A few months ago, I had the privilege to share some of my ideas about assessment with an audience that is very data savvy. Without realizing it, teachers are the product of interactions with present colleagues, former teachers and past students. Beyond the ideas I've shared, I hope this presentation inspires you to think about who has had the greatest impact in your teaching.
In the original talk for MISA, I shared stories highlighting 50 people who have influenced my thinking on the topic of assessment and evaluation. I'm really happy with the look of the original slidedeck which is available below, but it's difficult to argue with the nice editing job the creatives did with the presentation.
Showing posts with label conference. Show all posts
Showing posts with label conference. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
Monday, October 22, 2012
K12Online: 7 Degrees of Connectedness
This week the K-12 Online Conference kicks into high gear with video presentations that cross four strands. If you know of any teachers who could use some mid-semester encouragement or motivation, please point them to the conference.
My presentation is based on 7 Degrees of Connectedness, and will go live in the "Getting Started" strand on Wednesday. This video was produced with the support of a few of my online colleagues whose stories weave in and out of the narrative. In short, my talk invites educators to foster authentic relationships by connecting with others through a range of social media tools.
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.
Presenter: Rodd Lucier Location: Komoka, Ontario, Canada
My presentation is based on 7 Degrees of Connectedness, and will go live in the "Getting Started" strand on Wednesday. This video was produced with the support of a few of my online colleagues whose stories weave in and out of the narrative. In short, my talk invites educators to foster authentic relationships by connecting with others through a range of social media tools.
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.
Presenter: Rodd Lucier Location: Komoka, Ontario, Canada
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
UnPlug'd 2012
If so, UnPlug'd 2012 might be perfect for you. This year's UnPlug'd event includes international delegates who will join us from Thursday, Aug 9 - Sunday, Aug 12th, beginning and ending in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Our organizing team has published a short bit of audio that we'd like you to consider as your personal invitation.
To further pique your interest, read a few of the reflections of last year's participants, or browse the hundreds of photos taken by last year's participants.
Consider this opportunity to think deeply about what matters most; to connect face-to-face with other intrepid teacher-learners; to renew your wonder-filled teacher spirit. You are invited to add your profile at UnPlugd.ca and to complete the UnPlug'd 2012 application form.
CC Licensed photo courtesy of Lisa Neale
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
The Process is the Product
There were many ‘A-Ha’ moments in the lead up to UnPlug'd, but the tipping point to the event, was the decision to revisit collaborative publishing. The publishing of one’s own words, refined to sit alongside the ideas of passionate peers, would become the pinpoint focus for our time at the Edge.
The resulting product, which is being released one chapter at a time over the next 6 weeks, is a book that encapsulates many of the things that participating Canadian educators think matter most. While you would think that bringing tech-savvy educators together to tell stories, and to think, and to share might lead to discussion about the latest technological tools, there was nary a mention of Google+ or any other emerging tool. The weekend was about connecting and learning.
Our book title: “Why ___________ Matters” gave each participant the opportunity to fill in the blank. This differentiated writing and story-telling task led to the exploration of a wide range of topics that resonated through the passionate participation of delegates. None-the-less, our collaborative book will leave many unconsidered ‘blanks’ including:
Why imperfection matters;
Why commitment matters;
Why stories matter;
Why authenticity matters;
Why healthy choices matter;
Why risk-taking matters;
Why circles matter.
UnPlug’d was intentionally structured to engage participants in increasingly personal conversations, that in the end led participants to share stories and writing that would make possible the end result: a book. By traveling together, dining together, singing together, paddling together, washing dishes together, doing yoga together, watching the night sky together, we became a more tightly knit tribe.
In a following post, I’ll be writing about the flexible but carefully structured ‘lesson plan’ for UnPlug’d, but there is one big, big thing I’d like #unplugd11 participants to consider: How can you bring similar community building experiences to your classroom in the coming school year?
Will you make time to share personal stories?
Will your classroom leverage 'circle-ness'?
Will you embrace opportunities to share healthy food together?
Will you model and support risk-taking?
Will you foster an environment that harnesses individual accountability to the group?
Will you be fully attentive to the needs of colleagues and students?
Will you build community through ordinary actions, in order to create an extraordinary learning environment?
Photo Credits: Andy Forgrave, Northern Edge Algonquin, Bryan Jackson
The resulting product, which is being released one chapter at a time over the next 6 weeks, is a book that encapsulates many of the things that participating Canadian educators think matter most. While you would think that bringing tech-savvy educators together to tell stories, and to think, and to share might lead to discussion about the latest technological tools, there was nary a mention of Google+ or any other emerging tool. The weekend was about connecting and learning.
Our book title: “Why ___________ Matters” gave each participant the opportunity to fill in the blank. This differentiated writing and story-telling task led to the exploration of a wide range of topics that resonated through the passionate participation of delegates. None-the-less, our collaborative book will leave many unconsidered ‘blanks’ including:
Why imperfection matters;
Why commitment matters;
Why stories matter;
Why authenticity matters;
Why healthy choices matter;
Why risk-taking matters;
Why circles matter.
UnPlug’d was intentionally structured to engage participants in increasingly personal conversations, that in the end led participants to share stories and writing that would make possible the end result: a book. By traveling together, dining together, singing together, paddling together, washing dishes together, doing yoga together, watching the night sky together, we became a more tightly knit tribe.
In a following post, I’ll be writing about the flexible but carefully structured ‘lesson plan’ for UnPlug’d, but there is one big, big thing I’d like #unplugd11 participants to consider: How can you bring similar community building experiences to your classroom in the coming school year?
Will you make time to share personal stories?
Will your classroom leverage 'circle-ness'?
Will you embrace opportunities to share healthy food together?
Will you model and support risk-taking?
Will you foster an environment that harnesses individual accountability to the group?
Will you be fully attentive to the needs of colleagues and students?
Will you build community through ordinary actions, in order to create an extraordinary learning environment?
Photo Credits: Andy Forgrave, Northern Edge Algonquin, Bryan Jackson
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Welcome to the Profession
You are likely familiar with the Hippocratic Oath through which graduates from medical school promise to practice with the best of their abilities.
Many Canadians are at least passingly familiar with the Iron Ring Ceremony where unique pinky rings are granted to engineers upon completion of their formal education. As part of the Ritual of the Calling of an Engineer the ring is a symbol that the graduate is obliged to act with the upmost professionalism.
If teaching is such an important vocation, why does no such rite of passage accompany graduation from a faculty of education?
What if instead of taking an oath, or participating in a ceremony, educators upon graduation had the opportunity to participate in a national symposium created just for them? Such an event would allow teachers to demonstrate their commitment to lifelong learning, and would model the reality that one's education should continue beyond the classroom.
Recognizing the need for the teaching profession to to adapt to the realities of the 21st century, imagine an event where new teachers could be taught simultaneously by the brightest minds from across a nation or around the world. Current technology would allow such an event to be carried out at relatively low cost, provided schools were interested in participating.
In order to demonstrate the potential for such rite of passage, I'd like to invite my Canadian colleagues to consider hosting such an event in the 2009-2010 school year. By teaming with other pan-Canadian groups like The Learning Partnership, a group of K-12 and university educators might motivate agents-of-change to share their messages with graduates.
At faculties of education, auditoriums could provide the venue for both 'in-person' presentations and live webcasts where passionate educators from elementary, secondary, and post-secondary institutions would share their stories of personal/professional growth.
Geared towards new teachers, a simul-conference could easily be scaled to provide open access beyond faculties of education. Guest speakers could be recorded to accommodate asynchronous participation by current classroom teachers while back-channel discussions could forge connections between venues.
Such an event might instill in new and experienced teachers an understanding of a number of key messages about the profession:
1] Learning is a lifelong endeavor;
2] Embrace change;
3] Reach through the walls of your classroom;
4] Know that you can be an agent of change.
The scale upon which change is needed in education, is monumental. Why not introduce to the profession a rite of passage that addresses this need for change; and why not do so on a large scale? Such an event has the potential to inspire novice and experienced educators alike, to model lifelong learning. There are few more important characteristics to nurture in classroom teachers.
Photo Credit" M00by; Marie-Chantale Turgeon
Many Canadians are at least passingly familiar with the Iron Ring Ceremony where unique pinky rings are granted to engineers upon completion of their formal education. As part of the Ritual of the Calling of an Engineer the ring is a symbol that the graduate is obliged to act with the upmost professionalism.
If teaching is such an important vocation, why does no such rite of passage accompany graduation from a faculty of education?
What if instead of taking an oath, or participating in a ceremony, educators upon graduation had the opportunity to participate in a national symposium created just for them? Such an event would allow teachers to demonstrate their commitment to lifelong learning, and would model the reality that one's education should continue beyond the classroom.
Recognizing the need for the teaching profession to to adapt to the realities of the 21st century, imagine an event where new teachers could be taught simultaneously by the brightest minds from across a nation or around the world. Current technology would allow such an event to be carried out at relatively low cost, provided schools were interested in participating.
In order to demonstrate the potential for such rite of passage, I'd like to invite my Canadian colleagues to consider hosting such an event in the 2009-2010 school year. By teaming with other pan-Canadian groups like The Learning Partnership, a group of K-12 and university educators might motivate agents-of-change to share their messages with graduates. At faculties of education, auditoriums could provide the venue for both 'in-person' presentations and live webcasts where passionate educators from elementary, secondary, and post-secondary institutions would share their stories of personal/professional growth.
Geared towards new teachers, a simul-conference could easily be scaled to provide open access beyond faculties of education. Guest speakers could be recorded to accommodate asynchronous participation by current classroom teachers while back-channel discussions could forge connections between venues.
Such an event might instill in new and experienced teachers an understanding of a number of key messages about the profession:
1] Learning is a lifelong endeavor;
2] Embrace change;
3] Reach through the walls of your classroom;
4] Know that you can be an agent of change.
The scale upon which change is needed in education, is monumental. Why not introduce to the profession a rite of passage that addresses this need for change; and why not do so on a large scale? Such an event has the potential to inspire novice and experienced educators alike, to model lifelong learning. There are few more important characteristics to nurture in classroom teachers.
Photo Credit" M00by; Marie-Chantale Turgeon
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Back-Channel Learning at TLt
Imagine a classroom, where at any point in time, the students can interact with one another about the material being presented (or where they can engage in discussion on more important topics!). A place where 'speaking during the lesson' is not only allowed, but encouraged... This is the essence of the Ustream.tv classroom for remote participants at TLt Summit 2008 currently taking place in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
Although I've been a virtual attendee at a handful of distant conference experiences this year, the TLt event has been at least as memorable as Educon 2.0. In parachuting in, I'm coming to value the back-channel discussions at least as much as the presentations. Even though the parallel discussions are disorganized and random, it is easy to see how a conference could take advantage of this technology, engaging both on site participants, and remote educators. 
Part of the attraction for me is that this event has attracted the attention of many from the Twittersphere, including a number of well-known Canadian edu-bloggers, and I find myself wondering what might happen if facilitators or co-hosts were to become more actively involved in prodding online participants to consider key questions/issues.Earlier this year, I shared the story on SlideCasting 2.0 that has the potential to extend discussions and deep thinking beyond the timeframes of a given lecture; This week I've learned that even 'off-topic' discussions can be very enriching for participants!
Sample Back-Channel Chat from Stephen Downes presentation.
The Teacher 2.0 Podcast episode on this topic is now available.
Photo Credits: "Jen sets up the UStream" and "Audience" by Dean Shareski
Monday, February 4, 2008
'Erase' the Chalkboard
Like David Warlick, let's go far beyond PowerPoint in making use of the data projector:
"I’m trying something different today in my Web 2.0 workshop. I’m going PowerPoint’less. No don’t get me wrong. This is not an indictment of PowerPoint. I do not believe that PowerPoint is evil. This is something that Stephen Heppell taught me the other day, and he used it so masterfully, that I thought I’d give it a try. I’ll explain in more detail — if it works ;-)"
This leap to using the data projector for something far more dynamic than the traditional PowerPoint presentation is a jump that is foreign to too many educators. I agree that PowerPoint can be a useful learning tool if it is used well... but it usually employs a very static "look at what I have to say" learning strategy.
We can approach the goal of 'erasing the chalkboard' once teachers learn to use the projector as a teaching tool for:
a] thinking interactively with applications like 'Smart Ideas' or 'Inspiration';
b] exploring the world with web applications like Google Earth;
c] viewing today's front page news via Newseum(see what issues are important around the world);
d] experiencing artwork on a large scale from the Louvre (or other museums and galleries);
e] evesdropping on animals or visiting remote locations via live web cameras around the world;
f] participating in live (or recorded) video-conferences (Skype, UStream, Adobe Connect...);
g] collaborating with others via the read/write web (writing/blogging/wiki development)
h] engaging social learning networks via Flickr, Twitter, YouTube
i] creating/critiquing media en masse (e.g., critically assessing/editing your class newsletter/website/podcast)
j] following global news live (the Olympics; science expeditions; tragedies...)
The coloured slide strategy may be better than chalk, but it fails to harness the potential of the technology. Use the data projector for richer purposes, and we will nurture authentic interactive relationships with people and ideas from around the globe!
Kudos to David for trying a new trick... Here's hoping that other workshop presenters will encourage teachers to do the same by modeling other uses of this transformative tool. Let's be 'smart' about our 'boards': You can still use your prepared PowerPoint presentation, but don't do so at the exclusion of the world beyond your classroom.
"I’m trying something different today in my Web 2.0 workshop. I’m going PowerPoint’less. No don’t get me wrong. This is not an indictment of PowerPoint. I do not believe that PowerPoint is evil. This is something that Stephen Heppell taught me the other day, and he used it so masterfully, that I thought I’d give it a try. I’ll explain in more detail — if it works ;-)"
This leap to using the data projector for something far more dynamic than the traditional PowerPoint presentation is a jump that is foreign to too many educators. I agree that PowerPoint can be a useful learning tool if it is used well... but it usually employs a very static "look at what I have to say" learning strategy.
We can approach the goal of 'erasing the chalkboard' once teachers learn to use the projector as a teaching tool for:
a] thinking interactively with applications like 'Smart Ideas' or 'Inspiration';
b] exploring the world with web applications like Google Earth;
c] viewing today's front page news via Newseum(see what issues are important around the world);
d] experiencing artwork on a large scale from the Louvre (or other museums and galleries);
e] evesdropping on animals or visiting remote locations via live web cameras around the world;
f] participating in live (or recorded) video-conferences (Skype, UStream, Adobe Connect...);
g] collaborating with others via the read/write web (writing/blogging/wiki development)
h] engaging social learning networks via Flickr, Twitter, YouTube
i] creating/critiquing media en masse (e.g., critically assessing/editing your class newsletter/website/podcast)
j] following global news live (the Olympics; science expeditions; tragedies...)
The coloured slide strategy may be better than chalk, but it fails to harness the potential of the technology. Use the data projector for richer purposes, and we will nurture authentic interactive relationships with people and ideas from around the globe!
Kudos to David for trying a new trick... Here's hoping that other workshop presenters will encourage teachers to do the same by modeling other uses of this transformative tool. Let's be 'smart' about our 'boards': You can still use your prepared PowerPoint presentation, but don't do so at the exclusion of the world beyond your classroom.
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