Monica Burns - EdTech Essentials: The Top 10 Technology Strategies for All Learning Environments

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Through her extensive experience and vast knowledge of educational technology, Monica Burns has created a resource that every educator will benefit from. Her book focuses squarely on what the learner can and should be doing with digital tools to develop needed competencies in a rapidly changing world. Although technology continues to change at a rapid pace, Monica reminds us that it is effective pedagogy that matters above all else. This easy read is packed with practical strategies that can be used immediately.

Eric Sheninger, associate partner, International Center for Leadership in Education and best-selling author

EdTech Essentials removes all the clutter from what's out there and available for teachers and students. Monica shares tons of ideas that put students first in both face-to-face and online learning spaces. This book is filled with practical ideas, resources, classroom examples, and reflection opportunities. Readers are sure to walk away with a filled tool belt to help students become more productive, collaborative, and innovative. A must-read for every educator's professional toolbox!

Dr. Natasha Rachell, digital learning specialist, Atlanta Public Schools

Monica Burns, EdTech leader extraordinaire, is a teacher's best friend, an administrator's ally, and a student's greatest advocate in the world of EdTech and learning. This book is her greatest yet: a brilliant and thoughtful guide for how to make the EdTech experience matter, deepen our work with students, and invigorate teaching and learning on every level. She is a caring, humanizing voice for excellence in teaching and learning with EdTech warming our journey and giving us and our students tools for success. Don't miss EdTech Essentials!

Pam Allyn, literacy expert, author, and activist

Every classroom teacher, from kindergarten through higher education, needs this book, and every school and university needs it to lead a book study and ongoing professional development for their teachers. EdTech Essentials will empower educators to create learning environments where students gain confidence in digital spaces, collaborate and communicate in meaningful ways, and create to showcase their learning.

Tisha Poncio, digital learning specialist

Monica Burns has done it again. Filled with practical information, EdTech Essentials narrows down the most vital areas for classroom technology use to make sure students are being supported in every way they interact in digital spaces. Whether you are an administrator supporting teachers and making plans for your school year or a teacher looking to infuse high-quality digital learning experiences into your lessons, this book will help you prioritize the skills that matter most and give you the tools you need to guide your students' growth as creators, consumers, and collaborators. Filled with today's most robust tools and resources that you can use tomorrow, EdTech Essentials should be the next book on your professional reading list!

Thomas C. Murray, director of innovation, Future Ready Schools, Washington, D.C.

EdTech Essentials provides an important action plan for teachers and schools implementing technology to facilitate learning. This book includes indispensable examples, prompts, and teaching strategies across grade levels and diverse learning environments to help students navigate the digital landscape in school and beyond. Dr. Monica Burns guides readers through learning experiences that showcase positive digital citizenship and empower students to be collaborators and creators in our digital world.

Michele L. Haiken, EdD, author and educator

Bravo to trusted EdTech expert Monica Burns for creating such a timely and fabulous resource for today's classrooms and students! After the pandemic, we need innovative yet accessible strategies for balancing the changing role of technology in schools. EdTech Essentials is loaded with practical suggestions that will make this a popular go-to reference you won't want to miss!

Lori Oczkus, literacy consultant and author of Reciprocal Teaching at Work

EdTech Essentials is a celebration of the effective infusion of EdTech strategies into the classroom. Monica's love for sharing the best tools and the skills and protocols to ensure all students are successful is on full display in this new go-to resource for educators.

Al Thomas, global educational speaker and consultant

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To my mother: a teacher, mentor, and source of inspiration.

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When we think of "the essentials," a few things come to mind, such as water, food, and shelter. Depending on whom you talk to, some might add Wi-Fi, a smartphone, or a favorite book to the list. Bringing it down to the basics, the Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines essential as follows:

• Of the utmost importance
• Something necessary, indispensable, or unavoidable

In today's environment, the ability to use technology effectively has become an essential. New technology has changed how we communicate, navigate the world, and create contentand we know more change is inevitable.

In this book, we will examine the EdTech skills and strategies that are essential for all students if we want to prepare them to succeed in the digital world of today and tomorrow. Although many children have access to digital tools both inside and outside of school, the quality of those experiences can vary greatly. If we truly believe the role of education in society is to prepare all children for success beyond the classroom, students must participate in meaningful, robust EdTech experiences. Because these kinds of experiences are necessary for every classroom, in this book I share stories, ideas, and action items customizable for kindergarten through 12th grade and relevant across all subject areas.

With so much going on in the EdTech space, focusing on the essentials is key. I have narrowed the list to 10 indispensable skills and strategies, highlighting the roles of teachers and students. If you are familiar with my book Tasks Before Apps: Designing Rigorous Learning in a Tech-Rich Classroom (Burns, 2017b), you know I firmly believe that, with all things related to technology, learning must be front and center, and digital tools should be used with intention.

I am often asked to speak on how to "make the most" of educational technology. Whether in a keynote presentation or in a casual conversation, I often bring it back to the wormsvermicomposting, to be more specific.

As a teacher in New York City, I started my career in a classroom with chalk, a chalkboard, and an overhead projector. Then iPads came on the scene, and I was lucky enough to pilot a one-on-one initiative with my 5th graders. So where do the worms come into play? In one corner of my classroom was a bright and shiny cart of new iPads, and in another was a bucket of wormsa compost bin, to be precise. There was no way we could ever drop a banana peel or an apple core into that iPad cart and expect anything good to come of it. But if we dropped these compostable items into our bin of worms, some serious change would take place. Both the cart and the bin had a purpose, and one wouldn't replace the other.