Category Archives: Conferences

Another On-line Event…

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Passing on this info on another on-line conference…this one out of the University of Manitoba.  The Connectivism Online Conference will take place – suprisingly enough online! – from February 2 – 9. 

The lineup has some interesting names, including Stephen Downes, Will Richardson, Terry Anderson, George Siemens and Bill Kerr.  These kinds of events are quickly evolving as valuable personal professional development opportunities for teachers.

Connectivism Online follows closely on the heels of the hugely successful K12 Online Conference last fall.  One of the neat things about this type of event is it lives on long after the event is “complete”.  The full conference – all keynotes and sessions – remain available for people to access anytime, anywhere.  One of my objectives for the holidays was to review/download many of the sessions and burn them to CD to share with teachers at my school.  Oh well…still have a week left!  🙂

Announcing…well…whatever it’s called…:)

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It doesn’t even have a name yet, but I am excited about the “event” that our Department of Education will be hosting March 22-23, 2007 in my hometown.  They aren’t calling it a “conference” – yet – but if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck…well…you know…:)

Whatever it’s called in the end, (I’m voting for Ed Tech Atlantic -or ETA – ’07)  it sure has a HUGE star for the first go’round…none other than author and educational futurist David Warlick will be giving the keynote address and several breakout sessions on web 2.0 and ed tech topics in general. 

This is exciting for me.  David gave the keynote at Laptop Institute in Memphis last summer and his presentations infected me with a new vision of technology in education.  I am looking forward to having others around me share his vision also. 

Stay tuned for more details.

Technorati tags: warlick, education, conferences, laptopinst

Walking in Memphis…

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I am so excited to be invited back to Memphis and Lausanne Collegiate School’s Laptop Institute as a presenter.  This is a relatively small conference ( less than 500) but the strong focus on 1:1 programs and the small group settings allows much in the way of sharing and learning.

I am particularily excited in that Will Richardson is scheduled as the keynote.  Will’s blog is a regular stop on my travels through the blogosphere and his book on Web 2.0 tools is on my Christmas list (see previous post). I am looking forward to hearing his message.

I will be presenting on one of my focus’ as of late – student-based collaborative projects.  I believe that these projects not only build strong 21st century literacy skills, they also provide a platform for young people to share understandings towards becoming global citizens.  I hope to be able to even have some time for interested teachers / schools to team up and think about what kinds of projects they can do together.

My second presentation will be based on using wikis in Science class as both a classroom organizational tool and an organic, collaborative student workspace. 

If you are involved in a 1:1 project, or are thinking of heading in that direction, find a way to get yourself to Memphis next July.  You will not be disappointed.  This conference is a gem.

Fame is fleeting…but nice…:)

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Just saw the Nov/Dec edition of Ed Tech K12 Magazine this week.  They do a nice job of keeping us informed of the latest coming and goings in the world of educational technology…This issue has lots of interesting stuff, including a piece by David Warlick on acceptable blogging practices for teachers…but it also has a piece featuring our school…we are one of three schools highlighted for introducing successful one-to-one programs.  The article, written by Stuart Crais of Memphis’ Lausanne Collegiate School and the Laptop Institute conference, looks at three very different programs and three very different settings, but focus’ on the common characteristics of success.

I must say that I was flattered when Stuart called a while back, but it was nice to have all those who play a past in the success of the program at Nashwaaksis Middle School recognized for their hard work.

Congrats to us!

A small, flat world…

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I was reflecting on my drive to work this morning just what kind of opportunities for contact our students have.  I remember the first time that I told my father (a now retired teacher) several years back that I believed that my kids will undoubtably have the opportunity to travel to space.  He scoffed at the idea.  He might not have the same feelings now.

Earlier this week I was working with a teacher on a French language class collaborative project we are developing with St. Martin’s Episcopal School in New Orleans.  I met a number of SMES staff at the Laptop Institute in Memphis.  We have been nurturing these contacts since then and this project will be the first of what we hope will be many class to class collaborative projects.

Back to the kids – when I was in school it was unheard of that students from different classes would work together, let alone students in different countries.  The ideas and information they have to share is amazing, and they are so excited.  I happened to be showing our teacher Skype and I dialed the teacher in New Orleans to demonstrate (she wasn’t showing online).  She suprised us by promptly answering in the middle of her class.  Up on the screen she put our identity…the kids went nuts on her end! They were beginning to understand just how they were going to work with students from another country. WOW!

We are looking at many web 2.0 tools and interfaces like Interwise to communicate, but I’m hoping to let the kids pretty much decide what works for them. 

Game Based Website Evaluation

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Had a chance to participate in the Game Based Approach to Website Evaluation webinar hosted by the folks at LearningTimes.org last evening.  It was an interesting and well-organized 90 minutes.  The hosts/leaders did a nice job of keeping things focused and on track.

The session looked a number of new activities designed to teach the basics of evaluating website content.  While the activities were not quite as “action-packed” as most of the on-line games that our students are used to, it appears to provide a valuable tool for use in our classrooms. You can check out some of the introductory activities here , here and here.

It was my first time in an on-line learning environment such as Illuminate.  It was kind of weird at first, but the hosts did a nice job of communicating. The only thing that I noticed was that most participants preferred to use text based communication rather than the voice capabilities.  Are we all scared of our own voices?

Technorati tags:  education

Welcome

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When I started teaching five years ago, I had no idea what kind of journey awaited. Coming from a family of educators, I had some pretty strong perceptions of education.  Then along came some pretty tremendous opportunities that have helped me reshape my ideas about what education can (and I would suggest MUST) become about in our schools and society.

Two years ago our school was chosen as one of six (and we were by far the largest) schools in the province to pilot a 1:1 laptop research project.  We had over 800 students from Grades 6-8.  Unfortunately, the program would be limited to just two classes (60 students) in Grade 7.  The fortunate part was that I was asked to be one of the two teachers involved from the beginning.

Beginning this year every Grade 7 and 8 student (over 550 of them!) at Nashwaaksis Middle School has been given a laptop. What a challenge for our school! What an opportunity for me – the week before school started I was offered the position of Technology Mentor! The job? -to help teachers and students figure out how to use these darn things in the best way possible…

I am lucky to have been able to hear David Warlick this summer at the Laptop Institute in Memphis. Until that time, my vision for 1:1 and technology in general was basically around digitizing what we did previously – which in itself carries many benefits including efficiency and clarity – but it was only after hearing David speak that I began to understand the REAL potential.  It wasn’t about the technology at all! WOW!

One of my goals for this year is to seed conversations that will help our school begin to develop a collective vision and, if we are lucky, start a “new story” about education in our school.  We have over 30 teachers now working directly with 1:1 students.  Most are excited, some a bit reluctant, but we all are just starting on a very exciting journey –  together!

This blog will serve as a record of my observations, comments, and just plain musings about that journey.  It is inspired by the K-12 Online conference and David Warlick’s opening keynote.  I am choosing to immigrate and join the conversation.

Later,

Jeff

Technorati tags: k12online, k12online06, warlick