April 9 - 10, 2016
I'm at the Kitchener EdTech Team Summit with hundreds of other inspired educators and wanted to share some of the amazing learning and sharing that is happening here!
Day 1 - April 9, 2016
Jaime Casap, the Keynote speaker, kicked off the morning with "Iteration and Innovation in Education." Here are some of the key ideas and soundbites of inspiration:
-We live in a world that is globally connected and network based. We should be asking “what is the right education model we need for today’s economy?”
-Instead of asking kids what they want to be “when they grow up” we should be asking: “what problem do you want to solve?”
-Critical Skills that Kids need to have? They haven’t changed in a long time!: Problem solving, Team working, Communications, Critical thinking, Creativity, Literacy, Digital literacy, Leadership, Foreign language, Emotional intelligence
-This changes the conversation from who do you want to work for to “what do you want to do?”
-Teaching kids how to fail is fine, but we need to go deeper than that
-The opposite of failure is success. But this is not our world because there is no end point. “When we teach kids there is success and failure we are teaching that there is an endpoint and that doesn’t exist”This was a great keynote to get day 1 started!
The first session I attended was on creating "Innovative Learning Spaces" presented by Erica Armstrong. Her current technology classroom is truly something to envy and aspire towards. Her presentation (check out link for slides) gave ideas, resources, and encouragement to incorporate flexible spaces to encourage comfortable and creative learning. She emphasized that "different furniture = a different learning style." I also really appreciated that she didn't have a class set of anything, especially once she explained that 1) it costs a lot of money to have class sets of anything, and 2) when you give every student the same thing, this is not a flexible and innovative environment. I can't wait to bring in some of these ideas to my class! Standing tables here we come!
The second session I attended was presented by Grant Hutchinson on "App Making for All." This session lead us through a hands on (a fast paced!) step-by-step on creating an Android App using http://appinventor.mit.edu/explore/ . If you are familiar with Scratch, this website works very similar. This is a great way for students to create apps that can actually be published on the Play Store (a $25 publisher account is required to publicly publish). I can totally see some of my students running with this (although I am not ready to create at this level!).
The third session I attended was on "Digging Deep into Hangouts" presented by Michelle Armstrong. I regularly use Google Hangouts for the phone and video features, and was looking forward to discovering even more. This presentation did not disappoint. Hangouts is your one-stop for voice, text and video communication with anyone around the world. The phone feature is particularly helpful as it is free long distance calling in North America (say goodbye to your long distance plan!). While Hangouts is not available to students in the WCDSB, teachers have full use. I have used it a number of times to connect, plan, and problem solve with other teachers as well as connecting with other classrooms or guest speakers. If you haven't checked it out, I highly recommend using hangouts. +Michael Leonard and I will be running a PD session April 22nd if you are interested in learning more! My next personal Hangouts challenge is Hangouts on Air.
The fourth session I attended was presented by Tim Cooper on "Using Google Sites for Project Based Learning." I have used Google sites both with my class and to create my own website. If you've used it, you'll know it is not a very intuitive Google App to use - probably the least out of other apps you might use. This was precisely the reason I wanted to learn more about it. The best learning was on how to create a website template for students to copy and input their own information. This is a great way to get students into using Sites by avoiding design and formatting frustration. Embedding Google Docs into your template (such as rubrics) keep it updated and current for students. Student comments on peer sites seems to present issues, so I think I will embed an editable document into the template to allow for easier sharing and feedback between students. If you click on the link above, Tim has provided tutorials and links on how to set up sites and make templates.
We ended today in the gym with a Demo SLAM! Nine presenters presented their best technology tips, and tricks with audience voting afterwards. Highlights for me were hidden Google "easter eggs," the most dangerous writing app, and +Sylvia Duckworth's SLAM rap using http://www.incredibox.com/
I'm leaving today excited, overwhelmed, exhausted, but most of all - inspired. Can't wait to return bright and early tomorrow!
Keep learning,
Katrina
Day 2 - Sunday, April 10, 2016.
Keynote Speaker - +Molly Schroeder @followmolly. Check out this word cloud (using http://wordcloud.booogle.net/) I made from my notes:
The fifth session I attended was on Virtual Reality in the Classroom. The presentation focused on the Richo Theta 360. This technology is pretty cool; I was glad to attend this session as it made me realize I didn't want to pursue it. The process was rather complex, costly, and required an iPad (which I don't have). The main message was to not spend a lot of money on this right now, as the technology will be changing soon and become cheaper (hopefully!).
Session six was on becoming a Google Certified Trainer. This is something I really want to pursue this summer. The session was really informative and gave particulars. Here's a great resources page. With the cost and re-certification frequency, I will aim for level 1 and 2 this summer, but hold off on the Innovator certification.
Session seven I flipped between an innovation and math presentation. Here are some great resource links, or just cool websites: Presentation, for tutorials, Google Trends Math Lesson in Slides
The eighth and final session I attended was called Fasten Your Seatbelts! This was an awesome presentation that introduced a number of apps and websites to use in the classroom. If you have some time, I highly recommended checking it out!
Michelle Conroy ended off the Summit with her encouragement to "have presence and be mindful." An inspiring talk to leave us with after so much new learning!
I am very thankful that I could attend the Kitchener EdTech Team Summit 2016. I learned, networked, and left motivated and inspired.
