The closing keynote was very inspirational as Meg Allison and her students discussed transformative technology. Moretown Elementary is a 1:1 school where every student is provided with a Dell netbook courtesy of a grant from e-Vermont Digital Wish. Prior to and throughout the presentation, students were tweeting from through their Moretown Elementary School twitter account; already proving how well Moretown secures their students' privacy. Students use Google Apps for education for many of their basic technology needs. They also use classroom Twitter, Padlet, etc. accounts because of the age group (K-6). Students synthesize newspaper articles, current events, and what they learn through tweets. They create powerpoints because they're still cool and students can learn elements of a good presentation. The students agree it's a great way to go paperless and love that they can email teachers and other students for homework help thanks to Google Apps.
Students wanted the audience to know they do have unplugged time. One student mentioned every Tuesday they go outside on walks with their teacher and explore nature.
Both Meg and the students also highlighted some of the drawbacks of having a 1:1 program. For instance, it's difficult to accomplish tasks when the computer or Internet is running slow. Also, if students don't remember to charge their computer at night, they may not have a computer to work from the next day. (Though I don't remember the solution to this problem....)
It was very engaging to see what these elementary students are doing with technology. This entire conference made me realize just how progressive Vermont is in the fields of technology and education and makes me really excited for next school year!
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