68% of children under two spend an average of 2 hours per day using screen media. Today's college students have spent less time reading (5,000 hours) than playing video games (10,000 hours) and watching TV (20,000 hours). While students are accustomed to interactivity outside school, traditional classrooms provide little interaction and engagement compared to digital environments. Educators must make learning meaningful for students by understanding their interests, connecting lessons to the real world, and allowing technology use in schools. Failing to prepare students for a technology-driven future by restricting devices deprives many students of opportunities to develop crucial skills.

1. A Glimpse of the PresentMedia and Techn0logy UpdateAugust 3-4, 2011

2. Are You My Teacher?http://www.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?title=You_can_t_be_my_teacher&video_id=141860

3. 68% of children under two will use a screen media on average 2 hours per day.Source: Pew Internet & American Life Project: The Online MomDigital Learners“Whenever I go to school, I have to power down.”High School StudentToday’s average college grads have spent less than5,000 hours of their lives reading, but over 10,000 hours playing video games (not to mention 20,000 hours watching TV).“Compared with students' technology-infused lives outside of school, the traditional classroom is a somber place.”

4. Digital Learners“We hear teachers complain so often about the Digital Natives’ attention spans that the phrase ‘the attention span of a gnat’ has become a cliché. But is it really true? ‘Sure they have short attention spans—for the old ways of learning,’ says a professor. Their attention spans are not short for games, for example, or for anything else that actually interests them. As a result of their experiences Digital Natives crave interactivity—an immediate response to their each and every action. Traditional schooling provides very little of this compared to the rest of their world (one study showed that students in class get to ask a question every 10 hours). So it generally isn’t that Digital Natives can’t pay attention, it’s that they choose not to.”From Marc Prensky: Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants, Part II

5. A Few Thoughts…“Class size matters only if the teacher does everything” –Marc Prensky“If we believe all children can learn, but they are not learning the way WE teach, then we must teach the way THEY learn!” –Jennifer ByrdIs it our jobs as educators to make learning meaningful to US or meaningful to our STUDENTS?“Which world are we preparing our students for – the one that is most convenient to us or the one that is right for the kids?” -Lisa NielsenAre we asking our students what is important to THEM?

6. A Few Thoughts…“The digital divide, once seen as a factor of wealth, is now seen as a factor of education...”“Digital literacy is less about tools and more about thinking.”“Increasingly, technology skills are also critical to success in almost every arena…”“It has become clear that one-size-fits-all teaching methods are neither effective nor acceptable for today’s diverse students.”*From the NMC Horizon Report 2011 K-12 Edition

7. How to “Turn on the Lights”Give students the opportunity to use technology in school.Find out how students want to be taught.Connect students to the world.Understand where kids are going – the future – and help them get there.“29 of my students have computers at home, but one doesn’t. So I don’t assign computer homework, because it wouldn’t be fair to that student.” What about the other 29 students? Do we deprive 29 to be fair to one? Or do we find another solution for the one? From Marc Prensky: Turning on the Lights, 2008

8. Personal Access to Mobile Devices*From the Project Tomorrow “Speak Up!” Survey – April, 2011

9. *From the Project Tomorrow “Speak Up!” Survey – April, 2011

10. K-12 Technology Trends“BYOD”Migration to the Cloud

11. HCS Technology InitiativesMigration to Google Apps for EducationIsolated 1:1 DeploymentsBuilding-Level 1:1 Deployment“BYOD” Initiative

12. Google Apps for Education

13. Teachers Today…http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2j9qw-A0NM&feature=fvwrel