(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

Author Archives: Susan van Gelder

2012 Getting Started

Beyond eLearning: Online Teaching Platforms

Published by:

Presenter: Dr. Jeremy Friedberg
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Twitter: @spongelab

Presentation Description: What can platform technology do for eLearning? Platforms are what multimedia creators use to distribute their content to a user-base. In a learning context, platforms are also used to track and analyse the behaviour of users, in order to understand precisely how content is being consumed. In this talk, Dr. Jeremy Friedberg of Spongelab Interactive discusses the concept of an online learning platform – a system that goes beyond eLearning and helps to stitch together the multiple, and often fragmented, parts of the teaching process. Following discussion of how platform technology fits into the classroom of the future, a tour of Spongelab.com offers an example of an online teaching platform built for personalized education.

Link to presentation’s supporting documents:
http://www.spongelab.com/globals/research.cfm

Additional Information:
Visit Spongelab.com for more information about our online teaching platform or follow us on Twitter @spongelab.

2012 Getting Started

7 Degrees of Connectedness

Published by:

Presenter: Rodd Lucier
Location: Komoka, Ontario, Canada
Twitter: @thecleversheep

Presentation Description: What is it for you that leads you to pay closer attention to the learners in your network? Do you feel close to those colleagues you interact with, even if you’ve never met? Are you more attuned to those people whose voices are amplified because you met at a conference; exchanged stories; shared a meal?

As our connections grow with online colleagues, we may find ourselves in qualitatively distinct relationships with co-learners. By sharing our ideas alongside details of our personal lives, we have a tendency to become more and more familiar to one another. Augment these connections with voices and imagery, and it can lead to deeper and more fulfilling connections.

In this presentation Rodd Lucier (AKA The Clever Sheep), invites you to walk along with a few of his colleagues who join him in reflecting on how modern tools are impacting our online relationships. The concept of ‘7 Degrees of Connectedness’ is introduced as one way to qualify the relationships we foster with online colleagues.

Link to presentation’s supporting documents:
http://moourl.com/7degrees

Additional Information:
http://thecleversheep.com

2012 Getting Started

Leveraging the Power of Social Media in the Classroom

Published by:

Presenter: Elaine Plybon
Location: Bedford, Texas USA
Twitter: @eplybon

Presentation Description: Teenagers spend 80% of their time on the internet involved in social networking websites. This presentation explores the ways educators can utilize their understanding of these venues to create engaging lessons that will help students gain content knowledge, assist teachers in assessing student progress, and provide opportunities for discussions about the students’ own digital footprints. The presentation is designed with the educator who has to deal with restrictive internet filters and even a total lack of internet availability for students.

Link to presentation’s supporting documents:

Elaine Plybon’s web site: http://www.elaineplybon.net/

2012 Getting Started

Leveraging Social Media to Flatten Your Classroom Walls

Published by:

Presenters: Paula Naugle and Jan Wells
Location: New Orleans, Louisiana USA & Meriden, Kansas USA
Twitter: @plnaugle  & @janwells

Presentation Description: Most teachers would love to communicate and collaborate with other classes but are unsure just how to begin this process. How do you go about finding other classes to connect with? Where do you find projects that can be used for collaboration? How do you cope with time zones? How can social media help you flatten your classroom walls and enable you to incorporate the 4C’s of collaboration, communication, creativity, and critical thinking into your weekly lessons?

Find out how Paula and Jan found each other in 2009 and have had their two classes collaborating ever since. Learn how these two veteran educators have used social media sites such as Ning, Twitter, Facebook, Edmodo, Google and Google HangOut, and Skype to collaborate and communicate with many more classrooms each year.

Link to presentation’s supporting documents:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1O3w48UFzkRWiSYAtkAhXnOikIwExMTsKrwly0A-S6qo/edit

Additional Information:
Paula’s Classroom Blog http://pnaugle.blogspot.com
Paula’s Professional Blog http://plnaugle.blogspot.com

Jan’s Class Website/Blog http://mrswells4thgradeclass.weebly.com
Jan’s Professional Blog http://techtrek4integration.blogspot.com

List of websites mentioned:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1csCtOz11gQaeVcvm23apEoWkG2wIY7EeikWY18_jtrk/edit

2012 Getting Started

A Digital Journey with Primary Students and No Budget!

Published by:

Presenter: Karyn Keenan
Location: Chicago, Illinois USA
Twitter: @karynteaches

Presentation Description: In this presentation, Karyn shares how she takes her primary students on a digital journey without a budget! First, Karyn will convince you why you should blog with your students. Then you will learn how to set up blogs on Kidblog and get your kids blogging and commenting. Karyn will also share how the use of tools like VoiceThread and AudioBoo can enhance your blogging experience!

Link to presentation’s supporting documents:
https://sites.google.com/site/thetools4school4/k12online12

Additional Information:

2012 Getting Started

Digital ID Project A Platform for Learning, Sharing, Remixing and Teaching Digital Citizenship

Published by:

Presenter: Gail Desler & Natalie Bernasconi
Location: Placerville, California USA (Gail) & Salinas, California USA (Natalie)
Twitter: @gaildesler & @nbernasconi

Presentation Description: We’d like to invite you – whether you are a classroom teacher, a parent, an administrator, or a policy maker – into this international conversation on why digital citizenship is an essential part of a 21st century skill set. And if you are a newcomer to digital learning, we’d like to provide a window into how other teachers are integrating digital citizenship issues into lessons they are already teaching. By the end of our session, you will come away with a ready-for-Monday road map to create or ramp up digital citizenship education at your individual sites.

Presentation:

Referenced Links:
http://digital-id.wikispaces.com

 

2011 Announcements

Looking Back

Published by:

It is always a good idea to think back and evaluate before going forward. To this end we would like to encourage you to fill in a conference evaluation which you can find here. This will help us continue to improve the conference for the coming year.
********
We would also like to encourage you to reflect on the different sessions. These reflections may be able to be used for PD credit in your work setting. If you wish to receive a printable certificate to submit to your administrator, click here for more information about the expectations and procedures. Not only will you gain by taking the time to think more deeply about the session(s), but others will benefit from your thoughts and ideas.
********
Are you using the K12 Online Conference videos in your schools or districts for PD purposes? Share how you are integrating them into workshops, staff discussions etc. by completing our brief Google form. Your ideas may spark others to see how they could be used. Do you want to see how others are using the sessions for local PD? Click here.
********
If you missed the AfterGlow event, it is available here. Or subscribe to the conference in iTunesU and you will get all the sessions plus the AfterGlow.