Richmond Public Schools hosted the first Kids and Technology Day on April 18 from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. at Henderson Middle School. Students and staff demonstrated how technology is being incorporated in classrooms throughout the district. Additionally, fair booths showcased various educational technologies on topics such as podcasting, SMART boards, assistive technology and SOL Pass.
Nationally acclaimed guest speaker David Warlick captivated the audience with his speech regarding major cultural paradigm shifts and what it means for modern education. He discussed how children who are already demonstrating to educators what technologies that respond to (by the obvious trends in use of mp3 players, cell phones, touchscreens, and interactive gaming devices like the Wii) are not going to be able to learn by looking at a textbook printed decades ago. He was also on hand to share national trends emerging in technology and social media. You can read his blog entry about the event here: http://davidwarlick.com/wordpress/?p=349
Wheat Systems was out in full force with Tod Balsbaugh, Matt Cash, Bethany McQuillen, and Wyndham Murray. We had an exhibit featuring 2 screens of simultaneous video-casting, a craft table for children to make "magic jumping packets" and learn about how information travels through networks by routers and switches, a Liebert portable MCR (mini computer room) which was a big hit, and an Aethra Maia videoconferencing phone.