On the train, returning from a busy day in Philadelphia and the annual ISTE conference (International Society for Technology in Education), I finally had time to think.  It’s been a while since I’ve been to a technology-related conference and exposition, and I used the lens of science instruction to concentrate on the sessions and the vendors (even though I could be there for only one day). NSTA was there also, sponsoring a series of sessions and hosting a poster session about the Learning Center.
I had the pleasure of attending a session on the “flipped” classroom, presented by two trailblazers in this style of instruction, Johnathan Bergmann and Aaron Sams. If you haven’t been following them on Twitter (#flipclass) or their website, these two science teachers have taken advantage of digital tools to create a learning environment that gives students more responsibility for their learning. Basically, they record presentations and assign students to view them, take notes, and ask questions—as homework (this is the “flipped” part). The class period is then devoted to hands-on learning investigations, small group instruction, and individual conferencing. Their passion and enthusiasm are amazing, as is their generosity in sharing what they’ve done via their website and YouTube channel.

Other hot topics were cloud computing, professional development, and BYOD (Bring Your Own Device)–students use their own technology (e.g., laptops, netbooks, iPads, tablets, smart phone) in school.
The exhibit hall was an electronic wonderland—from interactive white boards to netbooks to lab probes to all sorts of web-based applications. But as I reflected on over 20 years of being involved in educational technology, it seems like there are two points of view. Do we use technology to help us do things better? I saw math drills and word games, attendance and grading software, interactive white boards and projectors to enhance presentations, online assessments, and other applications that have been around for a while, although upgraded with more bells and whistles.
Or—Should we use technology to do better things? Lab probes, creative tools, and access to primary source documents and data give students a different perspective of learning—that of a producer of knowledge, not just a consumer or looker-upper. They begin to see learning not as a mastery of facts but as a creative, problem-solving, challenging endeavor, with the teacher as partner rather than presenter. (This sounds more enjoyable to me as a teacher!). Hmm.
Other miscellaneous observations–Multitasking and backchanneling were everywhere. Just about everyone had a laptop, smartphone, and/or iPad. But none of the sessions I attended was interrupted by a cell phone ringing! ISTE had a nice conference feature—from the online program you could add an event to a personal planner that would sync with your calendar. The conference app also had the planner, maps, updates, links to chats, and a gallery to upload photos. I didn’t use the conference book they gave out.