Archive for June, 2008
I returned home from the Upstate Technology Conference (UTC) yesterday afternoon. I have to say it was a great two days for meeting my PLN and learning. First off, kudos to Greenville County Schools for hosting the 3rd annual UTC.
UTC ended up being a snapshot of what I am preparing for at NECC. It was the first time I was able to be meet people from my personal learning network face-to-face on this scale. What I mean is .. on Wednesday at lunch I was at the same table with Ewan McInstosh, David Jakes, Chris Craft, Julia Davis, Cathy Nelson, Heather Loy, and Pat Hensley. I have met some of them prior to this conference but the power of this lunch table had me in awe. I can’t wait for who all I will meet at NECC.
The conference was definitely an Adventure in Technology. What I was impressed with the most was the forward thinking of the folks in Greenville County Schools to bring keynote speakers like Ewan McIntosh and David Jakes. This is a hugh step for the upstate and the state of South Carolina. I think SC is on the verge of a instructional technology shift and beginning to see its value or at least I hope that is the case!
Though Ewan’s and David’s keynotes were very different… there was a common thread: the idea of building community. Ewan called it Shared Awareness. Being able to utilize the spaces our student use…
Secret spaces – Mobile, SMS
Group spaces – facebook
Publishing spaces – blog sites
Performing spaces - second life
Participation spaces – meetings , markets, events
Building community starting with your classroom and then expanding outward…
David Jakes poised the question: “Is today’s cheating tomorrow’s collaboration?” Again focusing on the aspect of texting, social networks, etc. to build a collaborative learning network. We as educators really need to look at ways to meet the needs of our students by using tools that they know. Do you have to be an expert with the tool? NO, but allow them to explore learning in their way. I think this will help bring meaning and ownership to our students as the learn.
Ewan live blogged during David’s keynote and does a much better job of expressing meaning of the presentation.
As I continue to reflect on what I learn and prepare for NECC, I just want to tell my PLN, it was great to finally meet a number of you face-to-face.
Technorati Tags: upstatetechnologyconference utc2008
June 27th, 2008
This morning was the first time I was able to sit down and look at the conference planner for NECC. Of course there are more workshops I want to go to than I have time for… I will try to figure out how to divide my time … Then the sessions that are going to be available on podcast or video-on-demand, this will keep me busy for the week after I return home from NECC.
Every year, I get very excited about NECC. I have been very fortunate. I have been to 6 NECC’s since 2001 in Chicago, IL (except Seattle in 2003 and San Diego in 2006). Thinking back to ‘those days,’ the conference has evolved. In 2001, there were 357 total sessions. Last year, there were 226 concurrent sessions and 547 other presentations.
My first experience with NECC 2001 was attending with my colleagues to present a workshop on the ‘eSchool Model’ at the school I was teaching. The conference to me, was all about the exhibit hall and the FREE stuff. In 2002, in San Antonio, I spent more time in the exhibit hall than I did in the at the sessions. Over the next few years, my position changed from in the classroom to training classroom teachers. With that shift, so was the shift of why I was attending NECC. I was no longer attending for me but now attending for my teachers. What did they need? What did I need to attend to learn for them?
Last year, was probably the largest shift that took place for me. Over the years, you begin networking and meeting people who become eFriends for most of the year and NECC is a reunion time to meet up with all of them. But last year, not only did I meet up with friends… it was very exciting for me to see the shift of learning. Learning moved from the sessions to the hallways. The Blogger’s Cafe was overloaded with people throughout the day. Learning and conversations were taking place that could never happen in a workshop. There was a sense of community with people. The conference no longer was a group of strangers gathering to sit and get. It was a place you met up with friends to learn about a common topic/goal.
This year, I can’t wait to meet those whom I have met through Twitter, the blogosphere, Facebook, Classroom 2.0, and all of the other virtual ways I have met people. The conference is almost an annual homecoming for me now. I am looking forward to the learning, conversations, and good times I will have next week. See you all then!
Technorati Tags: NECC2008 twitter facebook classroom2.0 professionaldevelopment 21stcenturylearning
June 21st, 2008
This morning I have been trying to catch up on some journal reading … I have a stack of educational technology journals on my desk and the stack seems to be growing and I think it may over take me soon. Anyway, I just finished reading Young Minds, Fast Times from the June/July 2008 issue of Edutopia. Marc Prensky discusses how important it is to invite students to the technology conversation. He compares it to the corporate world asking consumers what they want. After all aren’t students our consumers? Prensky asks all schools where he presents to invite panels of students to the presentation. The students see the presentation Prensky gives and then he turns it over to them and asks three basic questions:
1. What experiences in school really engage you?
2. How do you use technology in school as opposed to outside of school?
3. What are your pet peeves (about how tech. is used in school)?
This article really got me thinking. When I taught, I was fortunate to have a technology-rich classroom. I did my very best to expose students to the content as well as new technologies but you know I never asked if it was what they needed. It makes me wonder now if it was. Maybe I can get a few of my past students to answer Prensky’s panel questions.
When we discuss technology changes, strategies, etc. in our district the idea of using students always comes up… but it is never initiated. I wonder how different things would be if we did involve the students in the decision making process?
I would love for students to answer Prensky’s questions in the comments. PLUS, for any of you who have used students in the decision making process what was it like? What were your outcomes?
Technorati Tags: student input, Marc Prensky, Edutopia, technology decision-making
June 17th, 2008
Students in Columbia are now sleeping late and enjoying summer… so are most teachers for that matter. But as I have talked about before, I don’t get summers off. This week we kicked off our summer workshops. To help with with the laid back mood we decorated our hall in a tropical theme complete with a lounge chairs and coconut cups (with nothing in them!). The only thing we are missing is the sand.
With the theme in mind I had to create a bulletin board…. Julia says I am too proud of my board. But I have to say I like it . I like it a lot. We are making a big splash (haha) with SMART boards so it seemed like a natural fit to me.
The department theme has brought smiles to people’s faces as they show up to classes at 8:30 on a summer morning.
June 3rd, 2008
Students in Columbia are now sleeping late and enjoying summer… so are most teachers for that matter. But as I have talked about before, I don’t get summers off. This week we kicked off our summer workshops. To help with with the laid back mood we decorated our hall in a tropical theme complete with a lounge chairs and coconut cups (with nothing in them!). The only thing we are missing is the sand.
With the theme in mind I had to create a bulletin board…. Julia says I am too proud of my board. But I have to say I like it . I like it a lot. We are making a big splash (haha) with SMART boards so it seemed like a natural fit to me.
The department theme has brought smiles to people’s faces as they show up to classes at 8:30 on a summer morning.
June 3rd, 2008
