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K12 Online Conference » Blog Archives

Author Archives: ginger.lewman

2013 Building Learning

Constructing Identity with an iPad

Published by:

Presenter: Claire Kreuger
Location: Moose Jaw, SK CANADA
@ClaireKreuger

 

Presentation Title: Constructing Identity with an iPad

Presentation Description: “”¦everyone tells a story about themselves inside their own head. Always. All the time. That story makes you what you are. We build ourselves out of that story.”
“• Patrick Rothfuss, The Name of the Wind

Join Claire Kreuger as she shares the ways in which she has used iPads in her classroom to help her students construct their own identity. She will show you a variety of different apps and how to use them. This presentation will be useful for all teachers interested in using or improving their use of iPads in their classrooms. It is also of particular interest for teachers in Canada looking for ways to integrate Treaty Education into their programs.

In Saskatchewan, teachers are required to teach Treaty Education at every grade level. This is a program that explores the historical relationship between the First Nations of Canada and the Canadian government. For a variety of reasons, up until now, few teachers, the presenter included, have successfully integrated this area of study into their programs. Over the past school year, with the help of a U of R research team, Claire Kreuger looked at how to use digital storytelling as a way of engaging students with learning about the treaties. She approached this project as a learner herself and aimed to learn and create alongside her students. The central question was “What does it mean to be a treaty person?”

Additional Information:
Blog: http://treatypeople.edublogs.org/

Twitter:
https://twitter.com/ClaireKreuger

LinkedIn:
http://ca.linkedin.com/pub/claire-kreuger/74/145/7a4

2013 Building Learning

STEAM: Creating A Maker Mindset

Published by:

Presenter: Vinnie Vrotny and Sheryl Peterson
Location: Palatine, IL US
@vvrotny and @speterson224

Presentation Title: STEAM: Creating A Maker Mindset

Presentation Description: Look around a lower grade or early childhood classroom. You will see a flurry of activity, students building, constructing, and experimenting with materials. This dynamic changes in middle and high school, as these once confident students begin with questions such as, “Why are we doing this?”, “Am I doing this right?”, and “Is this on the test?” which changes to the statement, “I am not good at this.”

A new movement which is emerging, the Maker Movement, which now challenges students to become the learner they once were, willing to try and confident in their ability to learn. It is:

School Projects + Technology = Maker 2.0

During this session, you will learn how one school has transformed its space and created a STEAM curriculum designed to allow students to rediscover their inner kindergartner. The focus of this session will be on the curriculum is being built to allow middle school students to either explore and discover their passions or dive deep into a self-identified areas of passion so that they can become someone who is willing to try, confident in their ability to learn new things, often with the help of others, and a willing to prototype, fail, reflect, and rebuild.

This session will share the environment and classroom tools which will supplement this. You will find out how you can start small, for less than 0 and scale upwards from there.

Link to presentation’s supporting documents:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZpjMxZwq-5sWqqgE-9vAPO1iMCocxauESVo3RhStZc0/edit?usp=sharing

Additional Information:
Vinnie Vrotny
vvrotny.org
keepingupwithit.edublogs.org

Sheryl Peterson
http://petersonartblog.blogspot.com/

2013 Building Learning

Making Space to Make

Published by:

Presenter: Stephen Ransom, Ph.D.
Location: Rochester, NY USA
@ransomtech

Presentation Title: Making Space to Make

Presentation Description: The idea of making things is nothing new. It’s timeless. However, as culture and technology have shifted, we’ve moved, as Dale Dougherty points out, from making things out of necessity and just “being smart” to being much more consumers of things and of information. The culture of schooling has shifted right along with this as we watch standards and accountability take much more of a front seat, often resulting in kids’ making of interesting things and immersing themselves in interesting projects wane. In this presentation, I share from a father’s perspective how making at home keeps my kids’ interest and passion for learning sharp. The tools of the trade are very much of the traditional kind, yet new tools have opened up new doors and new possibilities for them as they are able to pursue their passions and discover new passions like never before possible. I suggest here that the same learning opportunity can and should happen at school and not be limited to a club or home experience. Our new technologies and new interest-based/passion-based learning spaces make this more possible than ever before.

Link to presentation’s supporting documents:
http://ransomtech.edublogs.org/2013/10/29/making-space-to-make/

2013 Building Learning

Building Knowledge of Web Search

Published by:

Presenter: Ann Oro
Location: Roselle Park, NJ USA
@njtechteacher

Presentation Title: Building Knowledge of Web Search

Presentation Description: Students should not be expected to suddenly sit down and complete a research project when they are in grade school. Children need time to build and scaffold their experiences. This video shares projects I complete with students in first through eighth grade that take them from a children’s dictionary scavenger hunt to learning to edit Wikipedia. One of the aspects that overwhelms students is that in addition to building a useful search query, they then have to go to the webpage and read the content in a sea of distracting links and screen cluttering ads. They need to be able to vet the information. In first grade, I give the students clues to find words in Little Explorer’s Picture Dictionary online. We build the concept in second and third grade through a cloze activity in which they find missing words. The student research state information for teachers. In fourth and fifth grade, the students learn about Sweet Search 4 Me and Google. They use paper encyclopedias and fill in missing information online. They learn to bookmark and site sources. In middle school, the students dig into aspects website details to determine the authority, bias, content, and usability of the information. They take charge of their learning by researching and presenting on a topic for which they have written a proposal. We learn to use search databases to dig deeper into the information available on the Internet. The students learn to edit Wikipedia and build our school’s entry.

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

Additional Information:
I work at a small PreK to eighth grade Catholic school in suburban New Jersey. I teach students as well as teachers. Additionally, I teach workshops aimed at promoting student learning with an emphasis on technology as a tool to various local teacher organizations.

Blog: http://njtechteacher.blogspot.com

2013 Building Learning

Energy 101: KidWind & the SHS Chevy Volt Project

Published by:

Presenter: Dan Whisler
Location: Sterling, KS
@DanWhisler

Presentation Title: Energy 101: KidWind & the SHS Chevy Volt Project

Presentation Description: In this presentation I will use a presentation with videos imbedded to share how our energy-related projects combine STEM-related concepts in a PBL environment to help create a more student-centered learning experience. Real-life studies help make connections and create relevance for students. Through their study of these energy-related projects, students are exposed to environmental and economics lessons not possible simply by using a textbook. Videos will include me presenting background information (presentation) to help explain the projects along with videos of students working on various projects in the classroom to demonstrate the PBL approach being used.

Link to presentation’s supporting documents:
http://www.windpoweringamerica.gov/filter_detail.asp?itemid=3904

Additional Information:
http://www.windpoweringamerica.gov/filter_detail.asp?itemid=3904

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dan-whisler/how-a-car-taught-science-_b_2304173.html#slide=1886906

http://usd376hs.ss3.sharpschool.com/academics/volt_project/

http://challenge.kidwind.org/

2013 Building Learning

Coding for Kids

Published by:

Presenter: Chris Betcher
Location: Sydney, NSW, Australia
Chris Betcher on G+

Presentation Title: Coding for Kids

Presentation Description: While not every student might want to write their own software, understanding the big ideas of coding is a skill that all students would benefit from, even the very young ones. Understanding the key ideas of computational thinking – identifying patterns, thinking algorithmically, manipulating data, solving real problems, etc – is an important step in helping our students build mastery over their world.
This presentation will take you on a guided tour through some of the resources available to your students to help them learn the principles of creating code. We’ll check out a range of desktop and iPad apps suitable for teaching very young students to program, through to tools and websites that can help your older students learn to hack code, and much more.

Link to presentation’s supporting documents:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WcGToN3fmgupMb69P7ZUQj97WNTQNvI-6gvzKAOeCCk/edit?usp=sharing

Additional Information:
Chris Betcher is an Australian technology educator with a passion for helping students master their digital world. He is the technology integrator at PLC Sydney, where he helps students and teachers use technology in meaningful and authentic ways. He has a curious mind, asks way too many questions, and likes to build cool stuff out of zeroes and ones. Connect with Chris at www.chrisbetcher.com.

2013 Building Learning

T3:Triple Threat in Tech: Art, Music, and Media

Published by:

Presenter: Carol Broos
Location: Gurnee, IL USA
@musictechie

Presentation Title: T3:Triple Threat in Tech: Art, Music, and Media

Presentation Description: Triple threat gridiron football is referring to a player who excels at all three of the skills of running, passing, and kicking. In theater, it is someone who can sing, dance, and act equally the same. In technology is it the ability to excel in creating your own artwork, composing your own music, then producing your own movies.

There are two interviews with educators that are triple threats, Tricia Fuglestad, a K-5 Art Teacher and Linda Keene, an architect and professor at the Art Institute of Chicago.

Once you take the plunge to be a triple threat, by creating your own art, composing your own music and producing your own movies, it will change in the way you interact with all the arts. You will begin to create more, learn more, and share more.

Carol Broos describes her process of creating art, composing music, and putting the icing on the cake, producing movies.

 

Link to presentation’s supporting documents:
http://www.carolbroos.com/k12online-conference-2013.html

Additional Information:
www.beatechie.com is a blog concerning current music and technology subjects.

2013 Building Learning

A Story + A Green Wall = 1 Amazing Transformed Digital Story….

Published by:

Presenter: Katie Ann Wilson
Location: Pratt, KS
@katiann_76

 

Presentation Title: A Story + A Green Wall = 1 Amazing Transformed Digital Story….

Presentation Description: You will be learning how to transform a story into 1 amazing digital story through the effects of Green-Screen. I will walk you through how to create a Green-Screen effect story via iMovie. You will need to have a story, digital illustrations, iMovie, and a video recording device. For your digital illustrations you can use drawings and make them digital, create them on the computer, use photographs, or even a video clip. When you are all done you will have 1 AMAZING Digital story to share.


Link to presentation’s supporting documents:
http://techtrainingwithkatieann.weebly.com/k-12-online-conference.html

Additional Information:
I’m a life long learner!! I teach students & staff tech skills! I am the founder of the blog Diary of a Techie Chick & the Global Digital Scrapbook.

diaryofatechiechick.blogspot.com

2013 Building Learning

20 Creation Apps in 20 Minutes

Published by:

Presenter: David Lockhart
Location: Atlanta, Georgia
@ld112265

 

Presentation Title: 20 Creation Apps in 20 Minutes

Presentation Description: Are you tired of going to a PD session and only getting one idea or app? Do you like to play with the technology before you use it in the classroom? Then this session is for you. We give you 20 apps to create new and wonderful things for your classroom. Put them in your teacher toolbox!

Link to presentation’s supporting documents:
http://www.edtechspeeddating.com/presentations.html

2013 Building Learning

Building Learning Keynote – Making the Case for Making in Schools

Published by:

Presenter: Sylvia Martinez and Gary Stager
Location: Los Angeles, CA, USA
@smartinez
@GaryStager

 

Presentation Title: Building Learning Keynote – Making the Case for Making in Schools

Presentation Description: The Maker Movement is a revolutionary global collaboration of people learning to solve problems with modern tools and technology. Adults and children are combining new technologies and timeless craft traditions to create exciting projects and control their world. The implications are profound for schools and districts concerned with engaging students, maintaining relevance, and preparing children to solve problems unanticipated by the curriculum. The technological game-changers of 3D printing, physical computing and computer science require and fuel transformations in the learning environment. K-12 educators can adapt the powerful technology and “can do” maker ethos to revitalize learner-centered teaching and learning in all subject areas.

Link to presentation’s supporting documents:
http://inventtolearn.com/resources