1. Discussant Presentation:
The Change Agents
EDUC 5205
Laurie Corrigan
Marc Longo
Joyce Thomas

2. Article Summary
Change agent 1: Democratization of Learning
• With a plethora of free and easily accessible info available to
students, teachers are being challenged on their knowledge but some
embrace it as a way to identify student interests and expand on topics
• Teachers need to assess student prior knowledge and design
instruction with individualized learning paths
• Include digital content whenever possible, but choose content by
filtering it through the school curriculum

3. Article Summary
Change agent 2: Participatory Learning
• Collaboration is important to learning, and currently this is
underutilized
• The internet could facilitate additional collaboration
• International connections: Students can learn about things like media
bias by speaking directly to the people in different areas of the world
that are making news
• Collaboration should be stressed over competition within education

4. Article Summary
Change agent 3: Authentic Learning
• Students want to know about the complexities of the world
today, and this type of learning is very engaging
• Three things that are critical to authentic learning:
• Work must have meaning to students outside of the classroom
• In-depth study into the subject area so that students can become experts
• Students use what was learned to produce something

5. Article Summary
Change agent 4: Multimodal Learning
• Learning is improved through a combination of text and visuals
because the brain processes these two things differently
• “Students need to be prepared not only to interpret and analyze such
media, but also compose and produce communication using such
media”
• Teachers should encourage the inclusion of visuals (eg. graphs) in student
work
• Digital Storytelling is another useful medium for classroom use

6. Democratization of Learning…
Please welcome our special guests!

7. Cheryl Lemke
• Cheryl Lemke is the CEO of the Metiri Group, a learning technology consulting firm based in Los
Angeles, California.
• Earlier in her career she taught high school mathematics for nine years, in both inner city and
rural settings.
• 25 years’ experience in public education, she has held positions as the state technology director
in Washington, the associate superintendent for learning technology for the Illinois State Board of
Education and the executive director for the Milken Exchange on Education Technology for the
Milken Family Foundation.
• Cheryl has published articles and appeared in a variety of media outlets such as Education Week,
eSchool News, THE Journal, and numerous other publications.
• Cheryl has served on the Executive Board for the International Society for Technology in
Education (ISTE) for two terms and has been honoured by professional organisations throughout
the United States.
• Tech Forum. (2014). Insight and Innovation for Technology Leaders. Retrieved from
http://www.techlearning.com/events/techforum/Sd06/speakers#sthash.yZHmW4T5.dpuf

8. Edward Coughlin
• Ed Coughlin is the Senior Vice-President of the Metiri Group. Mr. Coughlin has over 20
years of experience in professional development related to technology at the
local, state, and national levels.
• He is the primary author of a recent publication of the Milken Exchange, The Professional
Competency Continuum: Professional Skills for the Digital Age Classroom.
• One of the principal Designers of a web-based assessment tool that will be used in largescale professional development initiatives in several states in the United States.
• He is a frequent presenter at national and regional conferences and is currently serving
as a consultant on statewide training projects in Washington, North Dakota, and Illinois.
• Ed was previously the director of the Area One Learning Technology Hub, an
intermediate state technology support office, which served more than 1300 schools in
the Chicago area.
• Metiri Group. (2014). Metiri Group Educational Technology – 21st Century Skills.
Retrieved from http://metiri.com/team/ed-coughlin/

9. Question 1
Given that it has been five years since you have
co-authored the article, what barriers still exist to
the democratization of the learning process?
What barriers have been eliminated?

10. Question 2
Given the focus in the US and Canada on the standardization
of learning through state and provincial assessments, should
we be using technology and its applications as a part of the
standardized tests in use. In other words, if these elements
are 21st century necessary skills, then why is the evaluation of
technology and its applications, not part of state and
provincial assessments?

11. Question 3
Research has indicated that teachers typically use
technologies they are familiar with, often as a result of
colleagues’ influence. How can this technological
design process be implemented in secondary and
elementary schools, and/or adult learning
environments using the technologies you discussed?

12. Question 4
E-learning is a viable learning opportunity, however, all
too often it turns into a correspondence course. How
can e-learning be used more effectively, given current
technological resources in schools?

13. Question 5
The article stated that now is an ideal time to initiate
changes because funding has "opened a window for
opportunity". If funding is an issue (whether in the
United States or other countries), how would the
strategies that you have outlined be modified? What is
your take on the BYOD (bring your own device) policy
that is becoming common in many schools in Ontario?

14. Question 6
What will the K-12 classroom look like in 10
years? 20 years?

15. Question 7
What could be the biggest challenges facing school
leadership? For example, hiring the next generation of
teachers when we are facing declining enrolment? (A
year fifteen teacher, who graduated from university
between 1995 and 2000, may very well still be teaching
in 20 years.)

16. Question 8
Recently, educational theorists have espoused on the
value of collaboration as an essential 21st century skill.
Currently, both Skype and Twitter have great potential
as participatory learning venues. Interestingly, their
value may be greatest in terms of both an out of
classroom learning experience and a socially motivated
method of communication. Please comment.

17. Question 9
In the article the democratization of knowledge is listed as
change agent one. Is the implication that the foundation of
21st century learning is an individualized learning pathway,
WHERE ACCESS TO KNOWLEDGE IS LESS PRECRIBED (not a
textbook) AND TEACHER CONTROLLED? What is the balance
between an individualized learning pathway and an
opportunity to collaborate with others?

18. Question 10
With the overwhelming amount of technology available, why
do gaps in the understanding of how to use this technology for
educational purposes persist among students?
Is the use of technology at the point of learning, a ‘GAP
CLOSER’ and ‘EDUCATIONAL PLAYING FIELD LEVELER’, or
another way in which the socio-economically disadvantaged
are falling further behind?

19. Question 11
How can teachers ensure that authentic learning
takes place using technology?

20. Question 12
Given the status of our new generation of students as digital
natives, the extreme amount of digital content that they
process everyday can often amount to "white noise".
However, this bombardment of media has not shown an
increase in Ontario students' skills in the interpretation and
analysis of graphical text. This seems counter-intuitive. How
can three-dimensional learning be achieved from learning
experiences based primarily on digital content?

21. Question 13
In a final reflection, based on your development and
testing of Dimensions21, the comprehensive tool for
evaluating school or district status in supporting 21st
Century Skills, what starting point would you advise
leaders to focus on understanding first before
implementing a school or organisation plan for
technology?

22. Questions from the class…

23. Final Reflection Activity
Please go to the link below and give us your input on
Padlet:
http://padlet.com/wall/jwbrk9frbd

24. References
Lemke, C. & Coughlin, E. (2009). The change agents. Educational
Leadership, 67(1), 54-59. Retrieved from:
http://mrborden.edublogs.org/files/2012/07/Tech_M3_Reading
_The_Change_Agents-w1hzma.pdf