Debbie Magee, Program Manager (AASA) and Active Member of the Digital Consortium

My journey with the Digital Consortium began the summer of 2017, although the group launched in 2014. As I reflect on my journey from the perspective as an AASA staff member and as a parent to four students traveling on their educational journey, I am excited and impressed with the vision, the dedication, and collaboration involved to accomplish the work in which members of the cohort are engaged. I am continually impressed and inspired by the passion shared by our host district superintendents as they tell their story and share the work that their staff, students, board and community members have completed or are currently working on.

I’ve had the opportunity to visit Highline Public Schools (WA), Mehlville School District (MO), Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools (NC), Avon Local School District (OH), Ephrata Area School District (PA), and Wilson County Schools (TN). We have explored the work these districts are doing to incorporate technology in a meaningful way into the curriculum for their students. For example, as I watched students digitally dissecting a frog, I could clearly see how schools and districts are breaking barriers previously imposed through more traditional approaches to curriculum and instruction.

We also observed spaces and flexible furniture that the districts are using, re-purposing traditional resources (e.g., a bus made into a traveling MakerSpace), or building to meet the needs of our 21st-century students. These districts are creating a new infrastructure to meet the demands that changing technology is requiring. Members of the consortium are also seeing the relationships each district has built with community members in an effort to benefit students, using technology to access relevant knowledge and provide learning experiences that will allow our students to discover both their passion and potential career paths as well as provide our community businesses with future employees (e.g., Boeing, Lorain County Community College and the Cleveland Clinic).

Participation in the Digital Consortium helps all who attend to see the amazing opportunities available to students across our country, share their respective journeys with others to allow a “critical friend” perspective to advance their work exponentially, and succeed in refreshing their own passion to continue their work to improve learning and development opportunities for kids!

Contact Information: #AASA_DigitalConsortium;  Aasa.org/DigitalConsortium.aspx