November 18 – 3rd LAN Party of the 2009 K12Online Conference

Please join us on November 18, 2009 at 22:30GMT/3:30pmPST/
4:30pmMST/5:30pmCST/6:30pmEST
for a live event of the 2009 K12Online Conference

On November 18, the K12Online Conference is hosting a LAN party from 6:30PM to 8:30PM EST. We invite everyone to gather at the LAN party site with colleagues in order to view two past conference presentations and then engage in lively discussions in the EdTechTalk chatroom. The following presenters will be in attendance.

6:30 – 7:15pm Second Life: K-20 Educators Exploring Virtual Worlds – Panel

Kevin Jarrett and Sylvia Martinez

Kevin has been a K-4 Technology Facilitator at Northfield Community School in Northfield, NJ USA since 2003. In this role he is responsible for technology instruction in a lab setting for the entire elementary student body (540+ students). Rather than just “teaching computer class,” Kevin delivers engaging, informative, challenging and enjoyable lessons that integrate with content being taught by his classroom-teacher peers while  leveraging state-of-the-art Web 2.0 and social media technologies. Kevin began exploring Second Life in early 2007 thanks to a $10,000 Faculty Excellence grant from Walden University where he teaches online, part-time. He works closely with ISTE via their presence in Second Life and helps to manage the very popular Tuesday night “Speaker Series”.…………………………………

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Sylvia Martinez is president of Generation YES, working to empower students in K-12 schools through digital technology. Sylvia has designed educational games, curriculum, and online experiences for teachers and students. Sylvia speaks and writes on subjects such as the use of technology, simulations and games to enhance educational opportunities and enable youth voice.

6:45 – 7:30pm Release the Hounds – Chris Harbeck

Chris Harbeck teaches grade 8 math to approximately 140 students each year. He has been teaching middle school students for over a decade and is in his fifth year of using 2.0 applications and “21st Century Learning” in his classroom. Despite the fact (or more realistically because of the fact) that math is one of those subjects students often reflect back on with distaste, fear or indifference, Chris has moved from teaching both social studies and math to the one subject. He has been involved in development of the middle years math curriculum at the divisional and provincial level. With his strong focus on conceptual understanding, Chris has discovered that using 2.0 tools and applications make math fun and interesting. An encouraging trend has emerged: students do not run away and saying “I hate math”; they love to do assignments and have started to see the beauty in math.

The EdTechTalk community will host this event at http://www.edtechtalk.com/live.
For questions or more information, contact Susan Van Gelder, Live Events Committee, at susanvg@mac.com or on Twitter at @k12online.