Yesterday, I wrote about our keynote speaker at the Massachusetts New Literacies Teacher-Leader Institute. Tom Daccord inspired us to think about learning and communication in the changing world. Today, I am going to do a post of lists that came out of the day-long institute on Friday (which was a follow-up to a week in June).
Some online tools and sites mentioned (within my earshot)
- Glogster
- Wallwisher
- Dabbleboard
- Prezi
- Weebly
- Xtranormal
- Delicious
- Quia
- Wikispaces
- Voki
- Readability
- Natural Reader
- Animoto
- Voicethread
- Elluminate
Ways NOT to run a hand-on session as a presenter (me)
- Don’t have enough wireless IP addresses for everyone so not everyone is connected
- Don’t have break-out rooms — do it in a large room with other workshops so there is a lot of noise
- Jam people around a small table
- Don’t have a projector for your presentation
- Be forced to “tell” not “show”
What future Mass New Literacies sessions should include (notes from my smaller group)
- Less cool tools and more bigger picture on New Literacies
- More interactive work
- Compelling examples of student digital work
- Reflections/stories from other teachers
- A database of New Literacies examples
We need to be (a sharing out to the larger group):
- Getting technology out of the lab and into the classroom
- Using “Just in Time” technology sharing for colleagues
- Bringing administrators on board — sets tone for the entire faculty
- Dealing with “access” issues for teachers and students
- Finding levels of comfort to transfer knowledge and skills (learning curve)
- Matching the right tool to content standard/learning
- Learning more from each other — reflections from teachers
- Connecting with other schools — collaboration as a way to learn
- Grappling with filtering issues — to be open or to be closed?
- Needing future conversations: cell phones/iPads
- Reviewing acceptable use policies — reflect the current environment? Or outdated?
- Creating a database of classroom examples
- Sharing out our Professional Development materials with each other
- Using time at staff meeting to share out a cool tool
- Bringing students and their digital work to School Committees, which make policy
Peace (from the PD),
Kevin
I’ve enjoyed this series on the Mass New Literacies Institute. Thanks for hitting the high spots (as well as the low ones =O) Without being there, I have to concur with the recommendations for future sessions. You have presented the tools now the folks need to see them in action and in more depth. Of course there’s no substitute for actual personal hands-on work but the sharing piece is vital as my perspective will be different from others.
As a side note, I spent 5 hours at school yesterday working on the Mac COW installing 3-7 updates each, creating my own account on some, and cleaning up my other desktops which were littered with some of last years work. I also scratched my head wondering where 4 laptops/5 chargers are since they aren’t in the COW. It was a pretty cleansing experience for me and I feel more ready to begin, but updates? Really? And missing equipment? That would be a few of the “access issues.”
I like the list of we need to be. Each one makes sense especially the one _get the technology out of the lab and the focus on the teacher as learner/reflector.