SETDA – Wrap-up

SETDA has been a great conference. I have appreciated the opportunity to network with the people in charge of educational technology for each state department and have had some interesting and powerful conversations about the state of ed tech across the country.

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Yesterday I was on discussion panels for most of the day so I couldn’t exactly take notes. I was supposed to be on the 21st century skills panel with Ken Kay and others but was moved at the last minute to the panel on transformative leadership. The best part of that move was the chance to meet and spend time with Chris Lehmann, principal of the Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia.

Chris is my hero. He’s progressive, he’s smart, he’s enthusiastic, and his school is doing really neat things with its 1:1 laptop initiative for urban kids in Philly. In short, he’s a great model for 21st century building-level leadership. If you want to get a sense of what Chris is all about, listen to his interview with Steve Hargadon and check out his blog, Practical Theory.

Today everyone is heading to “the Hill” to meet with Congressional representatives and their staff about K-12 educational technology funding. Wish ‘em luck.