#iste13

Tweet-tastic from #ISTE13, part 1

July 1, 2013 by Amber 3 Comments

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I have used twitter as my note taking guide from other conferences and it has worked fine. The problem with using it at ISTE was I was there for 5 days and there were over 50,000 tweets. Bah! Impossible to scour and dig deeper. Here are my tops from a couple of sessions I attended or *starred* while I was there.

Going Google:Save resources and maximize your chance for success:

Be curious, not cautious.
Going google allowed dumping of 280 apps, to switch to the cloud…Never waste a good crisis!
Dealing with teacher hesitancy on professional background sharing: I’m trusting you with my child, I need to know who you are
“I’m sensitive to teacher concerns: I still make them do it, but we talk a lot about it.”
Live google cally embedded into district site, allows for fast & simple sharing with stakeholders
I like tools that allow Ts to utilize 95% of the tools capacity…yea google! (He was comparing this to Microsoft…where 95% of teachers only utilize 5% of what it can do. Genius thought!!)

Untangling the web: Free tools to power up your teaching, authors Adam Bellow & Steve Dembo break down the best of the best

Key to finding technologies that last…book is a blend, looking at the of making it new!
Even if it’s old hat to you, chances are someone down the hall has never heard of it…hate the mentality of “oh, I’ve seen that, oh I know all about that.” Odds are the majority of teachers in your district HAVEN’T.
Get out your devices…and change the world.
All resources shared here: http://padlet.com/wall/iste13 Padlet offers secure & moderated pages, gr8 for Ts & Ss
http://Ipiccy.com @teach42 just said it was as good, if not better than picnik… does include all my picmonkey faves like adding mascara, a tan, and eye brighteners, also ALL free
Thinglink.com You can create mixed media interactive map…think timeline meets powerpoint, but cooler.
Thenounproject.com creating an image for every noun… Wow! Great resource for infographic creation. Can search just for free images; grab icon images that are clean and easy to transfer
Personas.media.mit.edu is a way to find your digital footprint ( I haven’t been able to get this to connect for me, boo.)
I didn’t know http://bighugelabs.com offered a free educator account tht offers a unique URL, no ads! great site!! Never seen that one before!! tons of free, fun sign makers including that Cubs sign up there, 🙂
http://Delivr.com edit your QR code, great site for management & sharing! This one is WAY cool, because it allows you to edit the QR codes. So instead of having to recreate and rehang, you can simply edit the ones in your building/campus. Like an Easter egg hunt, you never know what you’re going to find!
wevideo.com Amazing class video potential!!! My head is spinning with those campus possibilities!! You can have tons of media already loaded and let kids create their own mashups. What a time saver!!
PrintFriendly.com – make print friendly & PDF versions of webpages! Awesome 4 teachers trying to grab digital resources

Reflectively,

Amber

Get your game on!

June 29, 2013 by Amber Leave a Comment

Before I go Piaget and deep thinking on some of what I saw at ISTE this week, I want to talk about some of the sessions I went too. I’ve seen a push back via Twitter on people complaining about sessions in a couple ways. One person very snarkily asked if anyone actually went to session or if they just “hung out” the whole time. Another complained about the validity of so may many “tool” based sessions.

I went to a couple GREAT sessions…and I went to a couple of sessions that were written up very well, 🙂 That being said, in the same sense that studenrs take ownership and LEARN when they are interested and passionate, adults are the same way. I’m a glass half full kinda girl, so of course, I was able to find the good in anything I did there. Starting with the keynotes…

Jane McGonigal kicked off Sunday night. I had never heard of her before but have a lot of experience with gaming in the classroom pros/cons. I loved that she said,

passive vs engaged brain

“Gamers contribute to a broad network of inspired creativity.” With only 4 out of 10 high schoolers admitting to seeing a need for them to graduate, we need to do something to create a passion that wants them to finish. As our students grow up gaming, they’re immersed in a high engaging, high energy, high on feedback, and collaboration environment…schools have to adjust!

For those who think games are a waste of time…gamers fail 80% of the game. And yet, they keep going. Think of how different that is from the classroom. We have kids that give up before they even try. Games give you a hero, a quest, and a purpose, no matter how small. No wonder our students are attracted to it. They’re trying to change the world…why can’t we give them that opportunity in the classroom?

She showed a slide of the incredible comparison of a passive and an engaged gamers brain…you only “light up” when you are in control. Research shows that we start every game being bad at it. When we learn how to do something we charge up the hippocampus. The hippocampus is the part of the brain that is involved in memory forming, organizing, and storing. It is particularly important in forming new memories and connecting emotions and senses, like smell and sound, to memories.

One of my favorite researchers in positive emotion ratio is Dr. Barb Fredrickson. Jane mentioned this when she said that you should want 3 positive emotions to every negative…it’s a magic ratio that can add to your success in EVERY aspect of your life. Powerful! Is that happening for our students in the classroom? Because it is in other facets of their life. If we educators want to be a part of that passion play, we need just that…more PLAY in the classroom. This talk wasn’t just about the obvious, playing video games, but PLAYing in general. After all, as @TechNinjaTodd said, ” We want kids to see we can have fun being adults so that they want to grow up”!

Thinkingly,

AmGame

#ISTE13 Reflections

June 28, 2013 by Amber Leave a Comment

I’m so impressed with those who have already been able to get their thoughts down in some form or another about this week’s ISTE conference. I still haven’t even gotten my voice back, 🙂 I blame @MrHooker and his rousing session at EdTech karaoke that required squeals.

ISTE marked my third conference in three weeks. To say I was tired before we even got started is an understatement. To say my brain was full was laughable. In fact, I had multiple notes that are eventually going to be blogs on the other two that were more along the lines of “the way I wish things were” and then along came ISTE.

This wasn’t my first ISTE conference. I went in 2008, also in San Antonio, right after I was hired as a tech facilitator for our district. I can’t even remember ONE single session that I attended or an idea that I brought back. Now, understandably, that was 5 years and a three year old ago, but still. You would think there was something noteworthy about it…but nope.

This time? I think on the ride home Matt Gomez and I had a couple hours of silence where we were both still trying to process what had just happened. From the chatter filled ride down, to the reconnecting of people that I call now call besties, to the meeting of people I respect and admire professionally…there are SO many moments that won’t be forgotten.The sessions I attended all seemed to have a reoccurring theme, as did the tweets that I saw flying across.

Technology should enhance learning, not control it. The learning comes 1st & the technology 2nd. (ala George Couros)

From technology directors, to teachers, to principals, to program/app creators, to key note speakers…everyone I came across saw and recognized that if we start with people, relationships and learning, any type of technology is going to elevate the opportunities within your classroom. The PLN that we are connected to GET that. I can’t wait to unpack it all more!

I have so much more to say…and I’ll get to it all, especially more about the WHY I am sharing, soon.

But I have a lot of story time to catch up on, 🙂

missed mom,

Amber

Texas Tripapolooza…

June 21, 2013 by Amber Leave a Comment

My word. It’s the first day of summer and I haven’t paused to take a breath.

#TEPSA13 was great. Fast paced and full of sharing. Wish there were more admin’s on Twitter so they could have shared about their sessions. When you’re missing that techno component now, I feel like I miss out so much of what the conference has to offer. There’s a only a couple sessions per day, so it was hard to pick and choose where to go. Did get to dinner with some great peeps…and go t to meet @DrJolly for the first time. Have Relevant content, lack of tech.

#ignite13 was great. (there’s a pattern here, go with it.) I didn’t realize that it was a techno focused conference so that was a pleasant surprise! There were several district peeps there that I hope enjoyed the sessions…I saw sites like Dovewhisper and Blabberize being shared. Was bummed that the Aurasma session was scheduled at the same time as mine so I wasn’t able to go to it, but I’ve already warned @TechNinjaTodd that we’re having a sit down to discuss next week. Met several tweeps in person, including the great @Shareski, whom I hope to have more time with at #iste13 next week. Wish the content was stronger, but great tech involved…

The last of my triple threat trips is next week. (pant, pant, pant) I leave for ISTE on Saturday. What’s in store for me there? LOTS of my PLN who’ll I’ll either see again from ASCD or get to meet for the first time, 🙂 Super excited about my roomies, which will prolly make the trip worth it for me! (Joan, Ashlie, Erin, & Angela) Hoping this conference will be the perfect cornucopia of tech, content, and fellowship. I have a post coming up on that, on the great tech divide.

This has literally been the year of the conference for me and I can’t wait for 1013-2014 to put into action all that I’ve seen…but I’m not going to lie. I am ALSO ready for several weeks off … 🙂

haven’t packed yet,

Amber