Finding Common Ground

The day started off with snow and talk of weather and one lucky vendor hit it off with participants. Handing out the free gift of an ice scraper with their contact information was right on target! An ice scraper was more useful than a pen on Tuesday.

Will Richardson opened the day with the topic: A Web of Connections: Why the Read/Write Web Changes Everything. This keynote was very similar to the information he had shared on Sunday with the Discovery Educators. However, hearing it a second time allowed me to focus in on some of the information I may have missed the first time. I also like to take note of the reactions of others in the room when I already know what’s coming. It’s easy focus in on one idea when you hear a keynote, but hearing it twice may provide the opportunity to pick up the larger message.

I was thrilled with the first concurrent session I attended - Teaching Concepts Using Podcasts and Vodcasts. Two fifth grade teachers outlined how their experience with podcasting and vodcasting got started and demonstrated how far they have come. They are clearly using technology to teach concepts. Of course, the students are learing tech skills, but they are incidental to the larger learning taking place. Students are teaching anchor concepts in authentic situations. They write scripts, conduct interviews and then produce the videos to be stored in the school’s concept libary. Awesome!

As the snow continued to fall and the building abuzz with talk of being snowed in, I was torn between a session on using unitedstreaming and one about 4 points to remember when it comes to technology integration. I knew the unitedstreaming session would be exciting, as Lance Rougeux was leading it, but I chose the tech integration workshop instead. While not as dynamic, the workshop proved to be very valuable. The presenter, Dave Popp from Penn State, explained how after numerous site visits to schools that received EETT grants, he was able to pull together information to show why schools with the same technologies might not obtain the same results.

Using a tetrahedral model, Dave shared that there are four points that schools need to have in place to be successful with educational technology.

1. Effective leadership
2. Tech ready teachers
3. Seamless Access
4. Effective Practice

As our district looks to refocus our use of technology, I know that these four points and the work done by Dave Popp will prove very valuable.

Filed under: Learning From and