TECH 2018 @ ILLINOIS STATE CAPITOL

TECH 2018 @ ILLINOIS STATE CAPITOL

PENNOYER SCHOOL DISTRICT 79 PARTICIPATED IN ANNUAL TECH 2018 TECHNOLOGY DEMONSTRATION AT ILLINOIS STATE CAPITOL ON MAY 10, 2018

The annual “Students for the Information Age” TECH 2018 event was held on Thursday, May 10, 2018 from 9:30am-11:30am  at the Illinois State Capitol Building in Springfield where hundreds of students and teachers represented schools throughout the state.

At the event, students showed the public and members of the Illinois State Senate and House of Representatives how technology is being used in the classroom to increase student engagement and improve achievement. From elementary to the high school classrooms, TECH 2018 highlights the crucial role that technology plays in education -- ranging from increases in collaboration and critical thinking, to promoting learning beyond the limits of the school day -- by creating a space for students to share their learning and innovative uses of devices, the internet, and digital curriculum.

Taking part in the demonstrations locally from 9:30am-11:30am were sixth graders, Tatiana Martinez and Maximilian Jurek from Pennoyer School. Tatiana and Max will be sharing their work on Virtual Book Clubs where they collaborated with another school across the country via FlipGrid to have literature based discussions around the book Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli. Mr. Spinelli also participated in this project, sharing his input about his book as well as allowing the students to interview him via email.

The purpose of TECH 2018 is to raise awareness of the critical role technology plays in preparing students to succeed in today’s world, and to show the need for increased funding for classroom technology. Students demonstrated for lawmakers and the public the creative ways technology is being used to enhance and accelerate student achievement in Illinois schools today.

According to TECH 2018 Co-Chairs, “Personal devices, the internet, and digital content are the enabling tools of the modern learning environment, expanding the boundaries of the classroom while promising to transform all aspects of learning: teachers, students, and parents are provided access to tools and resources that promote accountability, communication, collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking; digital resources and curriculum offer dynamic, engaging, and affordable content to enhance or even replace traditional print-based resources; and blended and flipped classrooms extend the classroom beyond the limits of the school day, promoting increased student-centered and self-directed learning opportunities that put educational resources directly into the hands of students.”

TECH 2018 is a not-for-profit initiative presented by Illinois Computing Educators (ICE), and is supported by a broad range of education and business organizations.  Corporate Platinum Plus partners are CDW-G and Comcast Business