Hall Davidson Senior Director, Global Learning Initiatives Discovery Education Discovery Communications Keynote Synopsis Leading, Learning, Achieving: The Realities of the Digital Age From North America to Asia, educational institutions are beginning a serious conversion towards digital - a move from trees to bits. Moving classroom practice more deeply into digital resources provides major benefits for differentiation, extended learning, remediation, and accountability. But how does it happen? What's the immediate effect on test scores? One successful strategy for transformation begins with meaningful integration of technology to support the core curriculum by using engaging digital tools. Students must become more than passive learners to succeed in the 21st Century - they must become content creators and problem-solvers. Technology integration is the perfect way to accomplish this. This is also necessary because the way in which students learn has changed as the world has changed. This session explores current strategies and classroom examples, and looks at what teaching and learning will look like in the near future and why we must respond to it. For generations, students lived with textbooks with "print DNA": linear, undifferentiated, and nondynamic. New 'techbooks' arrive with cloud-based media DNA: fluid, differentiated, embedded and rich as the world wide web. Now across North America and around the world, trailblazing ministries and schools have begun a serious conversion to digital-a move from trees to bits. Moving classroom practice more deeply into digital resources provides major benefits for differentiation, extended learning, remediation, and accountability. Techbooks (fully digital resources) have moved into model schools with extremely positive results across grade levels. Techbooks may be the bridge between traditional teachers and the benefits of online learning. But how does it happen? What kind of professional development is necessary for success? What's the immediate effect on test scores? See how 21st century skills integrate into traditional curriculum, enhancing both. Watch how the magic of tablets (like the iPad and its cousins) bring a cloud of learning into the hands of student: a deep and immediate connection to learning. And bring your mobile phones and machines for an interactive Bring Your Own Device exercise. Spotlight Synopsis From Trees to Bits: Moving Education into the 21st Century For generations, students lived with textbooks with "print DNA": linear, undifferentiated, and nondynamic. New 'techbooks' arrive with cloud-based media DNA: fluid, differentiated, embedded and rich as the world wide web. Now across North America and around the world, trailblazing ministries and schools have begun a serious conversion to digital-a move from trees to bits. Moving classroom practice more deeply into digital resources provides major benefits for differentiation, extended learning, remediation, and accountability. Techbooks (fully digital resources) have moved into model schools with extremely positive results across grade levels. Techbooks may be the bridge between traditional teachers and the benefits of online learning. But how does it happen? What kind of professional development is necessary for success? What's the immediate effect on test scores? See how 21st century skills integrate into traditional curriculum, enhancing both. Watch how the magic of tablets (like the iPad and its cousins) bring a cloud of learning into the hands of student: a deep and immediate connection to learning. And bring your mobile phones and machines for an interactive Bring Your Own Device exercise. read more...

Nancy Law Professor and Associate Dean, Faculty of Education Director, Centre for Information Technology in Education University of Hong Kong Keynote Synopsis Successful Pedagogies for Inquiry and Knowledge Building: Teachers' Learning Journeys in Networked Communities Inquiry-based learning and online discussions have become popular as an approach to developing students' abilities for the 21st century-self-directed learning, problem-solving, critical thinking On the other hand, many teachers have been disappointed by students' lack of enthusiasm beyond social exchanges when they try to incorporate online discussion forum activities to support student collaborative co-construction of knowledge. In this session, Nancy Law will share the insight on what are the key elements that constitute successful pedagogies for inquiry and knowledge building based on in-depth studies of teachers' learning journeys over years of persistent efforts to implement knowledge building in their classrooms. She has led various 'Learning Community Projects' since 2001 to support and investigate the development of life-long learning abilities in collaborative learning contexts using technology (http://lcp.cite.hku.hk/). Since 2006, the Education Bureau HKSAR has provided funding to scale up these efforts through the Professional Development Network for Knowledge Building in Schools, alias Knowledge Building Teacher Network (KBTN) (http://kbtn.cite.hku.hk). In achieving success in implementing knowledge building as a pedagogical approach, teachers have to overcome many hurdles from conceptual understanding, to pedagogical design and execution, to institutional and community support. Another challenge to teachers with limited time is how to quickly find out students' knowledge building advancement and possible impasses from their online discourse to provide timely and appropriate facilitation. In addition to presenting the basic design features as well as the fine-tuning of pedagogical patterns that have been identified in teachers' learning journeys, this talk will also introduce some indicators that can inform teachers of students' knowledge building advancement. These indicators are generated by COLODA, a semi-automated discourse analysis tool jointly developed by research and development teams at Centre for Information Technology in Education, University of Hong Kong, & Research Center of Knowledge Engineering, Beijing Normal University. read more...

Larry Johnson Chief Executive Officer New Media Consortium School Leaders Track Synopsis (for registered School Leaders only) Making Sense of Horizon Report in Singapore Context The NMC Horizon Project, as the centerpiece of the NMC Emerging Technologies Initiative, charts the landscape of emerging technologies for teaching, learning, research, creative inquiry, and information management. The NMC Horizon Project has helped educators and thought leaders across the world build upon the innovation happening at their institutions by providing them with expert research and analysis. In this session, Dr Larry Johnson will help us in exploring two pertinent questions about ICT in education based on the findings reported in Horizon Report: Which key technologies catalogued in the Horizon Project will be most relevant Singapore Schools within the next 5 years? How do the key technologies in the Horizon Project impact the development of 21st century competencies among students in Singapore? Keynote Synopsis A Sociological Retrospective On Technology and What it Means in Our Lives After a decade of tracking the evolution of emerging technology as part of the New Media Consortium's globally focused Horizon Project, Larry Johnson, the Horizon Project's founder and visionary leader, has spent years reflecting on how we think about technology and how that influences our ability to use and deploy it creatively. In this session, he will use the lens of family and family ties to show how our perspectives on technology are formed, and how we can use that insight to interpret the trends we see around us. Our perspectives on technology and what is possible are largely determined by when we were born, rather than our training and experience with the current tools and options available to us. Indeed, the very notion of what constitutes technology is something that profoundly changes over time. From his research, it is clear that the events of the world around us - things we collectively experience within a generation - are hugely significant influences in the ways we think about learning, about work, and even in the way we play. These forces are at work everywhere in the world and in every sector of education. When the not-for-profit Horizon Project was launched by the New Media Consortium in 2002, we had no idea that the project would still be relevant and growing a decade later. Our initial goal was to metaphorically find a hill to stand on that would give us somewhat of a glimpse into where educational technology was going. Today, the project has grown to a global scope, with a clear mission to identify and describe emerging technologies likely to have a large impact over the coming five years on a variety of sectors around the globe. The reports generated from the project are used all over the world as a strategic technology planning tool. Join in this discussion of where the Horizon Project has been and where it is going! Spotlight Synopsis Reflections: The Horizon Project at Ten Years When the not-for-profit Horizon Project was launched by the New Media Consortium in 2002, we had no idea that the project would still be relevant and growing a decade later. Our initial goal was to metaphorically find a hill to stand on that would give us somewhat of a glimpse into where educational technology was going. Today, the project has grown to a global scope, with a clear mission to identify and describe emerging technologies likely to have a large impact over the coming five years on a variety of sectors around the globe. The reports generated from the project are used all over the world as a strategic technology planning tool. Join in this discussion of where the Horizon Project has been and where it is going! read more...

Chai Ching Sing Associate Professor Learning Sciences and Technologies National Institute of Education (NIE) Singapore Designing TPACK Lessons The TPACK Framework has been recently proposed to be a promising theoretical framework for the study of ICT integration into subject matter learning. Many intervention studies have been carried out especially in the US and to a lesser extent in Asia. Almost all such studies indicate positive effects on teachers' ability to use ICT for subject-based teaching. In this presentation, some studies based on work done in Singapore will be presented together with a design guide based on the TPACK framework for school teachers to consider. read more...

Holly Jobe President, International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Spotlight Synopsis 1 Igniting Students' Self-directed Learning In a rapidly changing world, students will increasingly need to be self-motivated and life-long learners to keep up with developments in their chosen professions. This session will examine the foundation for developing effective habits of mind to ensure students will thrive well into the 21st Century. Spotlight Synopsis 2 Coaching and Mentoring as a Powerful Change Management Strategy Teachers are often challenged with integrating new technologies and teaching strategies in their classrooms. Coaching and Mentoring provide on-going, job-embedded professional development to teachers as they integrate ICT and teaching strategies that meet students' learning needs. This session will highlight the value of coaching and draw on the ICT Mentor training partnership between the Singapore Ministry of Education and the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). read more...

Mary Anne Mills Curriculum Manager CORE Education New Zealand Spotlight Synopsis 1 Effective eLearning Practices that Impact on Student Outcomes "For teachers to improve their practice they learn best from other teachers provided that these teachers are also working on improvement. These exchanges are thus purposeful, and based on evidence." - Learning is the Work, 2011 Michael Fullan This spotlight will explore and discuss examples of New Zealand teachers changing practice by: shifting their teaching approach to more student centred learning using new technologies using a model of "Teaching as Inquiry" to reflect on their impact of their teaching on students using a blended model of professional learning (online and face to face) to share new learning both across and within schools Spotlight Synopsis 2 How Can School Leaders Redefine, Redirect and Reshape Their Schools to Focus on Future Orientated Curriculum? In New Zealand, while still meeting the demands and of existing community and government requirements, many school leaders have taken up the challenge to shift their school cultures to meet the vision of the New Zealand curriculum to enable students to be "confident, connected, actively involved, lifelong learners". To do this school leaders need strong self review processes to help them manage, monitor and evaluate the impact of constant school change and development. This "spotlight" will focus on an online framework for whole school development. This framework evaluates how well a school is meeting the aspirations and goals it has set itself. It will explore how some schools in New Zealand have used the framework to engage their school community (teachers, students, parents and others) in establishing what the educational landscape looks like and where their school is located. Using this evidence and other documentation schools identify their shared values and beliefs and plan their future focus and priorities to bring about the desired changes. read more...

Richard DeLorenzo Founder of Re-Inventing Schools Coalition (RISC) Spotlight Synopsis 1 Reinventing Our Schools Fifteen years ago, 90 percent of the Chugach School District students could not read at grade level, and the District had only one university graduate in 20 years. Following Mr. DeLorenzo's desire to bring excellence to education and working in collaboration with those of similar mind, a long, but steady, transformation began using the Reinventing School's philosophy that resulted in the Chugach District becoming the one of the first winners of the prestigious Malcolm Baldrige Award for performance excellence. Using Shared Vision, Systemic Leadership, Personalized-Mastery, ICT and Continuous Improvement this educational revolution will not only prepare children for the 21st century but also create a system where students can accelerate their learning and unleash their full potential. Spotlight Synopsis 2 How To Move From Vision to Practice Following the "Reinventing our Schools" presentation, Mr. DeLorenzo will show what the next generation of learning and technology can be in schools. What does an educational system that has the vision but needs to understand the critical steps to deploy this vision? How does ICT help every child realize their potential and fulfill their life dreams? Mr. DeLorenzo will share how he has helped transform hundreds of schools that were under-performing or average-performing but had the desire to be world class. read more...

Sangeet Bhullar Executive Director and founder of WISE KIDS Digital Literacy and Cyberwellness in a Global Classroom Rapid advances in Internet, digital and mobile technologies mean that young people and educators today have unprecedented opportunities and tools to create web content, access games, learning and entertainment, network with their peers, and advance their quality of life. This spotlight session, delivered in a Masterclass style session, will explore the 21st Century Digital Literacies needed by educators and learners to maximize the opportunities provided by Web 2.0 technologies, social media and applications like blogs, Messenger services, Facebook and Twitter. In particular, it will explore the opportunities these technologies present in terms of encouraging content creation, collaboration, sharing and developing networks of interest. These increasingly transparent Internet mediated spaces and the devices which connect to these spaces can also be open to abuse, and this session will also explore the digital literacies needed to address challenges like content evaluation, management of online privacy, identity, data and reputation; laws and cybersecurity, to ensure that young people and educators are able to maximize benefit and use these technologies effectively. read more...

Teo Chew Lee Senior Head Educational Technology Division Ministry of Education Singapore Prototyping Pedagogy for Computer-Supported-Collaborative-Learning (CSCL) Environment As the web 2.0 tools such as Blog, Twitter and Facebook enter into our students' lives, they become accustomed to sharing their informal space with their peers, friends or even to the public. However, it has been found that Singapore students tend to only make use of friendship networks in these informal web 2.0 platforms, and few use them for learning purposes, i.e. knowledge network. The challenge for teachers is to build on this open and connected online culture that is attractive to students to create meaningful learning environment that pervades in and out of class. In this presentation, we will share key findings in the Prototyping Pedagogy for Learning with Technology (Propel-T) project which focuses on understanding Computer-Supported-Collaborative-Learning (CSCL) practices, i.e. classroom practices that supports collaborative learning in a networked environment. It investigates how existing technologies can impact teachers' professional development, improve instructional practices and the design of content materials to support active knowledge work in class. The sharing will centre on knowledge building pedagogies and Knowledge Forum - an electronic discussion forum that teachers can use to explicitly support knowledge building among their students. read more...

Cheah Horn Mun Director Educational Technology MOE Poon Chew Leng Deputy Director Research & Evaluation / Lead Specialist (Research & Curriculum) MOE Manu Kapur Associate Professor Curriculum Teaching and Learning / Learning Sciences Lab NIE Sean Tan Research & Evaluation Officer MOE

ATC21S Panel Teaching and Assessing 21st Century Competencies Like other education systems, preparing Singapore students for the global future will be one of the key priorities going forward. Singapore students will need to be able to collaborate with others, develop the skills to learn continuously, and manage and design solutions to complex problems. (i) The Assessment and Teaching of 21st Century Skills (ATC21S) is a 3-year international project that started in 2009 to inform and influence the teaching and assessment of 21st century competencies (21CC), by pioneering new approaches and assessments that map how children learn and develop these competencies. Supported by Cisco, Intel and Microsoft, ATC21S draws on renowned international experts in the public sector, private sector and academia and is managed by the University of Melbourne. The founder countries collaborating actively in this project include Singapore, Australia, Finland, and the US. One of the outcomes of the ATC21S project is the conceptualisation and development of the framework and tasks that measure ICT literacy skills (learning in digital networks) and collaborative problem solving. As part of the task refinement and validation processes, cognitive laboratories, pilot studies and field trials were conducted in Singapore to collect and analyse data on how students respond to the tasks. (ii) The international project presents a unique opportunity for Singapore to embark on a more formative, upstream research agenda on building teachers' capacity in designing learning that affords students the opportunities to engage in processes germane for the development of 21CCs, particularly those of problem solving and collaboration, mediated by appropriate tools. Productive Failure is on such learning design that provides opportunities for students to design solutions to novel problems even though they may fail in the process. This failure can be the locus of deep learning as it affords students the opportunity to collaboratively generate, elaborate, critique, and refine their representations and solution strategies - a process that is germane for the development of 21CCs of collaborative problem solving in the context of designing solutions to novel problems. This parallel research project complements the international ATC21S efforts as it helps teachers develop the expertise to facilitate students' development of 21CC. As Singapore's education system is already shifting toward developing 21CC, the learning points from the two projects would be especially useful in strengthening the teaching, learning and assessment of these new skills and values. Through this session, we hope to share our experiences in the two mutually reinforcing research agenda and to discuss the implications on the teaching and assessment of 21CC in Singapore.

Keith Krueger Chief Executive Officer Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) School Leaders Track Synopsis (for registered School Leaders only) Exploring Emerging Technologies to Impact Learning and Teaching What are important considerations when exploring emerging technologies to be used to impact learning and teaching? What are the needful considerations school leaders need to make with regard to harnessing technology to improve students' learning? Join us in the iterative process of building strong collaborative leadership, developing clear vision, building communities of practice, deepening the knowledge of ICT in pedagogy and assessment. One emerging technology that will be shared is mobile technology. As an instructional leader you will appreciate the educational potential of mobile technology and how to integrate mobile technology into the classroom. As a school leader who is also concerned about strategic resource management, you will gain insights into designing effective programmes to impact learning and teaching and learn of how schools have effectively and successfully harnessed mobile learning in their schools. Using mobile technology as a case study, you will take away a concrete plan as to how to implement such technologies in the curriculum. Schools that are in the stage of exploration, implementation or scaling will be connected and benefit from the networking and the discussions to reimagine learning, assess impact and overcome challenges for more effective ICT implementation. Spotlight Synopsis 1 Rethinking Professional Development with Online Communities of Practice (CoP) Typically educators are isolated during most of their work day with little time with their peers for sharing knowledge and improving the practice of teaching. In many schools around the world the traditional way we do professional development is top-down and is not meeting the needs of teachers and administrators. Is there a better way? The U.S. National Education Technology Plan makes the case that educators should explore participation in online communities of practice (CoP). Hear how online CoPs can improve teacher and leader effectiveness, enhance student learning and increase productivity. Learn how innovative educators are applying these concepts to rethink traditional face-to-face professional development and build 24x7 professional communities. Explore the role of principals and administrators in moderating online CoPs for success. Spotlight Synopsis 2 Reimagining Learning Mobile devices and Web 2.0 participatory applications have become pervasive, yet our educational system is still based on an outdated industrial age model. Let's reimagine what education can be in a world where learning is no longer confined to four walls and seven bells. How can we create an educational system that is more participatory, more engaging and - most important - better at enabling each learner to move at their own pace? How do we move entire institutions to leverage mobile devices and transition to digital resources? And, how do we do this in a time of deep economic crisis where the new normal requires us to "do more with less?" read more...

Don Knezek Chief Executive Officer International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Leadership, Risk, and Innovation in Learning - Courage for the Next Level A fundamental enabler of innovation in learning models and in teaching techniques is the commitment to risk-taking by instructional leaders. Research results are important. Measurement of student growth is informative. But the creation of a culture that equally values creative visioning and risk-taking is the key. Participants will have the opportunity to consider whether or not they have the courage required to be part of the educational transformation that takes advantage of the new world of digital resources and tools. read more...

Sara Sintonen Teacher educator / researcher University of Helsinki, Finland Beyond Pisa Success - ICT and Freedom of Choice Thanks to PISA (The Programme for International Student Assessment), Finnish schools and school practices have recently been brought into the focus of international attention. Is there a secret formula behind the remarkable success? This presentation reveals how role of ICT in teaching and learning as well as teachers' pedagogical freedom can contribute to outstanding PISA results. Creative Digital Learning and the Finnish School Tomorrow The Finnish basic education curriculum can be characterized as comprehensive. The comprehensive approach forms solid foundation for future learning. However, the education system needs to be developed to match the requirements of 21st century. Which direction best caters for this need? Creative digital learning is seen as a future trend, not only as a function of creativeness but also as a basis for comprehensive learning experience. In this presentation I will show Finnish examples of creative digital learning as participatory, expressive and communicative knowledge building process. read more...

Thomas Daccord Co-Director, EdTechTeacher Assessment 2.0: Assessing for Learning through ICT-enriched Activities What does assessment look like in a Digital Age classroom of Web 2.0 integration and multimodal projects? How do we distinguish between higher-order thinking and "bells-and-whistles?" In this session we will explore the role of a "logic model" and backward-design principles in developing effective assessment of multimedia ICT-infused activities. We will look at rubrics and storyboarding techniques that help establish a clear relationship between project goals and skill benchmarks. We will also focus on the critical role of formative assessments and timely intervention. Furthermore, we will also examine how a "2.0" assessment differ from a traditional assessment. A fundamental goal is to identify characteristics of effective assessments that link to and measure student mastery of worthwhile learning goals. Not Another Paper! Alternative Projects & Social Media In the Digital Age the dominance of conventional, linear text of the last few centuries is eroding and giving way to multimodal communication, with a screen-based, non-linear, and visual emphasis. While strong conventional prose remains a critical component of effective communication, a literate 21st century global citizen must also be able to communicate effectively in multiple modalities and combine varied media. Join in reviewing alternative activities and projects using interactive technologies and see how online social media is empowering student-centered leaning. The session will focus on models for alternative online communication and collaboration using wikis, online social networks, Google Docs, storytelling animation, e-book creation and other technologies. The iPad Classroom: ShareAlike The iPad is quickly emerging as a favourite device of educators for a variety of reasons: flexibility, portability, engagement, intriguing apps, and more. In addition, great possibilities exist for integration with Web 2.0: slideshows, podcasts, whiteboards, photo galleries, videos, ebooks, and more. Moreover, as the iPad evolves -- and apps become more powerful -- the device becomes more versatile and its creative potential increases. So, how do you use an iPad effectively in the classroom and what are the best apps and Web tools to boost learning, nurture creativity, and ensure productivity? Bring your iPad (or laptop) and share your favourite apps and best practices. After an opening presentation that showcases powerful apps and new tablet-centered textbooks, participants will be invited to share their favourite educational apps, Web tools, and classroom strategies that up the device's potential. The session will also outline some of the effective ways that U.S. educators are already integrating the iPad in their classrooms. read more...

Li-Kai Chen Partner McKinsey and Company, Malaysia How the World's Most Improved School Systems Keep Getting Better These were the questions policymakers and education leaders asked us in the wake of our 2007 report How the World's Best Performing School Systems Come Out on Top, in which we examined the common attributes of high-performing school systems. In our 2010 report, How the World's Most Improved School Systems Keep Getting Better, we attempt to answer these questions. We analyzed twenty systems from around the world, all with improving but differing levels of performance, examining how each has achieved significant, sustained, and widespread gains in student outcomes, as measured by international and national assessments. Based on over 200 interviews with system stakeholders and analysis of some 600 interventions carried out by these systems -- together comprising what we believe is the most comprehensive database of global school system reform ever assembled -- this report identifies the reform elements that are replicable for school systems elsewhere as they move from poor to fair to good to great to excellent performance. read more...