Faculty Member Anderson Harp Wins ISTE 20 To Watch Award for 2022

​​Anderson Harp, Educational Technologist at The School at Columbia University, has been awarded an International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) 20 To Watch Award for 2022. The award, new this year, recognizes outstanding vision in the field of educational technology and is given to educators who exemplify ISTE’s mission to advance the use of technology to improve education, and who incorporate social responsibility into and make a difference with their work. 

 

Winners will be recognized at a Leadership Awards Luncheon at the ISTELive 22 conference in New Orleans in late June, and they will also receive premium ISTE membership, an engraved award plaque, recognition in ISTE publications and materials, and opportunities to contribute to the field of educational technology via ISTE channels. The ISTE conference attracts more than 16,000 attendees from over 100 countries annually, and is widely recognized as one of the world’s most influential education events. 

 

“This award recognizes individuals who demonstrate the ability to both deliberately plan for and apply technology to improve the educational setting. They continuously improve their professional practice through the exploration of new techniques and the consistent evaluation and reflection on current practices. Furthermore, they share their work as a model that reflects ISTE’s mission to innovate teaching and learning, accelerate good practice and solve tough problems in education. I’m confident communities, schools and students have benefited tremendously from Anderson’s contributions,” said Richard Culatta, Chief Executive Officer of ISTE.

 

“Mr. Harp embodies the core values of our school—Community, Collaboration, Diversity, and Innovation—and we could not be more proud of this fantastic honor for his work and contributions to education,” said Head of School Amani Reed. “His engagement with students, the creativity and vibrancy he brings to curricula, his vast partnerships with colleagues, and his passion for social justice and affecting change are visible in everything he undertakes at TSC. We are so excited to celebrate him and this award.” 

 

Mr. Harp will also be presenting at ISTELive, on the innovative monuments project he designed and conducts with fourth graders here at The School. The project, an integration of art and technology, challenges students to ask, “How might we reimagine and redesign our public monuments to encourage inclusivity and foster community?” In connection to the grade-wide curricular concepts of Exploration and Justice, students analyze archived maps that identify where Indigenous people lived and how that land is used today. They also observe and deconstruct some of our country’s most familiar historical monuments, identifying shapes and solids with descriptive language along a Cartesian coordinate system for a three-dimensional space. Fourth graders then engage in dialogue together and tinker independently to build their own version of a monument dedicated to hidden figures and communities that may not have been previously acknowledged in a public space. Students utilize Tinkercad, a 3D design software, to redesign monuments, building on previous explorations in both art and technology in drawing and designing three-dimensionally. Their designs culminate in a physical model of their monuments, using cardboard and paper sculpture techniques. 

 

“Collaboration, collegiality, and solidarity are key to my continued success with innovative instructional design,” Mr. Harp said. “The beauty of TSC is the mindset that exists here with our faculty and staff. It’s with those partnerships that we can do better and we model exactly that.”

 

“I am proud to have worked with Columbia University and The School's fourth grade team on the redesigning monuments project. This program benefited students by engaging in dialogue, listening to different perspectives, and iterating designs independently to build their own version of a monument dedicated to hidden figures and communities that may not have been previously acknowledged in a public space. What’s more, this was a collaborative project with Visual Arts. It would not have been such a success without integrated collaborations like the ones we have at TSC."

 

Anderson Harp is Educational Technologist at The School at Columbia University, an independent K-8 school affiliated with Columbia University and Instructor for Teach21, TSC’s professional development institute that focuses on 21st century teaching and learning. A faculty member since 2020, Anderson previously taught in both public and private schools, beginning his teaching career as a lead elementary school teacher in Loudon County, Tennessee. In 2010 Anderson was awarded the Apple Technology for Teachers grant which he used to develop the district’s first 1:1 flipped classroom model. He has served as an advisor, organizer and participant in a variety of programs, including Blended Learning Cohorts, GSA, TEDxYouth and Family Code Night, in addition to directing afterschool STEM programming. Anderson has organized numerous workshops for teachers, administrators, and curriculum specialists of grades K-12 on topics including blended learning, STEAM, and Gender Sexuality Diversity. He has presented internationally on biographies created with code and their impact on collegial empathy in the classroom, and served as a board member and technology consultant for City as the Lab School in Boston. He earned an M.A. in K12 Educational Technology from Teachers College, Columbia University, and a B.S.F.C.S. from The University of Georgia. Anderson lives in New York City and enjoys running, coaching middle school cross country and track, and exploring different parts of the world in his travels. He also enjoys other hobbies and interests, including working on historical nonfiction children’s picture books based on hidden figures from American human and civil rights struggles.