Leadership Matters September 2014

bemusement a huge interactive display by Dell computers at an airport. It was the size of about 12 TV screens and people had to try to figure out how to get to the next level to unlock the game. “I watched adult after adult push a couple of

“In one school building I saw a teacher using Skype technology to connect her fourth-grade classroom to a classroom in another state. The ‘lesson’ was for the students to try and figure out where the other classroom was located by asking

questions like ‘Do you live by a river or a lake?’ They were really engaged. Across the hall, another teacher might be pulling down a map so kids could memorize the states for a quiz. “The change won’t move across the hall until the superintendent says ‘This is the direction we’re heading and everyone needs to get on board.’ “ Even then, Davidson cautioned that the change will take time, effort and patience. Maybe three years’ worth from the time a

buttons and walk away not being able to even get to the first screen of the game. Then along came a girl who was about 11 or 12 years old. She tried a few times, put her hand under her chin, and then unlocked the game. Balloons fell from the sky on the screens and she just walked away like it was no big deal.” Getting to the next

“The real message is the importance of leadership in the digital transition, 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.” - Hall Davidson

level of technology use is the classroom is a big deal. Davidson said his travels across the country have revealed quite a digital divide in public education. He said that gap not only exists from district to district, but also from school to school and even from classroom to classroom.

district takes the first step. “It will require lots of professional development, and it can’t happen overnight. It really needs to be a three-year plan because that’s probably how long it will take to implement digital education and truly change the way we are teaching students.”

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