Technology Focus Group

We are pleased with the outcome of our first Technology Focus Group session. Thank you to all who participated, including parents, teachers, and LMP tech specialists. Our work together was substantive, the conversation spirited and far-ranging in its implications.   

We spent our time together acknowledging the following:

Undoubtedly we are committed to putting more technology in the hands of our students so it becomes a regular and increasing part of their daily learning....

However, two big essential questions arise:

1.              What technology?

2.              And for what purpose?

In starting to form our answers, we as parents and as school acknowledge:

•   That many of our assumptions about technology may be obsolete before they have a chance to be put in place, such is the rate of change in technology

•   That our children, as digital natives, will have or already have greater fluency with technology than we as digital immigrants do

•   Nonetheless, there are critical thinking and high-level reasoning skills that we as adult learners have that must betransmitted into a student’s use of technology

•   Our prime mission is to teach critical thinking and determine how technology enhances that mission

•   The answer is not to teach technology per se, but use it skillfully as a tool to inspire students to reason and create at high levels

•   How do we prepare students to think like this?

•   How do we create a culture of innovation? and how does technology lead to that?

We encourage you to watch the same video we started our session with and ask yourself the same questions we asked: 

·      How do we prepare students to be able to think like this...like the composer who wished to lead a choir of 183 people around the world simultaneously via internet?

·      How do we prepare students to be participants in an innovative project like this, willing to engage in risk and sing in a virtual choir?

·      How do we prepare students to seize opportunities that haven't been thought of before?  (Or are they already thinking this way?) 

Either way, what role do we play as a school to equip students to be successful in a world that is not-yet-imagined?

We invite you to join in the conversation! We welcome your comment below and invite you to stay connected using this virtual document. We will continue to discuss ideas and questions on this doc until our next Tech Focus Group on Wednesday, December 12^th, 8:30-9:30am in the Griffin Café. We hope you can join us, or feel free to join remotely through Skype or TodaysMeet. Send us a quick email to be added to the group or click the links below.

Your voice matters.