While technology and organizations are fun to hear about, getting to know the people that make it all happen is far more inspiring. That’s why, in our “We Celebrate Learning” series, we like to feature some of the awesome minds behind education technology and share with you a peek into their worlds.

Today, we get to share with you a look into the mind of Vicki Davis, the person behind the Cool Cat Teacher blog that is always providing useful information for educators, especially those excited about using technology in their classrooms. We had the chance to ask her a few questions. You can read the questions and her responses below!

1.) How did you get to be interested in education technology?

I have been using computers since I was eight (a TRS-80) and my Mom was a teacher – she taught me typing in elementary school and I have used computers ever since. When she put her new computer lab in the school in 1991, we had to raise money to pay for the computers, so although I was in school to get my business degree, I helped her teach classes in Microsoft Windows, Word, Excel, etc. and loved it. Although I’ve taught at the high school level for 7 years, I’ve worked with adults and technology since the early 1990′s. The transformative power of technology has kept me coming back – people’s lives are improved positively when they know how to use technology to accomplish their unique goals in faster, easier, more useful ways. That is the power of edTech!

2.) What was your motivation for initially introducing technology into your own classroom?

I was hired as the “computer teacher” so really, my goal has been to make sure my students not only understood technology but understood how to learn about new technology and change with it so that they can be successful. we started using blogs and wikis in December 2005 and it has been incredibly transformational for both my class and me personally – the new web apps and educational networking tools truly allow my students to be globally minded while located in our tiny rural town in south Georgia.

3.) What is your favorite teaching/learning tool available for teachers and students today?

I have a wiki-centric classroom and love the wiki, although Google Docs and the Microsoft Office suite run a close second. The wiki is so powerful because it is like a scrapbook that holds all of the other tools we use on the web, but allows me to track the exact contribution of each student and coach them to achieve their own, personal best.

4.) What are some of your favorite resources for teachers?

I have so many, although personally I find twitter and my iGoogle page to be the things I come to daily. Classtools.net and RubiStar are very useful in addition to Wikispaces and Ning. You might want to take a look at my blog post 122 Tools for You which I created to give a gift to my blog readers when I turned 40 this past April! I also LOVE my iTouch because it lets me update my lesson plans (which I do on Google Calendar) and plan on converting all of the PDF files that come with my textbook into the Kindle I am buying right now!

5.) What do you believe the classroom of the future looks like? What technologies are teachers of the future using?

Currently, microprocessors are being integrated into table-like devices like Microsoft Surface and paper-thin video displays are soon to be released. Additionally, the evolution of the hyperlink is just beginning and is called a “hardlink” – this is a link between the real world and virtual world. Interestingly, what a combination of these tools are going to do is mean that our classrooms will have less wires, have increasing freedom of movement and literally be able to happen anywhere as students use their cell phones to access information on all types of tools.

I believe the cell phone will become literally unblockable in the next 3-5 years and the schools that will thrive are those who learn to utilize and harness the power of handheld computing tools like cell phones and the iTouch (by Apple) to create personal learning environments for students. Additionally, global collaboration will become part of the curriculum of the best schools with curriculum directors having a world map on their wall with pushpins for where their students collaborate each year. It is never about the technology but rather, about what the technology lets us do.

We can reach each student with their learning style and harness multiple modes of expression. The question is, however, are we going to simply use these tools to encourage students to learn rote, routine information or are we going to use these tools to catapult students into a future where their ability to think and create are paramount. I see the redefinition of how we define a well educated student as essential to how we will be allowed to take advantage of the technologies before us.

I also think that the Learning Commons will take hold and replace the current structure of libraries as it makes so much sense to house technology, media specialists, and technology integrators together where they can best serve students and teachers.

6.) What are some tips you have for educators who are looking to incorporate more or newer technologies into their classrooms?

I have been teaching at the k12 level for 7 years but only since December 2005 have I transformed. It was then when I committed to take 15 minutes two to three times a week to learn something new and embed my own professional development in what I do weekly. I keep a list of the next 3 things I want to learn and work on that several times a week while students are at break and my room is empty.

To me, the binge model of professional development (the 10 hours of training model so many of us are used to) has really not ever transformed my teaching — I have improved in the same way I have lost 15 pounds over the past year — a little bit at a time with slow steady improvement. The Japanese call this Kaizen and it truly is the only way to change.

I have such love and affection for teachers who feel overwhelmed by technology but just want to reach through my computer to tell each of them to just break it down into the next few things they want to learn. Transformation happens slowly and steadily, not overnight. Calm down, relax, and begin by connecting yourself to the world through your personal learning network! I build my plan through my iGoogle reader, Google Reader, and Twitter.

7.) Where have you seen the biggest advances in education technology?

The biggest advances are in the classrooms of the world where teacherpreneurship is allowed and encouraged. In these schools, teachers are empowered to customize their classrooms to their students and to create learning relationships with teachers in other parts of the world, to create a rich learning environment for students much like Julie Lindsay and I have done with our Flat Classroom Projects

It is astounding that teachers now have the power to do this – to connect at a grassroots level. While I still involve my curriculum director in the work I do, I no longer have to go through some big umbrella organization to connect for me and now have friends around the world. I am no longer an island and it is that empowerment and encouragement that is transforming so many of us who have been working alone for so long in our schools. We can help each other and have a network of friends around the world. It is this informal network of educators that has truly begun to transform classrooms and schools as we share best practices at lightning speed.

Those who aren’t connected often feel left out and in many ways they are. The landmark book on change, Influencer: The Power to Change Anything, calls this NQ or networking quotient and says that this skill is more important that IQ in today’s world. I believe that every teacher should begin harnessing their NQ and build their own personal learning network of resources and people.

8.) Do you run into people that disagree with the way you emphasize technology? How do you deal with it?

Education is as beautiful and varied as my grandmother’s patchwork quilt and I believe in my dual role as IT Director at my school, that my job is to empower the teachers that want it and to just encourage those who do not. Change is a slow, steady thing, and sometimes the best way to promote change is to create an environment where the teachers feel supported and also to harness the power of the opinion leaders. I have an amazing curriculum director and principal and sometimes it is most appropriate to let them handle certain initiatives.

The biggest obstacle to change is often the techno-jargon or “geek-speak” that people immersed in IT use – if you insist on speaking a language that others do not understand, then you’ll continually be pushing for things that others will not accept. This about students and providing the tools to their teachers that will help the students learn in the best way. Teachers should be treated with respect as the professionals they are, and when technology is forced upon them it often goes unused. Teachers should be part of the process of school improvement and technology is part of that. None of us know all the answers.

One of my most valued mentors is our 82 year old learning lab director and another is our curriculum director who has been teaching over 30 years. It isn’t about technology but about teaching and helping others. When interpersonal issues crop up, as they always will in a school, I find that the tried and true principles of influence as outlined by Dale Carnegie in How to Win Friends and Influence People are my best friends as I try to look at it from the other person’s point of view and am very cautious about criticizing, condemning or complaining. As long as I treat others like the professionals that they are and understand that although I may know a bit about technology that it does not make me omnipotent, the struggles have always worked out in a positive way. Humble service from the IT department gets a lot further than arrogant edicts. I hope to serve, encourage, and always speak out for students who are being left out.

Thanks so much for taking the time to answer our questions, Ms Davis! You have many words of wisdom for teachers looking to use more, and better, technologies in their everyday classrooms. We’re sure we’ll be seeing you in the world of education technology for many years to come and look forward to all that you will contribute!

To find out more about Vicki Davis or read her words of advice, check out her Cool Cat Teacher blog!