Kristin Ziemke: Digital Learning Can Turn Students into Agents of Change Around the Globe - Article 3 - 2019

Oct 15, 2026

Educational Considerations issue theme focuses on teaching and learning in a global community, introducing educator Kristin Ziemke as a leading example of how digital learning can develop student agency worldwide. The article describes her work as a Chicago kindergarten and first-grade Learning Innovation Specialist, her one-to-one iPad classroom approach, and her emphasis on using mobile devices and digital tools to connect to best practices in literacy. It also links these ideas to inquiry, strategic reading, and curiosity, informed by successful Chicago Public Schools reading practices.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages10

Reading Time25 min

AccessFree to download

Key Conversations

Issue theme: Teaching and Learning in a Global Community

Kristin Ziemke’s digital learning approach

Technology impact on students’ learning

Mobile devices, digital tools, and best-practice teaching

Chicago Public Schools reading practices and results

Educational Considerations | Volume 45
Number 1 Teaching and Learning in a Global
Community | Article 3 | | --- | --- | | 2019
Kristin Ziemke: Digital Learning Can Turn
Students into Agents of Change Around the Globe
Lotta Larson
Kansas State University, Manhattan, lottalarson@ksu.edu
Lori Goodson
Kansas State University, Manhattan, lagoodson@ksu.edu
Follow this and additional works at: [https://newprairiepress.org/edconsiderations](https://newprairiepress.org/edconsiderations)
Part of the Curriculum and Instruction Commons, Educational Technology Commons, Elementary Education and Teaching Commons, Higher Education and Teaching Commons, International and Comparative Education Commons, Other Education Commons, Other Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons, and the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Commons | | Recommended Citation Larson, Lotta and Goodson, Lori (2019) "Kristin Ziemke: Digital Learning Can Turn Students into Agents of Change Around the Globe," Educational Considerations: Vol. 45: No. 1. [https://doi.org/10.4148/0146-9282.2201](https://doi.org/10.4148/0146-9282.2201) This Key Conversations is brought to you for free and open access by New Prairie Press. It has been accepted for inclusion in Educational Considerations by an authorized administrator of New Prairie Press. For more information, [please contact](please contact cads@k-state.edu)[ cads@k-state.edu](please contact cads@k-state.edu). Larson and Goodson: Digital Learning Turns Students Into Agents of Change Kristin Ziemke: Digital Learning Can Turn Students into Agents of Change Around the Globe Lotta Larson and Lori Goodson This Educational Considerations issue, with its theme of “Teaching and Learning in a Global Community,” highlights education in an ever increasingly connected world—and how we get our students prepared to not only survive, but thrive in such an expanding environment. As we considered this topic, one of the individuals who came to mind almost instantly was Kristin Ziemke ([https://www.kristinziemke.com/](https://www.kristinziemke.com/))—an educator who has done so much to create bridges in this global community and helped lead us all on our digital journey. Ziemke, a longtime kindergarten and first-grade teacher, is an educator in Chicago schools for the Big Shoulders Fund, where she serves as Learning Innovation Specialist. Having received various awards during her teaching career, she has been recognized for her own innovative efforts, making her kindergarten classroom one-to-one with iPads—at a time when no app store even existed to provide teachers digital tool options. She opened the digital doors for her students, and Apple officials would visit to see what new developments were taking place in her classroom with their devices. Much has happened since then, in the digital world and in Ziemke’s teaching world, as well. The author of two books, Amplify: Digital Teaching and Learning in the K-6 Classroom and Connecting Comprehension and Technology, she now travels around the globe sharing her insights into implementation of technology into the curriculum in a way that is impactful—a word that arises throughout conversations with her. Technology just as a fun approach is meaningless; it needs to have impact on students’ learning. She’s also broadening her own Published by New Prairie Press, 1 Educational Considerations, Vol. 45, No. 1 [2019], Art. 3 perspective by seeing technology in action globally—ideas that she brings back to her own classroom and her own research. She is quick to point out that, while she has been involved in a variety of projects regarding technology, she has many more stops to make along her own digital journey. “My passion right now is looking at next practices for learners,” she said,“how we can use mobile devices and digital tools to connect back to what we know about best practice teaching

FAQs

What is the issue theme discussed in Educational Considerations?

The issue theme highlights teaching and learning in an ever more connected global environment and how to prepare students to thrive in that environment.

Who is Kristin Ziemke in the article?

Kristin Ziemke is described as an educator and long-time kindergarten and first-grade teacher in Chicago schools, serving as a Learning Innovation Specialist at the Big Shoulders Fund.

How does the article define the purpose of using technology in learning?

Technology is framed as meaningful only when it has impact on students’ learning, not as technology for its own sake.

Oct 15, 2026

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