Digital Learning Day 2014: K-12 Kids, Tech and You

Written by Ann McMullan

It’s Digital Learning Day 2014. Here’s what it’s all about — and how you can get in on the action.

Special to aNewDomain.net — Today is Digital Learning Day 2014. Every year during the first week of February the Alliance for Excellent Education honors innovative teachers and forward-thinking students who make great use of technology. Here’s Angeline Anderson and Ann McMullan with more …

It’s Digital Learning Day again. That means it’s time to showcase the impact technology is having in classrooms, schools and school districts nationally and globally.

A product and process of the Alliance for Excellent Education, Digital Learning Day is a celebration of innovative teachers and students’ effective use of digital learning.

It’s a real opportunity for those inside and outside school systems to see firsthand what 21st century learning looks like.

Check out the highly-engaging materials and resources that are available on the Digital Learning Day website. They’re part of an ongoing effort to support educators as they navigate the shift to fully integrating digital learning into school environments.

The goal is to achieve greater results for all students.

Typically considered a U.S. event, this year Digital Learning Day is expanding internationally in a big way. Australia, Canada, Egypt, South Africa and other countries are sharing their own digital learning stories. And students and teachers in all those countries are joining together not just to demonstrate their unique transitions to digital learning, but also to consider the collective impact on student engagement and achievement.

Digital Learning Day is at its best a celebration and demonstration of outstanding use of technology in K-12 schools, but that’s not the Alliance for Excellent Education’s primary mission. Rather, the AEE’s goal is to promote high school transformation to a degree that makes it possible for every child to graduate — and be fully prepared for post-secondary learning and lasting success in life.

Based in Washington, D.C., the work of the Alliance for Excellent Education extends into research, advocacy and policy.

The Digital Learning Day site provides ample information for first-timers and veterans of Digital Learning Day to participate in a broad spectrum of events. These include live events from the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. Among them is a panel, moderated by PBS NewsHour’s Judy Woodruff, called “Making a Difference with Digital Learning.”

Webcasts throughout the day feature guest appearances and lively discussion from dignitaries of the FCC, U.S. Department of Education, and the U.S. Congress. Student debates on the following three critical topics dealing with life in a digital world will also be transmitted live. Here are the questions they’ll deal with:

1) Can CNN, PBS, and the New York Times keep up with breaking news or is social media the future?

2)  Should colleges be allowed to take your digital footprint — via your social media presence — into consideration when making admissions decisions?

3) Should students be required to learn code — and computer science — in high school?

Let us know what you think in the comments section below the fold.

Registration is required for all Digital Learning Day events. For full details and instructions on how you register and participate in Digital Learning Day activities, just head over to the Digital Learning Day site. Follow Digital Learning Day on Twitter @OfficialDLDay and use the #DLDay hashtag if you tweet about it.

For aNewDomain.net, this is Angie Anderson and Ann McMullan reporting.

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