Teaching Strategies and Examples From Intel CEO

When Intel CEO Craig Barrett addressed an overflow audience of educators at the largest annual educational technology conference, he outlined a three-part process for transforming teaching and learning so that today's students will master Twenty-First Century skills. Innovation, collaboration, and replication are key strategies that will enable teachers to "feed your students' passion for learning and let their creativity run wild," Barrett said in the keynote address at the National Educational Computing Conference (NECC), held in New Orleans in June.

	Craig Barrett with Vanessa Jones and student at NECC.

The former Stanford University professor painted a global geopolitical picture to help the audience understand the urgency of improving education. Some three billion people from India, China, Russia, and Eastern Europe have now joined the free market economy, and that means "unprecedented competition" for U.S. students, he said.

Technology offers educators a powerful set of tools to make change happen in their classrooms. Today's technologies provide instant access to massive amounts of information; multimedia applications engage students in hands-on, active, inquiry-based learning; and communications tools build collaboration and expand communities of learners. However, Barrett focused on teachers as the "spark of transformation" to unlock students' abilities.

Teachers and the highly skilled technology workforce share the same need for sustained professional development, Barrett said, drawing applause with the reminder that "teachers are professionals." To continue expanding and adapting their skills in the classroom, teachers need access to effective tools and resources, support from leaders, and recognition and replication of good ideas, he said. Those are also the cornerstones of the Intel® Innovation in Education initiative.

Real-Life Examples
To show what Twenty-First Century learning looks like, Barrett invited a few tech-savvy educators and their students to join him on stage. Will Richardson, a technology specialist from Flemington, New Jersey, described how he uses weblogs as a tool to motivate his young writers and expand a high school journalism classroom by connecting online with experts who join the discourse. Vanessa Jones, a Master Teacher from Austin, Texas, explained how she has become more confident and competent about integrating technology into elementary classroom projects by participating in the Intel® Teach to the Future professional development program. Michael Hall from Warner Robins, Georgia, described how access to technology for teachers willing to embrace innovation has transformed "a regular high school" into the school that has become an international showcase Twenty-First Century learning. (See related story: Top 20 U.S. Schools Honored for Excellence)

Barrett contrasted such learning experiences with his own education—in the days before global Internet access made finding information instantaneous. Unlike today's online learners, he had to "scrounge for references" in dusty library stacks. "Technology has changed the way we behave and created capabilities that were not there before," he said. Demonstrations, workshops, and special events during NECC introduced hundreds of educators to the free tools, resources, and professional development opportunities offered by Intel Innovation in Education. The global initiative helps today's students develop the thinking and problem-solving skills they will need to succeed in the Twenty-First Century. To learn more, visit www.intel.com/education.