By Elijah Mercer, CEI Education Policy and Communications Intern
Alleta Baltes is the 2015 winner of CEI’s first annual Guidelines for 21st Century Technology Use Competition. The contest asked principals, teachers, school technology specialists and CEI subscribers to review CEI’s current technology guidelines. Contestants were then asked a series of questions ranging from how they would change the guidelines, to comparing and contrasting their own instructional practices and uses of technology to CEI’s current guidelines.
In making recommendations for the CEI Technology Guidelines, Baltes highlighted the importance of using technology to further collaboration and communication: “Collaboration in real world, meaningful ways is one of the largest differences from todays technology vs. 20 years ago. We need to be talking and communicating with others in other countries. Our world is so much smaller in the business world, and we need to bring this to the classrooms of today.”
Baltes has served as the principal of the Ashgrove School in Riverton, Wyoming for 20 years. With 14 years of K-8 teaching experience, Baltes enjoys lifelong learning and creating, designing and implementing new technology projects. Baltes also taught computer assisted instruction and Math/Science Methods for University of Wyoming. ‘I love students who are engaged in learning,’ Baltes said. ‘Technology lends itself to engagement if done with the principles of good instructional design in mind.’
CEI is pleased to announce that Ms. Baltes has agreed to chair our Technology Guidelines Task Force. That task force will finalize and pilot the next version of the Technology Guidelines during the next few months.