All ISTE community members have unique stories to tell that explain their passion for ed tech. It's those personal anecdotes about learners ignited by ed tech that influence education transformation.

That's why, as part of Advocacy Month, we've asked educators to share why they support ed tech.

Technology is not dessert 

Michelle Cordy, a third grade teacher in London, Ontario’s Thames Valley District, points to what she calls the improvement and innovation duality.

“What often happens is we do the improving and that’s the main meal we're accountable to,” Cordy explains. “And then if you improve, you get to have innovation for dessert. So the technology piece comes in Part II. That silos technology when it really should be part of the whole learning experience.”  

Cordy, who will be a keynote speaker at ISTE 2016, says improvement and innovation should happen together. “Technology isn't something we do after we’ve been good boys and girls — be that students, teachers or leaders — but something that should be integrated all the time,” Cordy says.

See what else Cordy has to say about standing for ed tech in her #WhyEdTech video.

Prepare students for a digital world

LeeAnn Lindsey says she supports ed tech because it’s imperative that students be prepared for a technology-rich society. Lindsey, who is technology infusion coordinator at the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College at Arizona State University, says students who don’t learn new literacies will be at a disadvantage.

"The sands are shifting under our feet and technology changes the way we all live, work and learn,” she said. “It's about thinking forward.”

After all, as she and colleague Stacey Pasquel point out in their video, "the gamers of today are the game-changers of tomorrow."

Check out the videos others have submitted, then create your own and share it on your social networks with the hashtag #WhyEdTech.

Learn more about ISTE advocacy and how you can be part of the grassroots movement. Everyone who posts a video will be entered to into a random drawing to win one of three $100 Amazon gift cards.