In this session we'll explore 6 different lightweight ideas/activities you can implement in your classes tomorrow to leverage mobile (and stationary) technology to document student learning and foster reflective ways for students to share what they're learning. We won't just talk about them, we'll do them. Then we'll talk about them and how each of us might practically adapt these ideas in our own classrooms. Each practical activity will model ways in which the hard work involved is the thinking engendered in students while the technology is elegantly simple and easy to manage for teachers.
Basically, we'll have fun, play with practical ideas that allow teachers to easily incorporate technology in their classroom daily, and leverage some of the mobile technologies that are increasingly found in students' pockets. This session will be an accessible introduction to the fundamentals of using technology in the classroom.
For nearly two decades, twin brothers and co-founders of Boston-based media/interactive development firm FableVision Peter H. Reynolds and Paul A. Reynolds have created and shared stories that have helped inspire learning, creativity, and courage to lead self-directed, meaningful life journeys. With books and films that have been celebrated around the globe, Peter landed the Association of American Publishers’ 2013 Visionary award for making such a "positive impact on the lives and endeavors of those throughout the learning resource community."
What makes the Reynolds' brand of storytelling so powerful? As American Psychologist Jerome Bruner (2002) explains, "metaphorically rich, morally instructive narratives teach us who we are and who we can become.” The brothers will share how the power of story can provide transformational change in students' (and teachers') lives - whether it is inspire self-directed learning (The North Star), courage needed for learning & self-expression (The Dot), resilience in the face of struggles (Ish), flexibility and growth mindset (Sky Color), embracing others with differences (The Blue Shoe, I’m Here), adaptive expertise, creativity and innovation (Going Places.) The brother’s talk will be interspersed with a sampling of their books and animated films, all of which can be brought into one's practice - often with enduring, life-changing results.
Key to the Reynolds mission, they will also encourage every participant and their students to discover and capture their own stories - and share them using a host of powerful new tools for creative self-expression and publishing. And most importantly, the Peter and Paul will challenge everyone to “make your mark matter!” Suddenly, we live in a world where we any student can create and broadcast self-created media from home and school. And, somewhat unnervingly, one can use 3D printers just as easily digitally fabricate a plastic gun as they can a simple machine or toys. Infinite choice & easy acquisition to creation/maker tools makes it all the more important to provide positive scaffolding. Attendees will be given the encouragement and support they need to provide the learners in their care with inspiration and guidance to use their creativity and human potential to move the world to a better place.
Over the journey that has been Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia, they have become really deeply aware of how inquiry is a process. Similarly, Chesterfield County, Virginia has scaled inquiry-based blended learning to 60,000 students. The five core values of Inquiry, Research, Collaboration, Presentation and Reflection are at the heart of the inquiry process and everything they do as a school, but there are some differences with the way SLA approaches instruction at the individual school level and how teachers in a large, managed instruction district approach instruction. At the center of any great the inquiry process is that the person engaging in the inquiry, the learner, who actually cares about the questions they are asking. In this session Chris Lehmann, principal of the school, and Adam Seldow, executive director of technology in Chesterfield County, VA will highlight the core values and show how you can put inquiry into practice at any level and any scale.
We live in an age where everything is recorded digitally – in pictures, video, and text – live as it happens; it's the end of the age of legends. "Selfie", according to the Oxford dictionary, is the word of the year 2013. Often the selfies our students are sharing aren't putting their best digital foot forward. As teachers, how can we help our students leave digital footprints they can be proud of? Is only sharing your "best stuff" such a good idea? How do we address the issue of digital ethics across the curriculum and in our classrooms?
In this session we will share some practical suggestions for a digital ethics policy in your classroom, share resources you can use with your students to have meaningful conversations about making ethical and responsible choices online, and share concrete practical suggestions you can use in your class tomorrow to help your students create digital footprints that will pass The Grandparent Test (it's not what you think it is).
There are so many ways that libraries and schools are being redesigned and changing. One way is by the addition of Makerspaces which are adding new places for creativity, collaboration, and connections. When Shannon McClintock Miller and her students added a Makerspace and tools like a Makerbot 3D printer, LittleBits, knitting, and “Maker Lunches” to the library, little did they know what it would bring to the entire school community. Through classroom PBL projects, individual passions, and global connections, the students at Van Meter have been inspired to make a difference within their Makerspace, school and the world.
Over the journey that has been Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia, they have become really deeply aware of how inquiry is a process. Similarly, Chesterfield County, Virginia has scaled inquiry-based blended learning to 60,000 students. The five core values of Inquiry, Research, Collaboration, Presentation and Reflection are at the heart of the inquiry process and everything they do as a school, but there are some differences with the way SLA approaches instruction at the individual school level and how teachers in a large, managed instruction district approach instruction. At the center of any great the inquiry process is that the person engaging in the inquiry, the learner, who actually cares about the questions they are asking. In this session Chris Lehmann, principal of the school, and Adam Seldow, executive director of technology in Chesterfield County, VA will highlight the core values and show how you can put inquiry into practice at any level and any scale.
Story telling is one of the most ancient and powerful forms of human expression. In today’s media rich world, there are an abundance of digital tools that allow students to express themselves through digital narratives in ways that would have been impossible only a few years ago. This presentation will introduce participants to the tools of digital storytelling, provide rich examples of student work, and help to provide context to the relevance of story telling in curriculum and instruction.
The session will showcase ideas gleaned from “Thinking Hyperbolically!” – a math/art+design hybrid course offered as an elective subject for high school students (typically in year 9 and 10). The primary focus of this course was to establish powerful links to interdisciplinary learning through minimal reliance on student “creative” or “mathematical” ability. TH! has promoted experience over stereotype and has provided an exciting template for innovative models of cross-curricula learning related to mathematics, design and art, incorporating applied practical experiences for students including the use of contemporary digital technologies. Each unit of work produced aesthetic form (physical and virtual) from underlying mathematical theory. TH! and its peripheral studies has influenced the education experience for both students and teachers, providing that “curiously sharp sense of joy” May (1975), inherent in the surprising mashup of disparate themes. We believe the cross-fertilisation of ideas enriches best practice. TH! projects detail how innovative practice is constantly evolving. Sharing ideas and promoting action related to interdisciplinary models of learning will enhance the breadth of development in critical thinking and the scope of potential creative output for all.
