A national tour designed to educate people on the use of technology in classrooms
is coming to Fremont.
The Digital Learning Revolution Tour will be at Midland University’s Kimmel Theater
from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday.
The free presentation, which is being sponsored by Cedar Bluffs Public Schools and
Educational Service Unit 2, is open to teachers, administrators, school board members,
parents and students.
The keynote speaker at the event will be Travis Allen, a junior at Kennesaw State
University in Georgia, where he operates the nonprofit iSchool Initiative. Allen manages
a team of people who are touring the country to help motivate students and educators
to embrace digital learning.
Janelle Stansberry, a business and computers teacher at Cedar Bluffs, hopes a number
of educators will attend the event so they can see what tools are available to reach
today’s students, who have grown up with technology in their hands.
“It’s a learning revolution and I think the kids are going to force us to change,”
Stansberry said. “If we don’t meet them halfway in their world, they are going to
become totally disenchanted with the school process.”
The presentation, Stansberry said, also could give guidance to those districts that
already have 1-to-1 laptop or iPad initiatives or are looking to implement something
similar.
“I think this probably addresses more that it really isn’t the device that you use,
it’s a different way of teaching and learning,” she said. “It’s another tool.”
Allen will deliver the keynote address at 9 a.m., and that will be followed by four
sessions. They are:
* iPad Bootcamp, 10:15-11:15 a.m. It will serve as an introduction to the tablet device
and will cover things such as organizing the home screen, downloading and managing
applications, working with text and troubleshooting connection problems.
* Google Apps, 11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. This will walk participants through Docs,
Calendar, Contacts, News and other parts of Google Apps and show how those can keep
students on a continuous feed of information from the instructor and each other.
* Digital Natives vs. Digital Immigrants, 1:30-2:30 p.m. The session will provide
a discussion about ways to bridge the gap between teachers and the students who have
been born in the “Information Age.”
* Apps Shootout, 2:30-3 p.m. This will provide a time for those in attendance to share
the applications they utilize with each other.
Stansberry said it is not necessary to attend every session, and encouraged people
to pick the ones they would benefit most from.
Although there is no cost, registration is encouraged and can be done at www.solutionwhere.com/esu2registration/cw/showcourse.asp
