August 04, 2024

Edufuturists #253 Bring the Students With You with Kern Kelley

57 minutes

In this episode, Ben & Steve are joined by Kern Kelley, a Technology Integrator in central Maine, USA at R.S.U. #19. Kern started as a fifth-grade teacher and loved the ability to integrate different subjects and build a community in the classroom. He started involving students in tech support, which led to the creation of a tech help show and workshops. Kern became a technology integrator for the district, where he had the freedom to use his time and energy as he saw fit. He focused on building students' trust and giving them opportunities to present and travel.

Kern believes in the importance of inspiring students and creating immersive experiences through augmented reality (AR) and AI, while still valuing the role of teachers in curating and facilitating learning. He discusses his experience as a technology integrator and the evolution of technology integration over the past 20 years. He shares how he started by introducing technology to classrooms and gradually developed a comprehensive system of technology integration from K-12. Kern also talks about the STEM to Strings programme, where students learn about science, technology, engineering, and math through the process of building their own electric guitars. He emphasises the importance of project-based learning, student leadership, and creating a culture of empathy in education.

Chapters

00:00 Integrating Subjects and Building Community

01:36 Empowering Students through Tech Support and Leadership

03:28 The Importance of Trust in Student Leadership

13:08 Enhancing Learning with Augmented Reality and AI

27:00 The Evolution of Technology Integration

29:26 Project-Based Learning and Technology Integration

32:10 STEM to Strings: From Nature to End Product

33:33 Fostering Empathy and Student Leadership

Kern discusses 3 projects which you can check out below:

Creating an Augmented Reality Layer over the school with Photogrammetry

STEM to Strings