By: Jenny Abamu

In NYC the mayor wants control of schools and Ed-tech companies want to innovate schools, but teachers are taking both leadership and innovation back into their own hands through the EDXED Conference where teachers, are now the ones leading and sharing what policies, projects, and education technology products actually can work in their classrooms

Peter Lamphere, NYC School Teacher

“It is a big difference to hear something from teachers who actually implemented this with their own students verses some kind of sales presentation from a staff developer who hasn’t been in the classroom. You actually know that some of these strategies or these technologies have been applied with real students with the real restraints of the public school system. That makes it much more real.”

Jonas, NYC School Teacher

“For example, talk about 3D printing… So much propaganda of the software 3D Printing, and then think about how many of those 3D Printers really work. Really are good enough to implement, use in the classroom. It’s a big difference and then somebody else is making that decision for you, not someone that has a practical experience with that.”

The EDXED conference was designed and created by teachers at the Hudson High school in NYC. Modeled after the Educon Conference in Philadelphia, the conference sought to bring up teacher and student voices in a conversational platform for educators and students to share what works and get feedback for development.

Nancy Amling, Principal and Founder of Hudson High School

“I think that the teachers, just the fact that they build this and they create workshops, I mean as we were upstairs listening to those lightning rounds we were getting ideas of things were going to teach. You know, being a teacher — I remember being a teacher, it was one of the greatest joys of my life and and you know, you do things, and sometimes you do great things and 5 years later you forget you have done that, so it is just an opportunity for people to share their work and get feedback from their colleagues. As far as kids are concerned, whenever we have a challenge here at Hudson, we always bring the kids in. We always have forums and discussion groups and panels to help identify the problem because things that we may consider to be ’the  problem’ — ’the challenge’ kids have a very different perspective on that. They also have a very different perspective on possible solutions. So it is just about listening to one another and talking to one another and believing that you may not be the smartest person in the room. That collectively, there may be ideas that will surprise you.”         

This return to instructor centered innovation, comes at a time when education technology investments are dwindling. As fewer and fewer of the products designed actually make it into the classrooms, returning to the students, teachers and principals who take on only what is necessary with their limited budgets might be the only way to truly change the way we teach and learn.

Nancy Amling, Principal and Founder of Hudson High School

“Teachers are a rich resource in trying to figure out what is best in education. Not that there is one answer to that question, there are multiple answers because challenges are complex and so we need to recognize that. I think there are such rich resources in teachers and in students and very often we identify problems and create solutions without ever engaging those two constituents they are our most rich resource for solutions and event clarifying the problems.”

Reporting from NYC, Jenny Abamu, IENN

For more Teacher to teacher development check out the IENN Global Education Exchange, were teachers can share digital projects and designs with other teachers around the world

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