Correction: Dr. Adam D. Fried is the president elect of BCASA, not the president.
Bergen County Association of School Administrators (BCASA) President Elect Dr. Adam D. Fried stood atop the EdSurge stage welcoming fellow teachers and administrators at today’s EdSurge Tri State Tech for Schools Superintendents Summit. The superintendent of the Harrington Park School District and digital education and curriculum expert set out today to lead his fellow educators down a path that will better education through the implementation of technology. Mirroring the thought process of the Pascack Valley Regional High School District, Dr. Fried began his speech with the statement, “Innovation is action.” I sat down with Dr. Fried to find out more about his goals to ignite interaction between today’s educators and the most creative ed tech entrepreneurs today.
Jamie Spelling: Is this the first year that you’ve been in charge of this event?
Dr. Fried: No, actually, the [EdSurge Summit] has been going for four years. We run four programs every quarter. This is the largest we’ve had so far with over 600 attendees. It’s going well so far.
JS: What feedback have you received from education leaders thus far today?
DF: What we’re happy about today is that leaders are having conversations now with head developers versus what we call “legacy providers,” where they usually just show up with the product already pre-done which is the first time they’ve ever had that. These people are in startup mode so they have the ability to be pliable and manageable and that’s a whole different game for us.
JS: Do you think too much use of technology can impact the quality of education for students?
DF: No, actually. We know that learning doesn’t occur in six hours and 51 minutes, so how do take learning across that time? This can be for causal learning or active learning. We believe that technology is just an integrated part of who we are.
JS: What have you noticed to be the most influential piece of technology in the classroom?
DF: So, now you’re talking about the shiny thing (laptops and cellphones) and I’m not necessarily a shiny thing guy. Innovation is an action. So, how do I integrate this into my lab science? How do I integrate whatever is on that table over there with a MakerBot into my science program? That’s the biggest piece. The most powerful innovation piece, I would say, is the increase in staff member knowledge.
JS: What are you talking away from today for Harrington Park School District?
DF: Today, we start the bigger conversation. Today, we lean in. We start to make technology a part of who we are as a culture.
JS: What do you hope educators take away from today’s conference?
DF: Same exact thing. I want them to lean in.
