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By Michael Chamness
IASA Director of Communications
One could say that Hall Davidson went from
teaching in the classroom to teaching on TV in a
matter of minutes. Literally.
Davidson would teach mathematics at a
Hollywood middle school until the final bell rang, then
would drive to a PBS station in Los Angeles where he
was an on-camera math teacher for a live call-in
show -- math’s version of Bill Nye
the Science Guy.
“People would call in with math
problems and we would show
them how to solve them on the
air,” Davidson recalled. “The show
was designed for students, but we
knew we had a covert adult
audience of stealth learners. We’d
get a call from a construction site
asking how many yards of
concrete it would take to fill a
certain area. We didn’t have a lot
of tools to work with – the TV
weathermen were still drawing on
white boards back then – but we
solved math problems on live TV.”
A cutting-edge concept for the
1970s, the show won an Emmy
Award. It also helped launch
Davidson on a career of producing
educational TV shows and being a leading proponent
for schools to adapt to the digital age, a
transformation that he sees as one of the most
important curriculum changes ever for public
education.
Davidson, Senior Director of Global Learning
Initiatives for Discovery Education, will be one of the
headline general session speakers at the IASA
Annual Conference. His presentation titled “Leading,
Learning and Achieving: The Reality of the Digital
Age for Administrators” is scheduled for the first
general session on Wednesday afternoon, October 8.
“The real message is the importance of
leadership in the digital transition,” Davidson said.
“That transition occurs faster and better when it
comes from the top, and that’s more important than at
any
time
in
curriculum
development
because
it’s
happening so fast
and the potential
impact to reach
individual students is
so great. Classroom
practices
must
change
and
superintendents
have to set that tone
that moves that
forward.”
Davidson said his
own conversion from
the classroom to
mass media was a
classic
case
of
necessity being the
mother of invention.
Math teachers in the ‘70s were being lured into other
professions, helping to create a shortage. Teaching
math on a PBS station was one way to reach masses
of students, at least those curious enough to watch.
Now, he said, the best way to reach students is
on their turf, digital turf. It can enhance learning and
can induce understanding in students very quickly.
He recalled watching with some sense of
(Continued on page 7)
Davidson: Today’s students have
their heads in the (digital) clouds
Wednesday, October 8
4:30 – 5:45 p.m.
Opening Ceremony/First General Session
Leading, Learning, Achieving: The Realities of the Digital Age for Administrators
