MAISD Tech Integration

Hi! Diane asked me to share a bit about the Constructivist Consortium, so here goes!

Back in 2007, Gary (Stager) came up to David and I at an educational technology conference lamenting the lack of exciting, engaging, and constructivist tools. After thanking us for doing good things we kids, we started talking about getting together with a small group of publishers to support each other and promote open-ended, creative, student-centered work with technology. He talked the Peter (Reynolds) at Fablevision and a few other vendors, and the Constructivist Consortium was started.

Members of the Consortium include Tech4Learning, Generation YES, LCSI, SchoolKit, Inspiration, and Fablevision. We have been working as a team to raise awareness about constructivist uses of technology and have sponsored events like the Constructivist Celebration and Constructing Modern Knowledge to foster this type of learning environment.

Constructivist Consortium companies believe:

• the learner should be at the center of the educational process
• students need to be empowered to succeed
• computers and technology provide new ways for children to learn
• educational technology should be creative, open-ended, and flexible
• students must be given opportunities to collaborate, communicate, create, and publish

To get a feel for the learning environment the Consortium is trying to foster, I encourage you to join us at a Constructivist Celebration. We will once again have a Celebration the Sunday before NECC in Washington DC. Last year, the event sold out in less than 35 hours, so be sure to get on the mailing list, so that you are one of the first to hear about the event and register! The cost is usually minimal and you get lots of free software that more than makes up for your registration cost.

You can find out more about the Constructivist Consortium at our website: www.constructivistconsortium.org

To sign up for our mailing list, visit:
http://constructivistconsortium.org/signup

Have a great week! Lindie