(Almost) all our content from 2006 to 2017 is archived and available online under a Creative Commons license. Please read this post from June 2018 for more background and updates about our conference and current status.
K12 Online Conference » Blog Archives

Tag Archives: collaboration

2014 2014-STEAM

What Makes a Quality STEM Activity?

Published by:

Presenter: Mike Anderson & Scott McLeod
Location: Iowa
@MikeAnderson_34 and @mcleod

Presentation Description: To create high quality STEM learning opportunities several factors must be considered. Is it hands-on? Do students have the opportunity to collaborate? Is significant content and conceptual understanding uncovered through the activity? Join us as we talk about these factors and others, their importance, and explore STEM activities that exhibit them at work.

Link to presentation’s supporting documents:
http://rethinkredesign.org/stuff-weve-done/k12-online-2014/

2014 2014-Passion-Driven Learning

Finding Your People

Published by:

Presenter: Cheryl Steighner
Location: Tacoma, WA, USA
@cherylsteighner

Presentation Title: Finding Your People

Presentation Description: This session will focus on the positive changes that can occur in our schools when one “finds their people,” or a group of other like-minded educators. I will discuss a variety of ways teachers can connect with one another on- and off-line to spark their individual passions, as well as provide tips for collaboration and passing on the spark. Examples include: EdCamps, Twitter (citing specific hashtags or chats), Google+ communities, Pinterest, worldwide educational events (Dot Day, Global Read Aloud, Hour of Code), and local and national conferences.

Link to presentation’s supporting documents:
none

Additional Information:
www.classroomquests.com

2014 2014-Stories for Learning

Collaboration with TwitCast

Published by:

Presenter: Dr. M. Monte Tatom
Location: Henderson, TN, USA
@drmmtatom

Presentation Description: Participants will learn creative ways to use TwitCasting for students, parents, community, administration, faculty, and staff. TwitCasting is a great way for students and teachers to share up-to-date information and receive feedback using the class hashtag.
ISTE Standards addressed:
ISTE Standard-S 2B: TwitCasting will provide students an opportunity to share information and ideas with classmates, students in other countries and their teachers.
ISTE Standard-T 3C: TwitCasting will give teachers the ability to share relevant information and ideas to students, parents, and peers.
ISTE Standard-A 2B: TwitCasting will give the administrator the opportunity to model and promote the frequent and effective use of technology for learning.

 

Link to presentation’s supporting documents:
http://drmmtatom.weebly.com/blog/category/twitcasting

2014 2014-Stories for Learning

A Tale of Three Classrooms: How and Why We Read, Write, and Think for Each Other

Published by:

Presenter: Jared Colley and Joel Garza
Location: Arlington, TX and Addison, TX
@jcolley8

Presentation Description: This presentation demonstrates how a good idea was born out of a collaboration involving three teachers who first set out to do something very traditional with their English classes. Growing from a shared interest to try something different, teachers experimented to understand the organic but deliberate aspects of one instance of collaboration, made possible by technology and open-minded spirits. In the beginning, however, the idea was largely traditional: to host a collaborative, inter-institutional paper conference for high school students. This is the story of how a traditional vision became the catalyst for 21st century learning practices – attempting, from there, to outline the emotional anatomy of such collaborative experiences.

New media presents promising opportunities for students and teachers together to think beyond traditional methods for collaboration, and our experience is a story about learning involving three classes that simultaneously engaged two literary texts in such a way. Collaboratively, students read more critically, thought more divergently, and synthesized their ideas creatively; they engaged in unexpected conversations, demonstrated knowledge through multiple media, and inspired creative thinking in their peers and us, demonstrating the relationship between teaching practices and student habits of mind. Digital/nontraditional collaboration empowered students to formulate questions for new audiences, to understand through practice the relationship between purpose, audience, and word – doing so by blogging articles, preparing videos, and recording audio mp3s. The story concludes with the final composition of traditional conference papers, shared inter-institutionally, and we seek to outline the logistics and emotional realities of such an endeavor.

Link to presentation’s supporting documents:
A Tale of Three Schools

Additional Information:
Celebrating James Joyce’s Dubliners
Celebrating Richard III

2012 Kicking It Up a Notch

Creating Seven Habits of Highly Effective Professional Development Learning Experiences

Published by:

Presenter: Naomi Harm
Location: Brownville, MN USA
twitter:  @nharm

Presentation Description: Do you sometimes struggle to provide meaningful professional development opportunities to inspire your teachers? The capabilities of educational technology has the potential to radically change instructional strategies to bring about socially meaningful learning. This online webinar will showcase how an organization can move to deeper and more creative staff development practices through a kaleidoscope of blended learning opportunities.

Join Naomi Harm as she explains the potential of seven online highly collaborative tools and how you can model the use of these reflective tools and resources to build and sustain creative and meaningful staff development experiences. She will cover how to develop a vision of Web 2.0 for achieving your district’s technology literacy goals, as well as how to provide support for an online community-based reflection portal for educators to share their collective wisdom and voice, and just in-time learning for educational uses of Web 2.0.

Link to presentation’s supporting documents:

http;//box.com/naomiharm

Additional Information:
Blog: http://blog.innovativeeducator.us

Youtube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/naomilharm

Naomi Harm, Master of Education in Professional Development, ME-PD, best known as an 21st century educational technology literacy specialist, welcomes every opportunity to share her expertise and best practices relating to technology infused teaching and learning environments. Her dynamic career focus includes many exciting and cutting edge jobs which include: an Intel National Senior Trainer, SMART certified trainer, certified online instructor, and manages her own “Innovative Educator” consulting corporation. Naomi provides customized staff development technology workshops, grant writing expertise, and designs and delivers online graduate course work for universities. She also has a well-known specialty and expertise area of delivering motivational international keynote presentations focusing on emerging technologies, 21st century skills and assessments, mobile learning technologies, and inspired and transformative educational technology leadership. Naomi is truly passionate about building global relationships with educational technology leaders, while engaging in meaningful and collaborative conversations to meet the needs of today’s diverse learners.

2012 Announcements

K12 Online Conference 2012 Call for Proposals: Learn, Share, Remix

Published by:

The 2012 K-12 Online Conference is coming to a computer near you soon! This year’s FREE online conference will take place the weeks of Oct 22 – 25 and Oct 29 – Nov. 2, with a pre-conference keynote on October 15th. The 2012 theme is, “Learn, Share, Remix.” Educators and students worldwide are invited to respond to our 2012 call for proposals. Presenters create twenty minute, engaging video presentations shared during our two week conference. Please check out some of last year’s presentations. The organizer team for this year’s conference selected “Learn, Share, Remix” for our theme because it embodies many of the ACTIONS we can model as 21st century teachers and students. We all want to model lifelong learning. Our digital connections afford us amazing opportunities to SHARE what we are learning along the way. REMIXING is the process taking knowledge and using it in creative and innovative ways. Remixers build on the work of others. REMIXING can also include transforming the ways we teach and learn. In each strand of our conference this year, we hope presenters will explore and model ways we can learn, share and remix our professional development.

'Don't Squeeze the Mixter!!' photo (c) 2008, Robert Nunnally - license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

Deadline for proposal submissions is June 15th at midnight PDT. Selections will be announced July 15th. Ten presentations will be featured in each of our four strands for 2012, for a total of forty presentations.

PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT A PRESENTATION PROPOSAL.

Getting Started: Do you consider yourself a newcomer to the world of digital learning? This strand is for you. Presenters will focus on “the why and how” of using digital learning tools to connect with other learners, create new and exciting knowledge products, and engage students in an expanded learning process beyond the traditional “boundaries of the bell.” Practical classroom implementation ideas for beginners will be emphasized. Susan van Gelder is the convener.

Kicking it up a Notch: This strand amplifies ways new technologies can be used to transform classroom and personal learning. Rather than merely replicating traditional, analog-based learning tasks, how can digital technologies permit teacher-leaders to add greater interactivity, personal differentiation, and multi-modal exploration of curriculum topics? Presentations will explore innovative ways Web 2.0 tools can be blended together to help students create, collaborate, and share the knowledge safely on the global stage of the Internet. Jose Rodriguez is the convener.

Student Voices: This strand seeks to amplify voices of exemplary student leaders who use digital tools in their school communities as well as the larger world. Students can focus on specific project using technology to learn, outstanding classroom projects which have had a particularly positive impact on their and classmates’ learning, and/or recommendations for educators seeking to effectively use digital tools. A focus on project-based learning and service learning is welcome, but not required. Student presenters must be sponsored by an educator; permission forms will need to be signed by a parent for each presenting student. Ginger Lewman is the convener.

Visioning New Curriculum: As the age of paper-based textbooks adopted on multi-year cycles fades away, a new age beckons with a curriculum filled with multimedia resources and interactive simulations. This strand explores curriculum possibilities for accessing as well as sharing and remixing digital content. This will include OER (open educational resources) as well as commercial curriculum sources. What does the best “digital curriculum” today look like and what should it look like tomorrow? Should curriculum still be folded into “textbooks?” When should and how can teachers “flip” classroom learning? What’s your vision for innovative curriculum? Wesley Fryer is the convener.

We would love presenters to involve students and include student voices when appropriate in presentations. (Student participation is NOT required or expected, but is welcomed.)

The 2012 Conference: What’s the same?

  1. Price: Free!
  2. Basic format: Each weekday of the two weeks of the conference, four presentations (two per strand for that week) will “go live” / be published on our conference blog.
  3. Pre-Conference Keynote: Still the week prior to the “˜regular’ conference. this year it’s on October 15th.
  4. Presenters will share their presentation via a Ge.tt account. Strand conveners will handle the rest.
  5. Presenters are invited to include student voices and perspectives in their presentations in all strands.

The 2012 Conference: What’s different?

  1. We are re-igniting a separate “student voices” strand this year.
  2. Each year we try a different or experimental strand. This year it is “Visioning New Curriculum.”
  3. We are calling on our community to get more involved as volunteers in this year’s conference.

How Can You Help?

  1. Spread the word! Share #K12Online12 via your social networking connections, blogs, email, and face-to-face with colleagues!
  2. Submit a proposal to present! We love first-time presenters. It’s a 20 minute recorded presentation. Screencasting tools are better than ever today. You can do this. Hundreds of educators worldwide want to hear your ideas and your voice!
  3. Encourage others to present! Each year many of our submitted proposals come after someone sends a personal invitation. If you know a teacher who should present, ask them to submit a proposal!
  4. Volunteer! Our 2012 Call for Volunteers form is also available.

Volunteers are needed for the following committees:

  1. Public Relations Committee
  2. Professional Development Committee
  3. Conference Preservation Committee
  4. Live Events Committee

Your participation and voice is essential for the continued success of the K-12 Online Conference! Please get involved and spread the word about this year’s conference. We’re looking forward to YOUR participation as we learn, share and remix together!

2010-Leading the Change

Don’t Fear the Cloud, Embrace It and Leverage It!

Published by:

Presenter: Andy Crozier
Location: Cedar Rapids, IA
Link to presenter’s K12Online Ning Profile page

Presentation Title: Don’t Fear the Cloud, Embrace It and Leverage It!

Presentation Description: The new wave in education is all about cloud computing. The 2010 K-12 Horizon Report listed cloud computing as something districts need to adopt in the next 1-2 years. So, why do districts still fear the cloud? This presentation will list some possible reasons as well as why you should be leveraging this technology in your school!

DotSub Video Presentation Link

Blip m4v direct link (video file)
Blip mp3 direct link (audio file)

Link to presentation’s supporting documents:
http://andycrozier.com/presentations/

Additional Information:
www.andycrozier.com

Twitter – twitter.com/acrozier22

Facebook, Skype, iChat (AIM) – acrozier22

2009 2009-Kicking It Up a Notch

Parallel Play or Collaboration–Leveraging the Wiki Platform for High Quality Work

Published by:

Presenter: Paula White
Location: Crozet, VA USA
Link to presenter’s K12Online Ning Profile page

Presentation Title: Parallel Play or Collaboration–Leveraging the Wiki Platform for High Quality Work

Presentation Description: This presentation will help participants think about the differences between a project that is a glorified drop box or parallel play and one that truly involves students in authentic work which is purposeful, personally meaningful and engaging and that meets a need in the world today.

DotSub Video Presentation Link

Blip m4v direct link (video file)
Blip mp3 direct link (audio file)

Link to presentation’s supporting documents:
http://wikithink.wikispaces.com

Additional Information:
Blog
Twitter
Wiki
email: pwhite at k12albemarle dot org

2009 2009-Leading the Change

Slippery Rocks & Hard Places: Twelve Bridges and Learning Matters

Published by:

Presenter: Dennis Richards
Location: Andover, MA, USA
Link to presenter’s K12Online Ning Profile page

Presentation Title: Slippery Rocks & Hard Places: Twelve Bridges and Learning Matters

Presentation Description: To begin, I want you to know I created a wiki that expands upon the notions I discuss in this presentation/video. If you find what I say worthy of further reflection, carry your learning beyond the boundaries of the .mov and visit tr.im/bridginggaps.

If you wonder what a “well-educated” student will look like in our constantly shifting, interconnected, globalized society; if you want to know what teachers and administrators need to know about teaching and learning in the 21st Century; if you are ready to learn about newer, more effective ways of teaching that engage, challenge and inspire students; this is the session for you. In this video I will present a vision for teaching and learning in the 21st century that is evolving as I explore the intersection of pedagogy and the digital culture. There are twelve critical bridges that span competing conditions I have experienced that we must all acknowledge, experience and understand if we are to move toward the emerging new story of learning.

1. Building Learning Communities: Distant ~ Flat
2. Community Norms: Reserved ~ Confident
3. Boot Camp: Learned ~ Learning
4. Learning and Teaching: Compliance ~ Community
5. Read-Write Web: Repository ~ Participatory
6. Building a Network: Possess ~ Share
7. Leadership and Planning: Consistent ~ Innovative
8. Mental Models: Informed ~ Wise
9. Establishing Identity: Directed ~ Autonomous
10. Presentation Skills: Deliver ~ Engage
11. Learning Environment: Contained ~ Open
12. Map of Community Values: Change ~ Transformation

DotSub Video Presentation Link

Blip m4v direct link (video file)
Blip mp3 direct link (audio file)

Link to presentation’s supporting documents:
http://lsw09.wikispaces.com/Bridging+Gaps

Additional Information:
innovation3 blog: tr.im/i3blog
education week leadertalk blog contributor: tr.im/i3leader
innovation3 wiki: tr.im/i3wiki
twitter: dennisar
email: dennisar [at] gmail [dot] com

2009 2009-Leading the Change

Whither ePortfolios

Published by:

Presenter: Drew Buddie
Location: Rickmansworth, UK
Link to presenter’s K12Online Ning Profile page

Presentation Title: Whither ePortfolios

Presentation Description: A somewhat provocative viewpoint of what constitutes an ‘ePortfolio’ and a very brief cursory overview of the use of one ePortfolio tool that can be integrated within a VLE. The presentation will suggest that ePortfolios are ubiquitous, its just that they are not seen as such. How can non-traditional ePortfolio formats be formalised, accepted and given authority? In fact what IS an ePortfolio?

(Presentation is not yet available on DotSub)

Blip m4v direct link (video file)
Blip mp3 direct link (audio file)

Link to presentation’s supporting documents:
http://k12online.ning.com/profile/DrewBuddie

Additional Information:
I am @digitalmaverick on Twitter.