EdTech Leaders Praise for Digital Learning |
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language about digital technologies is obsolete, because we talk about
information technologies (which is so 1980s) and communication
technologies (which is so 1990s) when, at this point in history, our
media enable creation and collaboration and sharing of knowledge. This
empowers active learning in the many different forms Ferdi Serim
describes in this book. So our challenge is no longer the limits of our
technology, but instead involves moving past the psychological,
political, and cultural barriers that leave us talking about and using
learning media as if they were still information and communication.
Ferdi describes how work in educational technologies at this time is a
chance to leave your footprints in history. – Dr. Chris Dede, Timothy E. Wirth Professor in Learning Technologies, Harvard University
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Ferdi
Serim brings a passion to his work, offering educators an introduction
to digital learning as well as a friendly support system to jump-start
the planning that must precede the best project-based digital learning
experiences. His discussion of digital technology tools makes it easy
to imagine how they might be employed to create powerful learning
adventures, regardless of the quantity of digital tools available in
any given classroom. Focusing on such skills as creativity and
collaboration in the multitude of rich examples discussed throughout
the book, Ferdi offers educators a gentle push that might be needed to
help them think more creatively themselves and collaborate more with
their peers to examine their teaching. – Monica Beglau, Director eMINTS
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| I’ve known Ferdi Serim for more than 20 years, seeking his advice and
expertise during the preparation of the Office of Technology Assessment
studies on technology and learning during the eight years of the
Clinton Administration when I led the Office of Educational Technology.
I’ve been impressed with his vision and pragmatic approach to effective
and innovative use of technology and I, and many others, have benefited
from his extensive experience and his ability to lead the field in new
directions at the local level in school districts, at the state level,
and in national discussions. His knowledge and his passion give him
credibility with educational leaders and policy makers and with
practitioners as well. – Linda G. Roberts, Founding Director, Office of Educational Technology, US Department of Education 1994-2001
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If
we are going to unlock the creativity of the students, we first have to
unlock the creativity of the teachers. But when we talk about turning
students into expert learners, I don't think there is a way to do that
without totally transforming the pedagogical practice. We are not going
to turn students into expert learners if you perpetuate a curricular
model that is, for example, textbook-driven rather than working with
primary sources, when possible, or a model that involves students doing
authentic projects, and ultimately projects of their own design, which
leads to creativity, certainly there. Digital Learning provides the
road map and on-ramps for the required transformations of teaching and
learning. – Dr. David Thornburg
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| Ferdi is a true EdTech pioneer! He has leveraged his classroom success
as a creative educator to advocate effectively for our field, and his
understanding of the power of technology to improve learning is
exceptional. Back in 1995, Los Alamos National Laboratory turned to
Ferdi to create professional development modules in one of the
country’s earliest online science and technology initiatives. His
abilities to translate effective instructional design and practice into
programs that provide an on- ramp for digital age learning have been
widely used by the US Department of Education, the Milken Family
Foundation, Education Testing Service, and the Singapore and Malaysia
Ministries of Education. Ferdi is one of those rare individuals who
knows how to facilitate second-order change. - Kurt A. Steinhaus, Ed.D.
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The
explosive emergence of computer-based interactive technologies means
that the successful schools of tomorrow will bear little resemblance to
the schools of today. Ferdi Serim points the way to that future by
combining ground-breaking educational vision with intensely practical
application in establishing powerful new technology-centered learning
communities. – Dr. Odvard Egil Dyrli,
Emeritus Professor of Education, The University of Connecticut,
Emeritus Editor-in-Chief, District Administration magazine
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