Presenter: Scott McLeod Location: Ames, Iowa, USA @mcleod
Presentation Description: Whenever any sort of change or innovation is discussed, the ‘Yes, but…’ objections are inevitable. However, instead of allowing those resistance points to dominate and defeat promising ideas, teachers and administrators can reframe opposition into possibility by asking the questions ‘Why not?’ and ‘How can we?’ Effective educators focus on adaptation, forward progress, and collective effort and efficacy. The ‘yes, buts’ dont do anything except keep us stuck. Too often we get mired in negativity and defeatism instead of recognizing that – both individually and collectively – we usually have the ability to do and be so much more than our current reality reflects. This keynote focuses on transformative leadership mindsets and features exemplary schools from around the world that are ignoring the ‘yes, buts’ to make amazing things happen for children and youth.
Presentation Title: Leading by Example: Harnessing the Internet to Promote Professional Growth and Lifelong Learning
Presentation Description: This presentation will explore an educational professional’s ongoing journey as a leader and lifelong learner. It will examine free online resources for promoting personal professional growth including: social media-based communities of practice, Open Courseware, webinars, listservs, and blogs. This session aims to provide educational practitioners with ideas and inspiration for using the Internet as a tool for ongoing professional growth. Participants will see how a small investment of time can enable them to become active members in current communities of professional practice. The presentation will be produced via video though which the presenter will personally articulate her unique personal experiences and insights.
Presenter: Julia Osteen Location: Nashville, TN, USA @josteen
Presentation Title: The Promise of Leadership
Presentation Description: True leaders make change happen. If we define leadership as influence, then the effective leader has the ability to influence others to accomplish group objectives. For far too long in education, leadership was only expected from those in supervisory positions. But what about a teacher’s leadership in the classroom? What about students learning how to be positive leaders? This presentation will explore the Promise of Leadership in Educational Change.
Presenter: Bron Stuckey Location: Sydney, NSW, Australia Twitter: @bronst
Presentation Description: Students in the inaugural Quest Atlantis Student Congress worked to design, plan, program and build virtual worlds missions, games and activities to support the learning of peers around the globe. Much of Quest Atlantis is managed content and curriculum but in the Student Congress it is the students who design the curriculum based on their passions and interests. The teachers role is to support, scaffold and most of the time get out of the way and stop drawing boundaries to limit student creativity and learning 🙂 This video shows how kids built virtual world environments and activities to demonstrate their knowledge and skills and to support the learning of their peers.Your school can readily be part of this exciting program as any student can level up in the game and community to be part of this supportive and creative space. Digital citizenship IS a lived curriculum and activities like these in QA offer opportunities for leadership, mentoring, collaboration and healthy competition.
There is no $$$ cost to the program but there is a professional commitment to attend training and use the program as part of a rich inquiry classroom pedagogy.
Presenters: Vicki Davis, Julie Lindsay with Curt Bonk, Anne Mirtschin, Judy O’Connell, Dean Shareski, Don Tapscott, David Warlick, Flat Classroom conference students – Doha Qatar, Suffern Middle School (Peggy Sheehy and Marianne Malmstrom), Mt. Carmel High School (Suzie Nestico), Phoenix School (Betsye Sargent), West Tisbury (Valerie Becker), and Flat Classroom Students Location: Camilla, GA and worldwide @coolcatteacher, @julielindsay and @flatclassroom
Presentation Title: Lead the World
Presentation Description: Students are the greatest textbook ever written for each other, yet, many schools close the book on learning outside classroom walls. After five years of global collaborative classroom excellence, this presentation first uses voices from the keynoters, students, and teachers around the world that have been part of the Flat Classroom projects and conferences to share how education has fundamentally changed through a beautiful medley of voices. Then, hear from Vicki Davis, co-founder, about the 7 principles that can take your classroom global and the current challenges and misconceptions surrounding what it means to globalize your classroom. We hope you’ll join this journey of learning and thank all of our keynoters, students, and teachers, for sharing their voice in this move towards excellence in global education.
Their work and public sharing of pedagogy on their blogs has led to their recent book, Flattening Classrooms, Engaging Minds from Pearson Publishing coming in January 2012.
Presenter: Blair Peterson Location: Sao Paulo, Brazil @eijunkie
Presentation Title: School Leaders Set the Tone by Playing, Experimenting and Taking Risks
Presentation Description: Leaders play a major role in setting the tone for the school community. In today’s schools it’s essential that members of the community take risks and step outside of their comfort zone occasionally. At Graded, we learned that it is common for educators to be hesitant to try new things for fear of looking silly. This fear can inhibit learning and professional growth in today’s learning environment. This presentation will explore examples of how leaders at Graded model, support and encourage risky behavior and experimentation. School leaders play a major role in setting the tone and it’s imperative that he/she publicly experiment and take an occasional risk while they also encourage others to do the same. The presentation will feature stories from teachers and administrators.
Presenter: Dave Edwards Location: Wilmington, NC USA Twitter:@eduk8andlead
Presentation Title: When Leadership and Learning Collide
Presentation Description: Today’s educational leader has to understand the 21st century learning process and map it to today’s workforce needs. Gaining an understanding of what it takes to foster innovation/creativity/change in schools and classrooms is imperative for leaders at all levels. This thought-provoking presentation explores how leadership at all levels can make the difference between effective learning environments and poor learning environments. When there is good leadership (at all levels), learning can occur and innovation is spawned. Dave takes a look at how educational leaders can foster this culture and allow learning and leadership to collide through effective best practices and new strategies tailored to your needs.
Dave is the Chief Communications and Professional Learning Officer for the NC Virtual Public School, the 2nd largest state virtual school in the nation. He is also the President and CEO of Ignite Learning Partners, LLC, a new education and training solutions provider. He is an innovative leader whose passion to see education transformed drives everything he does. He works to see innovative learning become the constant, and leadership become the catalyst to foster a 21st century learning ecosystem. He is an avid tweeter, strong family man, youth leadership advocate, and when not working spends time writing and playing music for charitable causes.
Presentation Description: Teachers and leaders are planners by nature. You have to make sure your students and teachers are ready to learn, have the tools they need, and have enough time to be successful. Sometimes though, you can spend more time planning than you actually spend doing. Learn how to streamline you technology goals, build capacity in your school, find strength in collaboration, and promote change by planning less and doing more.
Presentation Title: The Classroom Teacher As a 21st Century Instructional Leader
Presentation Description: A completely different take on teacher leadership in the 21st Century, this presentation offers a fresh perspective and a call to action. Hopefully, after watching this presentation, you, as well as your work, and our entire profession will never be the same!
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