Claire Jellinek: Digital Technology Powers Learning

In a guest post for Homeroom, the U.S. Department of Education's official blog, Claire Jellinek, captures the excitement of Digital Learning Day which took place on February 1, 2012. Ms. Jellinek is a 9th-12th grade social studies teacher at South Valley Academy in Albuquerque, New Mexico and a 2011-2012 Washington Teaching Ambassador Fellow.

At the Digital Learning Day National Town Hall, pictured at left, Arne Duncan, the Secretary of Education, joined a distinguished list of guests including Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski to discuss the benefit and obstacles of integrating digital technology into the classroom and utilizing tech devices to expand learning opportunities. Two million students, 18,000 teachers, 36 states along with the District of Columbia, 26 national organizations, 24 companies, and 16 state governors came together to celebrate the first ever National Digital Learning Day.

Claire asserts that America’s teachers must know technology, singling the number of Americans who have grown up on touch phones, Google, Facebook, and Twitter as example for the increased necessity for technology-infused classrooms. At the same time, we know that technology has gotten easier and more compelling for everyone: We all use it for work, to research, and to socialize.

She writes:

Digital technology makes it possible for teachers to differentiate more effectively by personalizing the learning to meet the needs of each student at every level. With the right use of technologies, we can shift our time from classroom management to focused learning on HOW to teach depth of content and concepts. This is especially critical for our newest teachers.

Check out the blog post here.

To learn more about Digital Learning Day, visit http://www.digitallearningday.org.