Talkin’ ’bout Tlt

I just returned from the Tlt Summit in Saskatoon and I’m still in the “go” mode of conferences. There were lots of great ideas and thoughts to ponder. We were treated to keynotes from the diverse thoughts of George Siemens, Alan November, Rick Schwier and Stephen Downes. My head is spinning.

At the conference I heard over and over that one of the best parts of this kind of conference is getting to meet face to face with people that you have met online, or at earlier conferences. This is so true. The attendees shared a passion for learning and a desire to help their students use technology in effective ways. The conversation always turned to learning and how to improve it.

A couple of primary goodies from the conference: Kelly Christopherson shared Go2Web20, a site that allows you to search web 2.0 tools by tag. (Hint: Try the “kids” tag.) A great find. Marnie McMillan presented a wiki to go with her Writing on the Web session.

I did a session about using web 2.0 tools with elementary students. Because I already had a wiki for primary, I set up an elementary wiki for this conference as well, focusing on grades three to eight. Here is my slide deck from the presentation.

[slideshare id=399100&doc=elementary-web-20-1210544503158001-8&w=425]

Tlt was a great experience. I can’t wait until next year.

A Team Approach is the Real Treasure

Today, still at the Saskatchewan Reading Convention, I wore another one of my hats, that of a literacy team member at my school. We have worked very hard over the past few years to improve the reading levels of our students, and we have been very pleased with the results we have achieved. (Check out the graph on slides three to nine.) Shelley Hager, our primary Student Support Services Teacher and I did a presentation about what we have done at our school to accomplish what we have so far. The audience was great—we could feel their energy. They asked helpful, clarifying questions and they put up with us rushing through the last part of our presentation.

[slideshare id=350010&doc=a-team-approach-is-the-real-teasure-1208040210406314-9&w=425]

Shownotes:

Unlock the Mysteries

Yesterday I had the opportunity to present a session on blogging at the Saskatchewan Reading Convention. The theme of the conference, was “Unlock the Mystery, Find the Treasure: Read”, so I titled my session Unlock the Mysteries of Blogging.

[slideshare id=339251&doc=unlock-the-mysteries-of-blogging-1207520037732286-8&w=425]

Following in the footsteps of Dean Shareski, and the wiki he did for his Are You Published? session at Showcase last winter, I created a wiki with my slides embedded and some links for the teachers to check out as they explore a tool that was new to them.

Jody Hayes, bless her heart, went to her school at 4:30 a.m. on a Saturday morning to Skpye into my session. I owe you big time, Jody.

It’s Not About the Technology

Several people, including Dean and Darren, have posted “Day in the Life of” slideshows. When Dean asked Darren, Clarence and I to speak to his class at the University of Regina via Elluminate, I decided to follow their example. As my sister often says, “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery”. Since my students are much cuter than I am, I decided to make it a day in one of their lives instead of my own. I chose the student who was the first one in the door in the morning. He got a little tired of my constant picture taking, so although he was still reluctantly humouring me, I branched out to some other students who were more than eager to take his place.

I have had teachers ask me if my students ever write on paper. Of course they do! Almost every day! Because of this, I wanted to show Dean’s students that technology is not always the best choice as a teaching tool. It is just one of the tools that I can choose from when I am planning the best learning option for my class. It can, however, give us opportunities that no other tool can such as opportunities for connection, for an audience and for transparency.

I used two videos in my pesentation as well, one about comparing capacity of containers and another about how to kick a soccer ball.

[slideshare id=314391&doc=a-day-in-the-life-of-a-student-deans-version-1205972250760060-3&w=425]