My First and Second Conference

For the past couple of years I have been working on ideas to present at local conferences. I toyed with ideas on what to present whether it would be beneficial or if it was something that had already been presented so many times that it was old news. I struggled on and off with the dilemma of what to do along with personal issues that have arisen in recent history that have kept me from presenting. Well this year I have finally gotten everything together both personally and professionally enough to be able to present not only once but twice within three weeks of each other.

This past weekend I had the wonderful opportunity to present at the @ActivCarolina Conference which was held in our school district. In working with one of the organizers of the event we discussed some things that could be done to increase usage of our Interactive White Boards with document cameras in our district. Since I, along with others in our district have made a real push for the integration of document cameras in our district we discussed a presentation that could be done for the ActivCarolina Conference. This then ballooned out to where I could also retool the presentation and take it to @NCTIES, which is our statewide technology conference.

As the time had been drawing nearer to the date of the conferences I have to admit that I had/have been getting more and more nervous that I was forgetting something or needed to add more or take away from the presentation in order to make it as successful as possible. With the help of some of my colleagues I worked to create a Livebinder of resources and information that would go along with the presentation for the attendees to refer back to after the conferences. Now that one has passed, which I have been told was very good. We all know that we, ourselves, are our biggest critics and I always think that I could have done some different or changed the delivery in certain ways. So again I am in that mind set of possibly not being prepared enough for the next presentation. I want it to be perfect, but we all know that we can over analyze the situation and go completely in the opposite direction.

Now I am preparing for the next conference which will be my second ever. It's kind of funny to think back now and after almost 7 years I have never presented at any type of conference. I had never even considered doing it in any way shape or form because I never felt that I had anything real to contribute for my peers that could constitute the opportunity to present at a conference. As I gather up all the items and props that I will need I am still saying to myself, are you ready? Part of me says yes while I am also in panic mode. I think it will go great but there is always that fear of having to drop back and punt.

...but such is the life you live when you present at conferences, whether big or small, tech or not. I look forward to the conference and maybe the possibility of doing this again down the road or next year.

What I've learned to make me a better teacher ...

I was very fortunate to have to the opportunity to attend some of the presentations and discussions at the 2011 Reform Symposium (#rscon11 on twitter). What is even better is that the sessions were recorded, so I will be able to listen to the sessions I did not get to attend as well as listen again to the ones I attended. As a participant in the 2010 Reform Symposium (search for Reform Symposium on my blog to find posts about it), I knew there would be lots of great things shared, but it was information overload ... in a good way.

This was/is free professional development shared by people all around the world that you can experience at home in your pajamas! I have a hard time thinking of better PD ...

One of the sessions I attended was "One thing I've Learned To Make Me A Better Teacher" which was an open discussion facilitated by Melissa Tran. (I knew it would be great especially since her name is Melissa) :)

Here are a few of the comments that stood out to me:

• it is important to surround yourself with positive influences
• developing a PLN on twitter will prove so beneficial
• feel passion in what you do
• help develop the passions of others
• make connects and build relationships with all those around those (students, teachers, coworkers ...)
• what we do is all about sharing
• teach from the heart ... students will know if you really care
• you have to reach students before you can teach them
• failure is OK as long as you learn from it

I shared a few of the things that stood out to me, and I would encourage you to go listen to the archive of this session (will be posted Jan.15th) to see what stands out for you.

Since things from this session stuck in my mind, I decided to ask a question on twitter (I am @mwedwards): "What is something you have learned that you think new teachers should know?"

I will share a few of the responses I got:

• "That parents are partners... that you're stronger together and to use rubrics and save evidence of work 4 interviews"
• "New Teachers should know how to handle parent/teacher conferences. Listen to parents voice concerns,then solve problems together"
• "Wish teachers taught relaxation training on a regular basis!"
• "I have learned too many things to mention in a tweet!"

What are some things you have learned to make you a better teacher?
What are some things you have learned that you think new teachers should know?

image by D Sharon Pruitt and found athttp://www.flickr.com/photos/40645538@N00/4269396864/

Lessons From A Smackdown...

One of my favorite parts of many conferences is the Smackdown. What is a Smackdown you ask? Well, it can take on many different forms depending on who you ask but for the sake of our discussion a Smackdown is when people get up and they have a very limited time to share information about their favorite technology tool or trick. It could be anywhere from 60 seconds to 3 minutes.


Here is a video of one I did at #NTCamp in Philly over the summer.






Recently at EdcampCitrus in Florida they did a Smackdown session where several tools and tricks were shared. While I hate I could not be there in person, Jerry (one of the organizers) kindly created a Google Doc to share. Below is that doc so you can take a look.





I wanted to point out a few from this list that caught my eye:


Classroom 2.0 Live Archive-This is a great place to catch all the recorded Classroom 2.0 sessions. There are so many great interviews and sessions here. Everything is tagged and easy to find.

Wallwisher-I love this site for getting quick ideas on topics. It is basically a virtual sticky notes board that, when shared anyone can access. You only have a 140 characters but you can include links to websites, images, sounds and video, which can be helpful. I like this site for getting quick feedback and ideas for topics. (Be warned, however, it has been going down lately. Sometimes it works, sometimes not. But it is too good not to include here. Always check before you use it. Lino It is a good alternative.)

WhenIsGood-This online scheduler is great. Say you need to do a meeting. Click all the times you are available. Send a link to invitees. They click when they are available. When all matches up. You have your meeting time. This is really great when trying to organize events with lots of people. Best part? Free!

Fur.ly-This is a URL shortner that allows you to combine a bunch of links into one. Great for kids to share sites or web tours or for just sharing a bunch of links all at once. Very easy to use.


Be sure to check out the doc. What is your favorite tool not on the list that you think others might not know about? Leave some details in the comments.


Update: Thanks to Jerry (mentioned above) and the girls at SimpleK12. Below is the video of the Smackdown from #EdcampCitrus. Enjoy!

Nothing But NETS

Last week administrators and leadership in the WSFCS system converged on Reagan High School for the Nothing But NETS technology conference. It involved two full days of sessions related to some of the current technology going on in our district. I finished thinking of what a great opportunity it had been to have contact with the principals and instructional staff in our district and how impressed I was with the participants in my sessions. I heard similar positive things from others session instructors.



Because leadership "buy-in" is critical for the successful integration of technology, I was pleased to see and hear such supportive feedback from the participants at the conference. Principals not only allocate funds for technology and plan the training sessions for the use of technology, but also set the expectations for the use of technology in their schools. Some of the best examples of schools and classrooms using technology in our district come from schools that have strong leaders who promote the use of technology by their teachers and expect to see teachers and students using technology in meaningful ways.

The Nothing But NETS conference was a unique opportunity to connect with those who are currently setting the stage for technology use in their school for the new year.

Ashe County Technology Conference 2009

As you may have already read in an earlier post, Emory and I were given the opportunity to present last week at the 2009 Technology Conference in Ashe County, North Carolina!

Technology Conferences are always exciting - you go in with a great expectation and huge anticipation for learning, seeing, and hearing something that will inspire you back at your desk. This time, though, things were a little bit different... As a presenter, I was in the role to provide that inspiration to others. Did I do just that? I sure hope so. I received a lot of kind words and many thanks for my session titled "Introduction to Wikis" using PBWorks.

So, what was my main goal in presenting the idea of wikis into a regular classroom curriculum? Simple. It gives the students a 21st century method for presenting the same work they always have. The key here... teachers must realize that 21st century skills learning doesn't necessarily mean changing the curriculum... it just means taking a second look at the delivery method - as a teacher and as a student. Where can you start? Tackle the two most common assignments most teachers give... Writing Prompts and Research Projects. Both make excellent use of the wiki and collaborative learning environment.

Whether presenting away from home, or simply doing the day-to-day workshops here and there, inspiration is my top priority. I want to inspire teachers on several levels.

I want to...

• Inspire them to be open-minded in their quest for achieving successful 21st century learning environments in their classrooms;
• Inspire them to be gutsy and try new things - being oh so mindful that the new things they try aren't so "new" to the students! We just need to shape what they already use into our educational molds and purposes!
• Inspire them to believe in themselves. It does not matter how long you've been a teacher... learning is the name of the game in your 1st year and in your 30th year.
• Inspire them to see the bigger picture... yes, the little details matter during the day when integrating technology into the projects, one class project at a time - but better still - the big pictures makes way for overall and increased technological skill development by the end of the academic year

Did I enjoy presenting? For certain. I only hope that those folks who came into my session left with the same passion I came in with.

Want to check out the technology conference format? Take a look.