Joyce Valenza-
My favorite presenter was most definitely Joyce Valenza. I loved all of the projects that she presented. My favorite was having the students use wikis to create their own textbooks. I agree that many schools have outdated textbooks. The world is constantly changing and textbooks are pretty pricey, so this is a wonderful way to keep up with today's events without replacing the books! I also like how Joyce focused on making the learning and research process meaningful to the students.
David Loertscher -
David focused on the theory of the learning commons. He broke it into physical space as well as virtual space. I liked how he said that the learning commons should be a giant conversation. That statement made me picture several groups of students collaborating, not only in their groups, but between groups too. I also really liked when he said that collaborative groups can "produce a product that none can do individually." I jotted down the many different uses of a learning commons. I think that it should definitely be used as much by teachers as by students. Loertscher mentioned PLCs and professional development as a way to teachers to utilize the learning commons.
Doug Johnson -
Doug listed five ways to create a "galaxy" of bright stars. When discussing clear language and terminology, he mentioned social networking and suggested that it be called educational networking and social learning. I like that terminology. In my opinion, it sounds better for use in school. Doug also talked about empowering staff. I think this is a large obstacle in many schools. You have to get the staff on board before the students can get on board and get excited. I really liked the quote, "Unless it empowers the teacher, the teacher won't use it to empower students." That is a quote that I would like to use in the future in presentations to the staff. Doug had many resources for collaborative writing. A couple I have tried in my classroom before. For example, after I introduced Moodle to my students I had them begging to write and use Moodle! Doug mentioned Google Docs several times, and I made a note to look further into it.
As you can tell, I'm very much enamored with the idea of using a wiki as a textbook.
ReplyDeleteI'm impressed with your use of Moodle. Are there other teachers who are using it? Did you have to set this up on your own or did you get help from the district?
I had my eMINTS trainer help me get Moodle going. There is one other teacher that I know of in my middle school that uses it. I don't use it as much as I would like. Sometimes technology frustrates me to the point that I would just rather give up!! A couple of years ago I did an observation at an elementary school in Valley Park, MO, just outside STL, and they were doing wonderful things using Moodle!
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