NECC 2008 in San Antonio.Today, teams from Littleton, Heritage, Arapahoe High Schools, and members of the Instructional Technology team met up in the heat and humidity (heat index 108) of San Antonio, Texas, to take in the 2008 National Education Computing Conference. Their mission: to transform first their classrooms, then their schools, into models of 21st Century learning. We’ll keep a running blog to exchange ideas and thoughts, and give the folks back home a sense of what’s going on at the world’s largest educational technology conference. One of the key issues at this conference will be the unveiling of the ISTE (International Society of Technology in Education) standards for teachers. As soon as I can get my hands on them, (it seems like they’re under pretty tight wraps) I’ll post them. These standards are supposed to compliment last years’ NETS (National Education Technology Standards) 2.0, which, in a nutshell, shifted ISTE’s focus from learning about the tool to learning with the tool. Anticipation...

IMPORTANT NOTE FOR THOSE SEEKING LPS CREDIT: Be sure to sign up for CDE credit at the booth next to registration and complete the 1000 word assignment on time. Once you have received the certificate from CDE, present it to the HR department at LPS for LPS credit. Mike

Hi all---

Well, it looks like we’re back online! Life without the internet—it somewhat reminds me of 1996! I have a general overview on TIE 2008 that I’d like to share: content matters! At the risk of making a huge generalization, the presenters I have seen and heard about have all done a wonderful job at not only detailing the bells and whistles of all the cool programs and tools, but also stressing how it fits into curriculum and enriches it. I believe that our keynote speaker did an excellent job at starting that thread. If you recall, he emphasized the story line first, then the effects and transitions. Good advice. After all, the digital medium is only a vehicle to carry students’ voices, thoughts and stories. The media is not itself the message. Your thoughts?

I wonder in the age of readily available information if it’s worth spending valuable instructional time memorizing “facts.” If so many details are available on Google, should we just move on? Case in point: Google Earth, a free program, presents current, high resolution satellite images of the entire world. Why should we have globes with names of countries that are out of date? And, with Google Earth, you can “write” notes on the earth and easily share those notes in the form of .kmz files. If a classic question of the twentieth century is “What’s the capitol of Colorado?” perhaps the classic question of the twenty –first century is “Using satellite imagery, determine why Denver makes a suitable capitol for Colorado.” Which question do you think will lead to higher order thinking?

Clickers are one of the fastest growing technologies in our schools; they're spreading from primary grades through grade twelve.  We have seen them used to do book reviews, to assess prior learning, to determine prior knowledge, and to have a good, old-fashioned debate.  Yet some folks are still wondering about the value of clickers in the classroom.  My point is this: clickers are as good as the questions they are designed to respond to.  With that in mind, please give use some feedback on how you use, or plan to use, clickers in the classroom.

 

Some resources for your perusal:

 

•         The Ohio State University Technology Enhanced Learning Research Clickers

•         Clickers in the Classroom: An Active Learning Approach...

This blog is to garner feedback from you and generate discussion.

Two topics in one blog! As always, we value your feedback and hope that you share you own best practices and "take-aways."

To capture your thoughts and experiences with blogging in education, we're going to use, naturally, a blog ;-)

Google tools offer real advantages to educators: They’re free, fairly simple, and promote collaboration.  Another key trait of Google products is that they are web-based.  In other words, as long as you can get online and remember your password, you can access your work.  Another feature is the ease of version control.  It’s easy to determine who contributed what to your documents or spreadsheets.  This can greatly reduce the “email trail”!

 

Some ideas about use of Google tools in an educational setting?  Here are some starters:

1.        Writing to a shared spreadsheet to get data on common assessments

2.       School wide-authorship of school improvement plans

3.       Curriculum writing across grade levels, or even buildings.

What are your ideas?  Please share your “take-aways” and possible plans for Google Products.

 



 

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The kids in your classes are wired! (Funny how the context to that word has changed!)  We mean, of course, that they have grow up in a media-rich environment.  In tonight’s Monday Model, we’ll discuss the link between visual presentation and learning theories.  Also, we’ll learn how to super-charge our presentations with connected videos and audio.  Finally, we’ll brainstorm how PowerPoint isn’t just a teacher’s tool—it can be an excellent way for your students to demonstrate their learning.

Please post your reactions to tonight’s class and share out your “take-aways”.  Feel free to offer your instructors feedback, too.

A link to resources is located here:

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