NECC 2007 Resources
Many of the presenters at NECC have made their presentations and handouts available for download. This is an excellent resource and can be located here.
Reinventing Schools – Wes Fryer
Wes Fryer conducted an interesting session devoted to how our schools should look like today.This is a recurring theme of NECC this year. Wes wanted us to think about the question: What will thrive in 2065? What skill sets are required and in what ways should our education system change. There appears to be no simple answer to this however it is clear that things cannot continue as they are. Wes then played the Marco Torres video – ‘When I become a teacher”.Wes quotes Marco and his work throughout the session – it just demonstrates how we are all connected in a flat world. He discusses the difference between what he calls Digital School 1.0 where basically nothing is really different just using technology to do it e.g Use of powerpoint replacing overhead projector and Transformative School 2.0 where things look very different – new wine in new bottles not new wine in old bottles. We need to acknowledge change, accept it and move towards it. There is no silver bullet.Wes promoted the K12Online Conference– a completely online conference and FREE. I participated in the first of these in 2006 and would encourage anybody who is interested in contemporary learning to register for this year’s event. Wes is a big believer in 1:1 learning environments.He pointed us to the Alabama Best Practices Center as a good resource.Wes also said that we need emphasis on creativity. The need for creativity and the fostering of creativity has been a major focus of NECC this year.Finally he directed us to the Greater Houstan Education Collaboration site. Wes produces an excellent regular podcast. If you haven’t subscribed to his podcast “Moving at the Speed of Creativity” then you should consider doing so. Wes has pocast a number of NECC 2007 sessions and they will be coming online shortly.
School 2.0
I attended a very interesting panel session chaired by Gwen Solomon of TechLearning.com with Timothy Magner, Will Richardson, Lynne Schrum and David Warlick. Lots of great thoughts on what schools should look like. Tim Magner from the federal government gave an overview of a blueprint for a 2.0 school he describes as a learning ecosystem.Will Richardson talked about kids needing ‘good models’. There was alot of good ineteraction from the floor. I offered my 2 cents worth in relation to the risk we run of thinking Web 2.0 alone will bring about change. I talked about new pedagoggies, integrated curriculum and new learning spaces. I invited others who are interested in working with me in developing networks and was happy to receive a number of offers including one from Dr Keith Hamon, Technology Director for the Monroe County School District in Georgia. This is the power of events like this where we can make such valuable connections. Will Richardson spoke with me after the session and also expressed an interest catching up on his planned trip to Australia in August. I said we would stay in touch.
Google Earth Magic
I am sure many of you are aware of Google Earth. One of my colleagues Paul Meldrum does some wonderful work using this powerful tool.Hall Davidson presented an excellent session to a packed audience on the real power of Google Earth titled ‘Finally, Staggering Good Things Mixing Google Earth and Media’. Hall is an educator who works for Discovery Education. If you haven’t seen the great work they do then it is well worth a look. Hall is an energetic presenter who REALLY knows how to manipulate Google Earth and gave some great examples of how it can be used in the classroom. One i really liked was a project called Google Lit Trips. This combines routes in literature with google earth allowing students studying the text to take to journey on Google Earth.Hall has been kind enough to upload all the resources he talked about on his blog DENMediaMatters. While some of this s technical and not for everyone I do see many great uses of Google Earth in education.Google Earth Resources
Atomic Learning Breakfast
This morning my colleague from Canberra-Goulbourn CEO, Michael Haigh and I attended a special Atomic Learning briefing on a new product called Atomic Training to be released in August.It is portal service designed to deliver traning materials at a system or school level. I thought it had a range of possibilities however it will require adequate bandwidth which many of us still struggle with. Something to watch out for.
Kathy Schrock – Web 2.0 Showcase
Web 2.0 is the current buzzword. This new Read Write web opens up limitless possibilities for us as educators. I have given numerous presentations to teachers on these exciting tools. At NECC this year Web 2.0 sessions abound. However I believe I found the BEST of them today to share with you.Kathy Schrock is presently the Administrator for Technology of the Nauset Public Schools in Orleans, Massachusetts. Her job includes maintenance of all the technology and networking for seven schools, technology curriculum infusion planning, and teacher training and professional development in technology. Kathy gave a wonderful overview of the many Web 2.0 tools available to educators including definitions and backed up by some classroom uses. Have a look at her Web 2.0 site for complete interactive list. If you haven’t yet seen the video The Machine is Us /ing Us it is also worth a look as it looks at Web 2.0. Practising what she preaches Kathy has posted her presentation using Picasa.
Daring Conversations – Voices of Digital Natives
I really didn’t know what to expect when i went to a one woman (actor) show portraying the voices of digital natives but it was truly very inspiring and original. For an hour Deneen Frazier Bowen took us on an entertaining and enlightening journey into the minds and hearts of today’s digital natives. Using recent research, Deneen portrays a riveting cast of characters to reveal the students’ struggle to connect what they do in school with what they do in the world. Deneen invited us to witness and connect to both the hope and discontent felt by these restless natives. I loved Edy. Through these performances and following discussion Deneen discussed how how to engage and leverage the digital mindset and creative energy of students to support the co-creation of a new future for schools. Central to her perfomances is the research and the interviews with students.Look here for links to related research.
“The secret of education lies in respecting the student” Ralph Waldo Emerson
1:1 Program in Texas
This session provided some very helpful information related to 1:1 computing, especially those who are considering starting a 1:1 program in their schools or systems. With our school system already having implemented a 1:1 program at Corpus Christi Catholic High School and planning a wider 1:1 deployment in 2008 I found this session of geat interest. Through the Texas Technology Immersion Pilot (TIP), 22 campuses have been immersed for several years.There have been numerous lessons learned and these were well outlined. They have developed an EXCELLENT online resource supporting the project, the TIP toolkit is essential reading for anyone considering implementing a 1:1 program.
Breakfast with Marco
I had breakfast with my good friend and international educational technologist Marco Torres. Marco is presenting at a number of sessions and is showcasing a range of Apple technologies at the Apple booth.
