As technology grows within this generation, the College of Education wants to help future teachers better understand these innovations, including the new Exploratorium computer lab, which includes 3-D printers in DeGarmo Room 309.

Excluding the weeks of March 4, March 11 and finals, the speaker series will be going on from 1-3 p.m. every Friday.

T21 stands for teaching in the 21st century and consists of the speaker series this semester and the one being planned for the fall. The series will cover technology being used in the 21st century. T21 will also have a conference about teaching in the 21st century, held in November.

“[The speakers cover] a wide range of folks and abilities and topics,” Ken Fansler, assistant dean for educational technology and facilities in the College of Education, said. “The idea is to bring in people who have different ideas on how to use different technology effectively, that’s the keyword.”

The next speaker is Jason Markey who will be teaching attendees the importance in building a professional profile through social media.

“His presentation is titled, ‘Social Media for Professional Development,’” Alex Fishel, assistant EdTech coordinator in the College of Education, said. “He’s going to talk about how to use Google Reader and Twitter specifically, but probably more tools as well.  How to use those to network, how to build connections with the social media and how to build a professional profile, how to do professional development using social media.”

While the speaker series is geared toward teacher education majors, faculty, staff and other students are encouraged to attend as well.

According to Fansler, attendees will learn about creating a digital résumé, information on iPad for diverse learners. They will also learn 1:1 in the classroom, which is one device per student, and other student response systems such as the clicker, and finding tools to support the universal design for learning, which is a special education initiative.

While this is the first time T21 has a speaker series, attendees are encouraged to register online for free. Pizza will be provided.

Organized by the College of Education, the T21 Speaker Series is sponsored by a gift from Mary F. and Robert J. English, Fishel and Fansler added.

For more information, visit Education.ilstu.edu/T21.