with today.
@CoSN #cosn2019 global summit speakers talking about 4th Industrial Revolution NOT talking about technology, but about humanity – adaptive interpersonal skills, gender identity, equity, bias.
— Mark Ray (@_TeacherX) April 1, 2019
So how can technologists and teachers build these 22nd century skills?
Another reason to ditch the phrase “21st century skills.” #CoSN2019 #edchat pic.twitter.com/BxnmjeCVv5
— Michele Eaton (@micheeaton) April 1, 2019
The first piece of guidance is that to do something innovative you need to plan three to five years out. Which, if you’re thinking about today’s kindergarteners, they’ll be in fourth grade before today’s plans come to fruition.
If you’re going to do something innovative, it usually takes 3-5 years. “You need that kind of time,” says @ngusky #CoSN2019 @EdTech_K12
— Eli Zimmerman (@EAZtweets) April 2, 2019
Another important piece of advice from Foundations Distinguished Professor School of Education University of Kansas, Yong Zhao, is that to drive innovation and deliver success school leaders need to think holistically “beyond just the teacher, the curriculum, and the system.”
When envisioning a way to teach for the future, #k12 schools should think beyond just the teacher, the curriculum and the system, says @YongZhaoEd at #CoSN2019. pic.twitter.com/6gU6C9RTSN
— Eli Zimmerman (@EAZtweets) April 1, 2019
Which leads to the third piece of advice from IT leader, Karen Cator, and amplified by Professor Zhao, that silos need to be broken down and interdependence prioritized to deliver on the vision.
Think silos are just for business? They can be just as detrimental in #K12 education, says @kcator. Breaking them down pays big benefits in moving #personalizedlearning forward. #CoSN2019
— Amy Burroughs (@AmyBurroughs1) April 2, 2019
Yong Zhao: I’ve been thinking about humanity. We need to help kids find their peaks and valleys and then help them become interdependent. They help someone and someone helps them. #CoSN2019 pic.twitter.com/sUaOKAIv7X
— Diane Doersch (@DoerDi) April 1, 2019
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