I am literally 20 minutes removed from another great #itecia conference, and my head is spinning with new possibilities and takeaways. I wanted to jot down the top takeaways, the items that left me with numerous open tabs, before I get back into the whirlwind that is everyday life!
And for the record, I am now 45 minutes removed from ITEC, so for those who think blogging takes up too much time, I am literal proof that in 25 minutes I organized my thoughts and resources into something that I'll be glad I can come back to later - and might even help a few other educators along the way!
Cross-posted from rethinkredesign.org
- George Couros was the opening day keynote, and once again I was blown away. My favorite takeaway from the keynote was definitely this idea - "We need to make the positive so loud, that the negatives are almost impossible to hear." There are things in life that suck (yes, I'm going to be blunt about it). Watch the news, you'll hear it all day. There are things in technology and education and social media that suck. But the amazing things? THOSE are the stories we need to be sharing. Especially in schools. Each and every child, teacher, building, community (I could keep going) has an amazing story to tell, and we live in a world in which it can be shared with millions with the click of a button. Let the positive stories bury the negatives.
- Recap App is a tool from Swivl that I sent out to several teachers immediately - as in I was still sitting in the session and I drafted a quick email to see who might want to pilot this FREE student video response tool with me (if you're a PLAEA educator and interested in exploring this together, or have a success story to share, let me know)! I had a class set up for my kids, a prompt created, and was ready to go within 5 minutes. I can't wait to see what this does for both capturing the student learning process AND what implications it may have for coaching and adult learning! Thanks Diana Byriel for sharing!
- One of the featured speakers this year was Pernille Ripp, and while I didn't get to make it to a session, I followed closely on Twitter (thankful again that I'm a connected educator) and I can't wait to explore her list of global projects to share with our teachers.
- Another Couros resource, sort of, that makes my list is his crowd-sourced Google Doc of educators and "must see/read" websites from one of his breakout sessions. Harnessing the minds in the room is always incredibly powerful, and fits in with one of my huge thought takeaways from that session. He suggested that we spoon-feed too much - as in "make it so compelling that they want to learn it on their own."
- Finally, I want to round out my list with an author I learned about and am excited to read - Dr. Steve Constantino. Family engagement, especially around 21st century learning concepts, is an area of focus for me again this year, and I can't wait to add to my knowledge base through another expert. I already downloaded his free eBook, and am looking forward to purchasing another.
And for the record, I am now 45 minutes removed from ITEC, so for those who think blogging takes up too much time, I am literal proof that in 25 minutes I organized my thoughts and resources into something that I'll be glad I can come back to later - and might even help a few other educators along the way!
Cross-posted from rethinkredesign.org