iPads, MakerEd and More in Education

With the prospect of returning to face-to-face instruction or hybrid constructions, what can we learn that works in our digital spaces that can readily transfer to our in-person classrooms? How do teachers motivate students to share ideas and risk “being wrong” in the digital space or the public space of the in-person classroom? How can we catch that lightning in a bottle?

Well, there is the chat function built into many of the digital tools we use. There is power in the chat that can be intentionally put to use now and in the future.

“Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.”

We should learn from experiences, particularly if those experiences show our previous beliefs to be untrue. So why are people so easy to fool when it comes to beliefs about learning?

For years, a stream of articles have tried to dispel pervasive but wrong ideas about how people learn, but those ideas still linger. For example, there is no evidence that matching instructional materials to a student’s preferred “learning style” helps learning, nor that there are “right-brain” and “left-brain” learners. The idea that younger people are “digital natives” who use technology more effectively and who can multi-task is also not supported by scientific research.

In order to meet the needs of all students–and to equip teachers with a consistent process to do so–Superintendent Dr. Philip Hickman created a new instructional model. The K-16 Instruction and Technology Integration Model, or “K-16 ITI” is transforming teaching and personalizing learning for students in Mississippi and beyond.

We teamed up with Dr. Hickman to design an easy-to-use guide so that educators across the country can benefit from this model.