Saturday, January 18, 2014

Fostering Leadership and Collaboration through Technology

Two educational technology passions of mine converge this week.  On Wednesday I will be making a presentation on Challenge Based Learning to the Michigan Association of School Administrators.  My presentation description notes that I will describe the paradigm shift of "teacher-learner to "co-learners".

On Thursday, I will be back at Mercy for an all-day workshop with the iWizards. The various projects of the iWizards very much follow the principles of CBL. The students form groups to determine how to meet various challenges.



The main purpose of Thursday's workshop will be preparation of media and resources for the new-student iPad orientation that the iWizards will lead in August.  The teams are entirely composed of ninth and tenth graders.  The girls have determined the topics and have great lee-way in developing their products.  Each team is led by a student project manager selected by the team.

Beyond this, the iWizards have some other major projects on the horizon. Different iWizards have taken the lead on these projects:

1) A Google Hangout with the Tech Sherpas of Central Maine, for the purpose of exchanging information.

2) The construction of an iWizard Web Site available to the school community and general public.

3) The development of an iWizard App allowing for easy access to tutorials and iPad tips.

4) The creation of an IT internship program that will allow students to assist the IT Department and possibly get paid of work over the summer.

In this way the iWizard program is giving its members rich experiences in leadership and collaboration.  I love being a "co-learner" in these endeavors.

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