Presentation given before beginning teachers and their mentors as part of Independent Education's Beginning Teachers Institute. Addresses technological forces shaping teaching and learning and why teachers and administrators must begin to leverage these tools now for their own professional development and in their curriculum. Thanks to Common Sense Media for the charts on media usage amongst 5-8 year olds and to @willrich45.

1. The Connected Learner
Beginning Teachers Institute
April 18, 2012
@NishantMehta & @DDarefsky
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2. Essential Questions
• What is the role of schools in the 21st century?
• How has the ubiquity of information changed
the way we must assess student learning?
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3. Common Examples of Assessments
• What amendment to the US Constitution
promises protection from "cruel and unusual
punishment"?
A. Tenth Amendment
B. Eighth Amendment
C. First Amendment
D. Fourth Amendment
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4. Common Examples of Assessments
• Explain, in your own words, why Lincoln suspended the
writ of habeas corpus in the border states.
• In what ways does the idea of progress shape the novel,
Things Fall Apart? If Unoka, Okonkwo, and Nwoye are
symbolic of three successive generations, how does
society in Umuofia change over the course of their
lifetimes? Where does Ikemefuna fit into this picture?
• What is the pH of a solution that is 1000 times more
acidic than pure water?
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5. The Networked World
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6. The Networked World
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7. The Networked World
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8. The Networked World
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9. Welcome to our "moment of change!"
Will Richardson, @willrich45
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10. Schools were
created to...
• Deliver an education
Schools are now...
• Not the only way to get an
education
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11. Economics of Learning 11

12. So what changes?
We must redefine what counts as learning.
And, we must redefine what we value and how we assess.
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13. Open Network Testing
• "There’s an axiom in business and in education: people will base their performance on what is measured by
others, especially their boss (or teacher, in this case.) So if we say we value collaboration, but we don’t measure it
in high stakes performance opportunities, we’re not behaving congruently." - taffee.edublogs.org
• "In his Chemistry class, Dr. Morris recognizes how radically the questions he asks must change if he knows his
test-takers have access to the internet, Wolfram-Alpha, and a myriad of other sources on chemical information.
His questions must require his students to genuinely sort out what information they require, get that information,
evaluate it, and then apply it to solve his now much more complex and rich questions. This is assessment for
genuine understanding, not assessment of recall and regurgitation. It is far [more] likely to be assessment of
lasting understanding and future applicability than typical memorization based testing." -
http://21k12blog.net/2012/02/07/more-on-open-computer-testing-at-st-gregs-theater-history-class-guest-post-by-
lisa-bodden/
• "I think this assessment approach is a highly valuable one for promoting deeper learning, information literacy, and
analytic and organizational skill development over memorization and regurgitation. I think that many tests in most
subjects can be, with the right intentional design, “open internet” and that they will be the better for it. Some argue
against tests altogether, but I still love a good test, and taking the time to think through as a teacher what kind of
questions can we ask which will continue to be meaningful assessments when Google and Wolfram Alpha are
available is, I think, a highly productive exercise, and, of course, will generate a more authentic assessment
experience far more well aligned with the real world of professionals for which we are preparing our students." -
http://21k12blog.net/2012/02/07/more-on-open-computer-testing-at-st-gregs-theater-history-class-guest-post-by-
lisa-bodden/
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