Name: Kyle Pace (@kylepace | http://www.kylepace.com)
Current title: Instructional Technology Specialist
Selected accolades: I am a Google Certified Teacher and am currently pursuing an Ed.D. degree in Educational Leadership from Baker University. Organizer of Edcamp KC ((http://edcampkc.wikispaces.com/)) (Saturday, November 5th, 2011), #edchat moderator (Tuesdays @ Noon and 7PM)
What skill(s) do you feel are most important for today’s students to explore in academic settings (tech or non-tech related)?
It’s time for school to not look as much like, well, school. Students need to be having real world, authentic learning experiences that get them asking lots of questions, testing theories they’ve formulated, and creating new content. We live in a world where we are able to consume information at a rate equivalent to drinking from a fire hose. Schools have sadly become all too quick to ban, block, and deny our students of some of these resources. We need to be teaching our students how to be producers of content, not just consumers of content.
What is the best part of your job?
The best part of my job is getting to work with teachers and students that are excited about the positive impact technology can have on learning. We have to move from just thinking about what a tool can do and instead think how it’s going to make learning better.
From where do you draw professional inspiration? How do you stay connected and grow as an educator?
I grow every day as an educator through the multiple components of my PLN (Personal Learning Network). This usually is Twitter, Diigo, Google Reader (too many blogs to count), and writing on my own blog. So much great stuff out there and so many great people I get to talk to every day. Plus, it’s free!
Any words of advice for educators?
The amount of online opportunities for teachers to connect and learn with each other as well as connect our students is making the world smaller. We have resources like The Educator’s PLN, Twitter, Diigo, and blogs that bring us all together every day to making learning better for our students. We are in a time of no one having to feel isolated in their teaching practices with all the ways we have to publish and share the great things that are happening in school. We truly are better together.