I’m heading to Phoenix, Arizona tomorrow morning to visit one of our Generation YES districts, Paradise Valley, a fast growing suburb of a fast growing city. Paradise Valley is hosting a Mediafest tomorrow night to showcase their district’s technology efforts.
The 2008 PVUSD MediaFest will showcase technology and how it impacts — and adds value to — the classroom, as well as to thank parents and citizens who supported the Paradise Valley Unified School District’s capital budget override.
There are 17 schools in this district doing GenYES, where students are responsible for helping teachers with technology integration. These students are a big part of how PVUSD defines successful technology integration now and in the future. I’m looking forward to seeing the students in action.
The smart thing they are doing is making sure that the parents and citizens of Paradise Valley can truly see that the money they gave the district was well spent. This Mediafest will show how technology can be used for appropriate, academic purposes by students and how it’s making a visible difference in every classroom, grade level and subject area.
I think the ONLY way to convince people that technology belongs in the classroom is to show them what it looks like, and make it so good that it’s undeniable.
Plus, thanks to Twitter, I’m having dinner with some people I’ve never met in person before! Very cool.