Live face-to-face conferences are back!!!!! I can’t express enough how excited I was to attend FETC and ISTE this year. Sure I have been attending virtual conferences for the last two years but NOTHING beats the hallway conversations, the chats waiting in line, and just the shared energy of being in a space filled with people passionate about learning. Those conferences brought me back to my roots of why I am in education. I learned, was affirmed, and inspired. I…
I am putting the finishing touches on presentation materials for the upcoming MassCUE 2013 conference. If you are in the area and able to attend it is a well run and worth your time. I always walk away having learned new skills and strategies to promote deep learning. I learn a lot and it keeps me thinking and reflecting on my instructional practice for months to come. This year I am co-presenting with Kristin Cannistraro at teacher of the visually…
I had an opportunity to attend BLC 2013 in Boston for a day. I always learn something while I am there, either in a session or conversations in the hall. Below is a summary of the notes I have from the event. Thursday Keynote Dr Weinberg Title of talk “Why hasn’t technology changed education?” Dr.Weinberg contents that is has not changed education but it has changed learning. What goes through my mind, then education and learning are not connected. The…
Social Media has enhanced my conference experiences and learning. It seems pretty clear that would be the case. Before social media I attended lots of educational conferences and even some fun conventions (Star Trek and Comic). I attended as an individual, read the program after arrival and tried my best to make the most of it. I left with a bag of notes and a few contacts; but those connections tended to fade away as snail mail and later e-mail were the only means…
I have trying in vain to write a coherent piece about some things that have me thinking. Failing that I am sharing some ramblings. In education we often find ourselves trying to wrap our heads around and carry out new mandates and policies. Just when we think we are getting things settled it is out with the old in with the new. In Massachusetts MCAS tests and frameworks are becoming PARCC and the Common Core, the old ELL trainings will…
I attended BLC 2010 last week and am finally getting a chance to digest and process all the information I have gathered. The following are some notes I took on some of the sessions I attended. They are pretty raw and I only have added a few thoughts since the conference. I really need to explore some of these more fully. There is just so much to learn and think about I just want to do it all and it…
I am attending EduCon 2.2 and just getting ready to start the final day. Yesterday I had the privilege to facilitate a conversation with Danja Mahoney and Michael Springer, and chat with some of the smartest most thoughtful educators around. Our topic was Subversive PD: Creating a culture of collaboration to bring educators into the 21st century. Our focus was looking for strategies that work, in the absence of administrative and teacher support and/or awareness, to foster professional growth. Are…