kBlog

BLC is one of my favorites conferences, so I’m happy that I can check into it now and then virtually from NJ.  (With the help of hashmarks on twitter (#BLC09) and RSS feeds, it’s a snap.  Some of the best finds so far for this virtual lurker has been this web 2.0 toolkit wiki and the digital backpack netvibes collection by Lindsey B (updates constantly).   Amazing stuff !

I attended a few live conferences recently – thought I would list some favorite sessions and “a ha” moments here:

(Please be sure to check out my del.icio.us feed for additional resources that were found)

GOOGLE!
Google Certified Teachers Day – Google New York Offices. Hands down this one wins!  The a ha from google GCT day is the amazing community of professionals in the google certified teacher online group who continue to share ideas and support one anothers learning each day.  I encourage anyone who doesn’t have a google account to grab one, and try out the apps and tools!  They apply for the next Google Teacher Academy!

April 22-25 Washington DC
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics  
Some worthwhile presentations, but I was frustrated with the lack of connectivity in the hall.  This was in DC, same spot as NECC, so we know it’s doable.  There were some hands on workshops that needed internet, where the presenters just had to present offline.  Not fair to people who prepared so well for big conference appearance.  Anyhew – a couple of my faves……The Washington International School Parent Math Night Presentation, complete with the hands-on activities used and the children.  Truly inspiring kids.  Students always draw the biggest crowds and present so openly and honestly about their learning.

Another excellent preso was by Dr. Robin Angotti from The University of Washington, Bothell.   She and 3 undergraduate students preparing to be teachers presented ways they were using “Math 2.0″ as student teachers.  It was a practical and useful display (and without internet connection they pulled it off beautifully.

(Some Very Random Reflections)

Computational Thinking Resources provide program guidelines for teaching computer science.
Here’s another gaming design preso – specifically for middle schools.
More science here at the NASA Digital Network.

In the Open Source Lab, the audience was given an introduction to Information and Communication Technology (ICT) by Vern Ceder, Jeffrey Elkner and two very impressive high school seniors.  The group presented Computer Programming for Everybody:  Python in the Classroom.  I must say, this is a foreign language to me, but I’d love to jump onto the ICT highway and see where programming classes would take our middle and high school crowd.  The Scratch Program is a great introduction to ICT for the younger set…. I’ve  joined the Scratch Community site;  Python language learning is definitely worth exploring.  Looking forward to designing some lessons and some student interaction.

Also presented in the Open Source Lab Python Session was The Open Book Project, which is “aimed at the educational community and seeks to encourage and coordinate collaboration among students and teachers for the development of high quality, freely distributable textbooks and educational materials on a wide range of topics”.  Awesome.

Picked up a Demo CD in the vendor area which peaked my interest from the Mind Research Institute.  I’ve already tested out the software on a tough audience (my 4 year old grandson Jack).  The unique visual content paired with multiple step math concepts engaged him thoroughly.

The bloggers’ cafe, as always, was a comforting centralized meeting place where you could always find good conversation and f2f reflection on conference finds.

Since May of 2005, our middle school has partnered with Kean University for a groundbreakng research based 1:1 laptop intiative, where a team of 7th and 8th graders have his or her very own Apple laptop computer with wireless capability for classroom learning.  I grabbed this image as a souvenir from the last 4 years of this initiative.   The mac homepage has been a good friend to us, so as it retires (officially on July 7th) we are grabbing this image to remember the hit counter that grew over the years.  We’ll move over to another homepage, but will park the counter here as a memento.

A recent November News blog regarding a story posted by Jim Wenzloff,  “Maybe I’m the Slow Kid”, include a suggested activity for differentiating instruction for classroom learning as follows:
On the CAST web site they introduce Differentiated Instruction by stating:
Not all students are alike. Based on this knowledge, differentiated instruction applies an approach to teaching and learning so that students have multiple options for taking in information and making sense of ideas.

Mr. Wenzloff, went on to describe a concrete example of how to apply such multiple options in the classroom.   This is a strategy we use every day, without realizing it.  We all learn differently, at different rates, and with different sets of tools.  If a friend gave me directions to their house 50 miles away, I will approach the drive in my own way (most likely with a printed set of directions and map).  Some like to listen to the friendly GPS voice guide their car through every turn (I’d rather listen to my iPod with my map on the seat next to me).  Still others like to just find their way after someone verbally tells them general directions.  If we approach classroom instruction knowing we are covering all the needs of our learners, what a rich learning environment for students!   I am currently directing a grant which is funding middle schools to explore Universal Design for Learning principles.  The November Learning post offers a great example of the approach.   Here is another example of the concept offered by a 5th grade student who I interviewed last fall.  I think he hit the nail on the head with an innate understanding of differentiated learning and classroom design.  Colleagues on the web have wonderful ideas to share, as is the case with the author of the November post, but let’s also remember to ask the kids to reflect on what works best for them.

It is apparent to all of us that Google is now embedded into the fabric of our lives.  This week they have deepened our searching habits in a way that opened a door for us to look at history more closely.  We can now search millions of photographs from the LIFE photo archive, stretching from the 1750s to today. Most were never published and are searchable through the joint work of LIFE and Google.     While the applications for this new search tool is certainly obvious for teaching and learning, it hit me on a very personal level as a visual time machine kind of experience.   My father and grandfather were soldiers in the British Army during both world wars; this tool allows me to take a visual journey through some places where I know they fought (and died in the case of my grandfather in 1914).  I remember the war stories my father would tell;  can’t imagine having this tool in front of us as he spoke. So find an elderly relative, friend, anyone who would be able to deepen the storytelling that these pictures already tell.  Use them to drive learning in your classroom, or tell your own story with pictures to your students, children or grandchildren.  It’s all history, from yesterday back to 1750.