Erika_Cravalho_NECC2008


 * James Surowieki- The Wisdom of Crowds**

In this keynote Surowieki discussed how under the right conditions groups of people can be intelligent. He discussed the __collective knowledge/intelligence__ of a group. He discussed three conditions that are needed in order to make a group smarter.


 * 1) Need some method of aggregation- using technology is the best way to help make this happen.
 * 2) Divesity- there is a need for cognitive diversity as people look at thinks from different perspectives, relying on different tools.
 * 3) Independence- the want for people to rely on their own knowledge and intuition.

One thing I thought was really interesting and aligned with what Pua is doing in the middle school is the need for trust. He discussed having real arguments as the best decisions come from conflict. However their must be trust in order to make it happen.


 * Konrad Glogowski- Blogging Communities in the Classroom: Creating Engaging Learning Experiences**

http://www.teachandlearn.ca/blog

I went to this because I have many questions on the use of blogs for curricular purposes. I do not just want it as another space for the students to social network. Going to this class did not give me the exact answer that I wanted, but gave me some helpful tips on how to make it more successful.

Glogowski explained how there is a need for three steps in order for blogging to be efficient.


 * 1) Create a community- give them a comfortable space, this as a third space (Ray Oldenburg), which is an informal public space.
 * 2) Extending classroom discourse (expressive writing)- allow students to use informal talk, to help them to allow to be active participants.
 * 3) Redefine your presence- this takes awhile to learn, but change to be a readerly and participatory voice, do not give a prompt, show you are human, and make everyone feel heard.

He suggested setting a goal for you and your students.... and shared about growing a blog.


 * Lincoln Meets Gates: Technology and History Shake Hands**

www.connally.org/necc2008

This was a model lesson where I actually got to be a participant in the presentation. The bonus of this lesson was that I received a jumpdrive with all of the templates and examples they shared in the presentation. These include trading cards, poster (made in Excel), cube, etc. They have also advised that I could email them to get more templates if there is something else that I think I might want.

This was a lesson on how you can incorporate technology as a part of research on a particular person or topic. This would could be done quickly, in two to three days and the students would have a differentiated product of her liking. For one of the first sessions I went to it was great, but as the days went on I found out there is much more that can be done.


 * Where in the World: An Interactive GPS Unit**

http://education.snc.edu/gps/GPS_Project.html

This was a great model lesson and I had a lot of fun doing it. What was most impressing is that this lesson was put together by four student teachers and they really did a fabulous job. They created a unit that included three sections.

Section 1- The students practiced map reading, did a mapquest activity, topography, longitude and latitude, a coordinate system activity, satellite image activity, and an introduction to the GPS unit.

Section 2- The students worked on a whole group GPS activity, where the students had to find hidden caches to solve a problem.

Section 3- The students had to find their teacher who was kidnapped and their clues to where he was were hidden in the caches. They had students in a main headquarters that were responsible for deciphering the clues and the rest were finding caches. They had to find 6 wayfinding points to retrieve the clues and use walkie talkies to give the information to the headquarters to use.

I liked the use of technology with this, the Garmin system, walkie talkies, and computers. I was able to do it and the excitement was intense, I could just see the kids loving this activity.


 * Wesley Fryer- Digital Storytelling (wesfryer.com)**

In this presentation he talked in detail about the power of visual storytelling through picture and the power of voice.

www.voicethread.com

Voice Thread is on the computer and is free for K-12 teachers. It is a great tool to use for both formative and summative assessment. Need a visual camera, microphone, and internet connected computer. A suggestion was made to reduce pictures.

www.math247.com

This site is for the math teachers and it has Voice Thread math lessons that may be helpful to your students.

www.flickr.com

Tell a Story in 5 Photos for Educators helps to encourage digital storytelling. This is a good place for students to explore and to add their own visual story. Be sure to go to the for Educators one, there is another one, but those are not screened for appropriateness.

www.gabcast.com

This is a free site that allows you to record directly to the internet from a cell phone, in case a microphone is not available. The only thing is… recording it here does give permission for it to be shared on the internet.

This was a panel of women who shared what they know and shared resources that they have. All of them are listed below.
 * Education About Online Safety**

www.connectsafely.org

www.netsmartz.org (videos with lesson plans, blogs, newletter about intenet usage, safety, etc.)

www.ctap4.org/cybersafety (free poster that can be printed from the internet, cyber safety wikis, okay to use any resource as you like on this website)

www.osba.org (administrative resources about current issues and the language to use when discussing)

www.myhero.org

www.epals.com

www.gsn.org or www.globalschoolnet.org (project registry)

www.thinkquest.org

www.classrooomlearning2.blogspot.com (online course that is self paced)

www.tig.org


 * Ian Jukes and Frank Kelly- New HS Strategies That Work for Teachers**

Currently, schools are being built with no change, they are based on old ideas that are not working for students. This session was so great because it aligns and reinforces what we are doing with the new MS building. I really do feel like we are moving in the right direction in regards to progressive education.

Discussed 21st century HS principles


 * 1) start by looking at kids and learning
 * 2)  learning must prepare students for a wold of constant change
 * 3)  learning must focus on 21st centruy thinking skills
 * 4)  learning must include 21st century fluency skills
 * 5)  learning must reflect the new digital reality
 * 6)  learning must be interdisciplinary
 * 7)  learning must be shaped for the individual
 * 8)  learning must engage 21st century digital kids
 * 9)  learning must be connected to the outside world
 * 10)  learning opportunities should be available 24 hours/day, 7 days/week
 * 11)  time should be flexible, not learning
 * 12)  students should assume responsibility for their own learning
 * 13)  every student should have a close working relationship with at least one adult in school
 * 14)  students should have their own personal place to work
 * 15)  assessmentmust encompass knowledge skiils and higher order thinking skills
 * 16)  every student must be prepared so they __may__ go to post-secondary studies
 * 17)   the configuration of space within a school building must be highly flexible

Digital kids should not 'power down' when they are working at school, this is what is currently happening.

We need to be thinking in the future tense...
 * What needs to be done to get there?
 * Build from the future to the present.

nomorecookiecutterschools.com
 * downloadable handouts about the above topics


 * It’s History: Reinventing History**

This was a session by a high school U.S. History teacher and her tech person at the school. This was an excellent session because it really did give me ideas on what can be done in my class. It showed how powerful the use of technology is.

They discussed using such programs as ning, google pages, google notebook. They had examples of iMovies, timelines, flashcards, podcasts, 3D museum, etc. that could be used in the class.

I got so many ideas from this session and cannot wait to implement them.

quizlet.com

xtimeline.com

Historynow.org (podcast w/ text and newsletter)


 * Teaching Students How to Think Critically- Sandra Wozniak (swozniak@tregoe.org)**

Yourtake.org (free source w/ code- teffriend)

This was a model lesson, which I was able to be a participant in again. This was an awesome session because the presenter is also a middle school teacher and had such a great personality. This website is free, for now, and gives teachers a tool to work on critical thinking skills in class. Students learn to S-C-A-N.

S- stop and think think through C- clarify the key issues A- ask yourself what’s most important N- now, what’s the next step

This site provides content-based scenarios which you as the teacher sets up and allows students to interact with. There are over 100 scenarios to choose from and it includes a user guide for ease. This website also teaches 21st century skills of collaboration and online communication in a safe, legal, and responsible way. There is even a blogging feature for the students to use to interact with each other.