2nd Technology Conference of 2010!

Back from day 2 of the Smart Ed. Services "Ohio Free Tech" conference and all I can say is "WOW"! First, it was free! 2 days of quality presentations, for the most part, and I came away with as many ideas (some more practical then others) as I discovered in the 2 days I was at the eTech conference in early February. I think the biggest difference between the conferences was that the focus in planning seemed to be on the attendees. Pre-registering for sessions allowed them to hold the largest sessions in the largest room. eTech just squeezed as many as possible into 1 room and then shut the doors. I think many of the presenters at the Ohio Free Tech presented a couple of times and that allowed more people to attend their sessions.
I was particularly impressed with 2 of the presenters. Tammy Worcester presented loads and loads of free and practical tools for teachers from a variety of sources. I've "known" Tammy (never met her in person, just followed her in the ed. tech. world) since my beginning days as a technology coordinator and she was a complete ball of energy! She was quick and gave many ideas/resources/concepts in a short time frame. Very organized and I was impressed! Jim Klein is the IT person for Saugus Schools in California and he presented numerous ideas for both Open Source solutions and a variety of Learning 2.0 ideas/themes. I was interested in Jim's session on Open Source software because we run Ubuntu on our data server and I think that when we first built the server, we were almost ready to ditch commercial software for the Open Source solutions. For a variety of reasons and multiple changes in the volunteer department, we didn't proceed. Jim's passion and enthusiasm for what he does is obvious and I now really want to take a second look at what we've planned for and how we could make some important changes. I think the best idea that Jim presented was that all of the technology in the world doesn't "make" students' learn, we must give them a platform to share their learning with the larger community.
The conference also included many other fantastic presenters. Dr. Jamie McKenzie was on hand both days and shared with us his ideas for higher order thinking skills and how technology integration can move on from being "scooped up and smushed" information to creating original content. I've read many of his articles and it was nice to see him present in person.
I certainly give kudos to the Smart Ed. Services people for planning and pulling off events like this one. I hope they continue to do this type of conference and continue to attrack quality presenters like this year. Very well done!

Microsoft Helping Send Teachers To NECC!

Microsoft is offering scholarships for teachers to attend NECC 2009! As part of the application process, they are asking educators to explain "how Microsoft can help you teach better?" I'm not sure there is any easy or correct answer to that question. I think that Microsoft could offer the tools to help in my student's learning. Right now, students at the 4th grade level who are studying Ohio history are using MS Word to create posters about inventors. Students use Microsoft products to create presentations, videos, timelines, web pages, graphs, stories, and many other products!

Still the most important part of planning a lesson that uses technology is knowing that using technology is appropriate for that lesson! Using technology because you have it isn't always the most effective way to teach a lesson or "get" a concept through to your students!

Teachers must know the curriculum they are teaching and understand how Microsoft products can help them in teaching their standards!

Professional Development

One of the most frequently visited branches of my PLN (Personal Learning Network) is iLearnTechnology. Recently featured was a post about Mike Summers, who commented that we spend so much time revisiting the same questions about education, learning, and teaching. We all know the answers, but seem unwilling (or unable) to affect the changes necessary. I was so intrigued by the way that Mr. Summers wrote about how frustrating it is to spend time going around and around, how he felt after he read and re-read so many edublogs about the possibilities of educational technology. I will agree with some comments made on his blog and others. Relevant professional development is the key to successful integration of technology into educational settings. If teachers see the inherent value of the technology integration, along with being given the time to explore, see the outcomes, explore the difficulties, and collaborate with others, it will work.


I tell my colleagues that we have to meet our students where they are at and go from there to give them the best educational experience. Administrators have to meet their teachers where they are at and create professional development opportunities that allow teachers at all integration levels to grow their knowledge and experiences. It will and can work.