Retrieved from: https://www.edtechteam.com/team/jenniemagiera/
Jennie Magiera is the Chief Program Officer for EdTechTeam, an organization that is dedicated to using technology to improve education, as well as being a former elementary school teacher. She is an advocate for technology in the classroom and empowers teachers and students to be inquisitive and inventive, encouraging integration of technology that can provide structural support for those ambitions. In 2012, she was the White House Champion for Change, Chicago Public Schools Tech Innovator of the Year and 17th on 2013’s Top Expert in #eLearning and #EdTech, among other awards.
One of Magiera’s significant contributions to the field, is her championing using 1:1 devices, such as iPads to increase learner creativity, self-efficacy and metacognition. Furthermore, she has championed supporting educators to implement edtech, emphasizing the importance of teacher knowledge and confidence with technology. While still a teacher, she started a blog called Teaching Like its 2999 that provided informative solutions and ideas to other teachers, based on her experiences. The success of this led to her book Courageous Edventures, which offers a roadmap for educators to use technology in teaching.
I chose Magiera to highlight because she combines education and technology with principles of equity. She works with several organizations, such as Edsurge, where she now blogs, that focuses on how technology can support equitable opportunities in education and Our Voice Academy that works to empower educators of colour. In her 2014 TEDx Talk, she expresses the desire to shift “power to the pupil”. Her emphasis on democratizing educational technology resonated with me, as she serves as a role model of how some of the best innovations and transformative learning blossom from the bedrock of our education system, teachers.
References:
ISTE. (2017, November 21). Setting free the untold stories in education | Jennie Magiera, ISTE 2017 Keynote. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgIAh4_1EvE
Magiera, J. [Jennie] (n.d.) Posts [LinkedIn page]. Retrieved September 13, 2019 from https://www.linkedin.com/in/magiera#targetText=Jennie%20Magiera%20is%20the%20Chief,the%20author%20of%20Courageous%20Edventures.
Obama Whitehouse Archives. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/champions/connected/jennie-magiera
TEDx Talks. (2014, November 3). Power to the pupil | Jennifer Magiera | TEDxBurnsvilleED. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olOVzE0ujJ8&feature=youtu.be
September 14, 2019 at 6:18 pm
Hi Sanjay,
Thanks for posting Jennie Magiera’s information and links.
I really enjoyed her Finding Your Happy Place Along the Problematic ‘Personalized Learning’ Continuum article. It had some great points about the important role the instructor has in a properly delivered class. I especially liked how she expresses the need for teachers to work directly with students to help build skills, provide guidance and emotional growth.
I think this is the first article I’ve read where the author recognizes the potential stress on the students as we all move toward new delivery models.
Her article on Digital Traps was also very interesting too. I loved how she draws attention to the pitfalls of technology use. The dangers of Echo Chambers, advocating for vetting news sources while highlighting positive uses of Snapchat, Twitter and the like.
What do you think of her observations on creating digital connections? What sort of ‘concrete programs’ do you think she was envisioning? I wasn’t sure if she was suggesting a “How to use XYZ platform in a positive way!” class or a more organic system where the students learn that skill without it being expressly stated as an intended learning outcome.
Thanks for providing some interesting reading.
Owen
September 15, 2019 at 5:44 pm
Hi Owen – thank you for your reflection on my post. I also enjoyed the Digital Traps article. I appreciated her highlighting the pitfall of ‘auditing your sources’ – this is something I talk about a lot with students. There is so much misinformation that can be very quickly spread and we need to ensure that users within a digital space, have strong skills in being able to evaluate and assess the quality and validity of information. As well, I appreciated her highlighting how technology can be used for good – often we hear about the negative, however, it is also an incredible platform (specifically social media) to be able to spread knowledge, diverse perspectives and create platforms for marginalized voices that are often not represented/heard in the mainstream.
To your question, though I can’t be sure of her perspective, I think perhaps by ‘concrete programs’, she may be thinking of embedding skills such digital citizenship. Personally, I think digital citizenship skills need to be more fulsomely and meaningfully integrated across the education system.
September 16, 2019 at 1:26 am
Hi Sanjay, I enjoyed your post. What an inspirational woman! All the different roles she’s taken on and how she advocates for ALL students in each of her roles. She also comes up with very clever phrases such as “power to the pupil”. Love it. I’m going to check out her blog.
September 16, 2019 at 3:37 pm
Hi Sanjay, her work with the students in the underprivilege areas are inspiring. I resonated with her belief systems that education and creativity should not be a privilege and based on your area code. As she stated eloquently, change is hard and often we all experience and appreciate the hard work required to shift old habits and ways of thinking. Same issues in the education system as well as in learning organizations. As we move forward in edtech, I think this will be a tension that we will come to face consistently, as history showed us. However, the bright spot (as Jennie advice to us) is not to be complacent and always ask ourselves difficult questions and at the same time celebrate our accomplishments. Thanks for sharing her work.