Day 2 ISTE 2012

Instead of taking the trolley this morning, I decided to walk.  The Convention Center is only a mile away and it was a beautiful morning.  I fired up my walking app on my iPhone and set a goal to walk my fastest mile yet.  The beat of Eye of the Tiger got my rhythmic stride started and I was going at a strong pace until the first light...and then the next, and then the next.

Annoyed at each stop, I pushed the required button requesting permission to walk across.  When I got to my third light, I'd given up on my goal.  I pushed the button and see that someone across the street was waiting as well.  After what seems like 5 minutes, there was a pool of people waiting on each side of the street and then it happens...someone crosses without waiting for the approved symbol to display!

So many feelings started to rush through me.  I wanted to shout, "You can't do that!"  I got frustrated thinking about how he was going to get to the Conference Center before me.  Argh!  Rebel!  I look both ways and the light is still indicating no crossing.  No cars are in sight.  I'm getting antsy and then I just do it!  I cross the street...and as soon as I do, the others follow from both sides. 

While I certainly don't want to promote law breaking behavior, I do want to encourage risk taking when it comes to teaching and utilizing technology.  So many of us are comfortable turning the page in the textbook and teaching lessons the way we always have.  What are you waiting for?  Get out there and take a risk!  Try something new!  Who knows...you may start a movement and I'm pretty certain others will follow!

Some other thoughts...


More Pictures:  I think I already said this, but I'll say it again...I LOVE pictures!  My husband rented a car and drove up the coast while I was at the conference today.  Throughout the day, he sent me pictures and when this one came across, it fit perfectly with what the presenter was saying in the session, Want to stop students from copying?  Change the product!

Second graders in our district write a research report on an animal.  While I don't teach 2nd grade, I can imagine some teachers struggle getting their kids to write versus copying and pasting facts from the Internet.  "To encourage student writing, change the perspective!"  How about doing the same assignment but have students write from the perspective of the animal?  What would the crab in this picture say?  I can just imagine how much fun they'd have with that!  Find resources from this session at http://www.tech4learning.com/iste2012-change-the-product

Listen to the Students:  In between sessions, I decided to take a few minutes to check out the student displays.  I visited with a young man from Lakeland Schools and found out about Sparky...The Artificially Intelligent Classroom Robotics Project.  They have a great site http://www.lakelandschools.us/iste/ that offers step-by-step instructions for building a robot and they are working on providing lesson plans for chemistry, biology, physics, and algebra that integrate the robot.  I was excited to see the spark in this student as he explained the project and answered my questions.  I realize how important it is for me to be aware of sites/resources like this because I never know when someone will ask me about something they can do to help a struggling student.  Maybe robotics is what one of your students needs to become more engaged.  You don't have to know how to do everything...just point them in the right direction and watch the sparks ignite!

Making More Friends:  After attending a session on student blogging by Lisa Parisi (@lparisi) and Brian Crosby (@bcrosby), I was on a quest to find out more about blogs.  I met Sue Waters (@suewaters) and Sue Wyatt (@tasteach) from Australia and learned more about edublogs...specifically about the Student Blogging Challenge (http://studentchallenge.edublogs.org) There is also a teacher challenge (http://teacherchallenge.edublogs.org/) which I tend to investigate further.  I am new to blogging, but I can already tell it's causing me to think and process more.  I heard multiple success stories during Lisa and Brian's session and I'm excited to work with teacher(s) in our district who think they might want to start blogging with students in the fall.

Got Books?  Check out Colette Cassinelli (@cassinelli) https://sites.google.com/a/lshigh.org/gotbooks/ to find out how to use technology to promote young adult literature!


Copyright Questions...we all have them, but it's hard to wrap our heads around all the rules!  Copyright Clarity by Renee Hobbs is a book that Sandy Hayes (@sjhayes8) shared in her session.  She also shared several resources for copyright friendly images and music, in addition to videos that explain Copyright Law and Fair Use.  Check out this one:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJn_jC4FNDo

I ended my day at a nice reception with NETA folks.  What a great end to my second day at ISTE.  I'm looking forward to another day of learning tomorrow...er today!  It's late and I must go to bed!