Tag: conference

ISTE 2014 is fast approaching. This is the most popular meet-and-greet/training conference in all of tech ed. It’s four days (if you count the pre-conference Sunday) with over 700 sessions and 150 additional workshops on tech trends, knowledge, tools, and more. Plus, there are more than 500 exhibitors with everything you need to run a tech ed program and classroom.

If you’re planning on attending ISTE 2014 in Atlanta GA, check out my June 4th post, 5 Must-have tools for Ed Conferences, for hints on getting the most out of this conference. If you want to register for ISTE by mail, it’s too late, but you can still register in person, in Atlanta. Once you have that taken care of, go through the schedule and add all the events you want to attend to your Planner. You can winnow it down on the plane trip there (mine is over seven hours–I’ll have lots of time)

If you are attending, leave a comment below–we’ll try to find each other. I’ve organized my schedule using their convenient ‘My Schedule’ program and seem to have free time Saturday. Anyone available?

For more information on ISTE, check out Erin Klein’s great post here on how to prepare.

(more…)

This past weekend I attended the fifth annual Orange County California two-day geek WordCamp (#wcoc). These are affordable tech-centric events held all over the country where WordPress experts share their knowledge in 50-minute sessions (or three-hour workshops) on how to better use your WordPress website or blog (I have four blogs and one website that use WordPress). I was first introduced to it when TimeThief over at One Cool Site Blogging Tips posted on a WordCamp she attended in San Francisco. It sounded over my head–I’m not into coding and PHP and CSS–but she made it sound fun, like I wished I was into programming. That made me open-minded when a girlfriend suggested we attend.

The $40 registration included all the events, lunch both days, snacks (see the pictures of the snacks below), designer coffee (or black-no-sugar like I like it), two T Shirts, a mug… Too much to list. A popular room was the Snack Spot which included everything you imagine coders and programmers and computer folk consume. Snacks were non-stop, varied, abundant, with lots of water and coffee. Few sodas or diet drinks. Interesting…

And it was a blast. Packed with geeks who had personalities. The attendees were open, funny, engaged and engaging, buzzing with energy like overcharged power plants. Everyone was there to learn and share–in equal measure. I was one of the least experienced (for example, one of the presenters started with the ‘easy stuff’ for five minutes–half of which was over my head).

The presenters were eminently qualified. They knew their topics, fielded audience questions without a problem–and weren’t afraid to say they didn’t know but would find out, rarely ended early, never ran out of hints. One of the speakers was the guy who developed Amazon.com’s first website. That’s cred! Overall, presenters were professional, varied in their voice and focus, approachable, on-topic, and more than half, I understood. Why not all? Back to that PHP and CSS stuff that I could learn (I know I could), but who has time?

The most valuable thing I got from #wcoc knowledge. Here are my top twelve take-aways from my two days with these folks:

(more…)

It’s summer, time for teachers to recharge their cerebral batteries. That could mean reading, going on field trips, spending time with online PLNs, or taking calls from family members who usually end up at voice mail. For many, it means attending conferences like ISTE June 28-July 1st and NEA June 26-July 6th to learn how the heck to integrate technology into their lesson plans. I’m going to ISTE as well as Teacher Pay Teacher’s first-ever conference in Las Vegas. I’m so excited about both of these, ready to meet new colleagues, get fresh ideas, and extend my PLN to places I hadn’t considered before.

If you aren’t a veteran conference attendee, you may wonder what you should bring. That’s a fair questions considering learning is no longer done sitting in auditoriums nodding off to the wisdom of a guest speaker behind a podium. Now, you might be asked to scan a QR code and visit a website, access meeting documents online, interact digitally, or use a backchannel device to share your real-time thoughts with the presenter. Besides a toothbrush and aspirin, what should you take to your upcoming conference? Here are five tools that will make you look and act like the Diva of Digital:

Google Maps

Some conferences take multiple buildings spread out over several blocks, and depending upon the number of attendees (ISTE last year had about 15,000), your hotel may not be around the corner from the Hall. Bring the latest version of the Google Maps app on your smartphone or iPad, complete with audio directions. All you do is tell it where you’re going, ask for directions, and Siri (the voice behind the iPhone) will lock into your GPS and hold your hand the entire way. If friends are looking for a Starbucks or Dunkin’ Donuts near the conference, Google Maps will find one. If you want Chinese, use an app like Yelp to find one patrons like (although I’m becoming a tad leary about Yelp. Anyone have a good alternative?)

Conference App

Most educational conferences have one. I find these more useful than the conference website. They are geared for people who are manipulating digital device one-handed, half their attention on the phone and the rest on traffic, meaning: they’re simple and straight-forward. Test drive it so you know where the buttons are, then use it to find meeting rooms, changes in schedules, and updates.

(more…)

I signed up to to to WordPress WordCamp Orange County 2014 as soon as I heard about it. I was so excited. I’ve read reviews of other WordCamps and always told myself I’d attend when there was one in my area. I have four blogs and a website on WordPress and since I’m pretty darn committed to the platform, I figure I should understand it as well as possible.

Plus, it’s affordable–$40! Where can you learn anything at a conference for only $40!

Then I checked out the Sessions–

• How to Sell Wordpress
• The Future of WordPress E-Commerce Technologies
• Designing a Theme in a Browser
• Functions.php vs Plugins: The Ultimate Battle

What do these topics even mean? How do I pick one to attend if I don’t even understand what they’re saying?

OK, to be honest, I understand the words–ECommerce, Theme, Plugins, php–but string them into a goal. Good grief.

(more…)

The 2008 Leadership and Learning Center reported on the importance of note-taking in the classroom:

In schools where writing and note-taking were rarely implemented in science classes, approximately 25 percent of students scored proficient or higher on state assessments. But in schools where writing and note-taking were consistently implemented by science teachers, 79 percent scored at the proficient level.

Starting in fourth grade, Common Core expects students to use books, periodicals, websites, and other digital sources to conduct research projects. That means they not only read, but research, review, distill knowledge, and catalogue. The Standards assume students will accomplish this by taking notes—

Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources; assess the credibility of each source; and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others … (from Common Core)

But don’t sharpen the pencils and refresh the classroom supply of lined paper. Consider a digital approach to note-taking. Why? Let’s do an experiment. Ask students to develop a pro and con list for note-taking with paper and pencil. Make a deal with them: If they can provide sufficient evidence that pencil-and-paper notes are better than alternatives, you’ll let them continue in that way. I’ll get you started:

(more…)