My first session was on Coding. I'm not a coder, don't know much language or script when it comes to computers, but I value and embrace the power that coding has. My message is simple. We don't need to be Coders. We just need to find the tools and resources for students, and they will blow it up.
I met a few other presenters of Coding on Friday and Saturday, and feel completely overwhelmed at what they are providing on their websites and in their workshops. I do keep in mind that I teach the beginners, the primary students, so my program is going to vary from theirs. One great speaker, who has an amazing web presence is Brian Aspinall (@mraspinall). Spend some time checking his site out, and seeing the Coding gems he has to offer.
Some beginner resources are:
Code.org
Blockly
Botlogic
Scratch
ETFO offered a wonderful chance to network after the first day by hosting a great end of day event. I spent a couple of hours chatting with teachers from all across the board and picked up some great ideas. One such idea came from around student presentations and using Youtube clips in their presentation. One teacher stated that for some topics, he encourages his students to find videos that help prove their point, or provide information, and then use it for inspiration. He encourages them to make their own videos for the presentations. Brilliant and now added to my repertoire.
Saturday - Day 2. I didn't make it to the event when I wanted. My family from Windsor was in town, so an unscheduled breakfast kept me away. I missed a couple of sessions I wanted to see. None the less, I arrived in plenty of time to have a great discussion with Diana Maliszewski (@MzMollyTL ), of GamingEdus. We had a great chat about teaching, tech and of course, Minecraft in the classroom. The discussion led to my use of Minecraft (not a crafter), but we shared a video of a previous student using Minecraft partnered with Google Presentations to complete his 20% project. That led to the decision to co-write a little piece with my former student on the benefits of Minecraft in the classroom.
Finally, I got around to my 2 workshops on Weebly in the classroom. They went well, and the learning was that for a half day workshop crammed into an hour and a bit, I need to have a little takeaway for the educators attending. That's ok. It is going to be my homework this week.
I returned home amped, rejuvenated and excited about so many possibilities. I love that our union puts on these events, not only to allow us to grow as leaders, but to provide learning opportunities for those that are seeking ways to improve their classroom practice.
At the end of the day, those that win are the students. If you went into the classrooms of those attendees today, you would have sensed a level of excitement, confidence and all around positivity that can only improve student engagement. Students in Ontario are so lucky to have so many educators that care.
Special shout outs to Ruth Dawson @Ruth_Daws and her team for such an amazing event.
Oh and the Tweeting. I just wanted to quickly state that Twitter is my new PD. Well it has been for over a year now, but Sunday night I sat at home. Terrible movie on in the background and tweeted with a few teachers across the province. We discussed the pros and cons of gamification in the class, how to implement tech, and ideas on Google usage. Twitter. Get on it, follow like minded individuals and educational groups and watch your practice improve.
I met a few other presenters of Coding on Friday and Saturday, and feel completely overwhelmed at what they are providing on their websites and in their workshops. I do keep in mind that I teach the beginners, the primary students, so my program is going to vary from theirs. One great speaker, who has an amazing web presence is Brian Aspinall (@mraspinall). Spend some time checking his site out, and seeing the Coding gems he has to offer.
Some beginner resources are:
Code.org
Blockly
Botlogic
Scratch
ETFO offered a wonderful chance to network after the first day by hosting a great end of day event. I spent a couple of hours chatting with teachers from all across the board and picked up some great ideas. One such idea came from around student presentations and using Youtube clips in their presentation. One teacher stated that for some topics, he encourages his students to find videos that help prove their point, or provide information, and then use it for inspiration. He encourages them to make their own videos for the presentations. Brilliant and now added to my repertoire.
Saturday - Day 2. I didn't make it to the event when I wanted. My family from Windsor was in town, so an unscheduled breakfast kept me away. I missed a couple of sessions I wanted to see. None the less, I arrived in plenty of time to have a great discussion with Diana Maliszewski (@MzMollyTL ), of GamingEdus. We had a great chat about teaching, tech and of course, Minecraft in the classroom. The discussion led to my use of Minecraft (not a crafter), but we shared a video of a previous student using Minecraft partnered with Google Presentations to complete his 20% project. That led to the decision to co-write a little piece with my former student on the benefits of Minecraft in the classroom.
Finally, I got around to my 2 workshops on Weebly in the classroom. They went well, and the learning was that for a half day workshop crammed into an hour and a bit, I need to have a little takeaway for the educators attending. That's ok. It is going to be my homework this week.
I returned home amped, rejuvenated and excited about so many possibilities. I love that our union puts on these events, not only to allow us to grow as leaders, but to provide learning opportunities for those that are seeking ways to improve their classroom practice.
At the end of the day, those that win are the students. If you went into the classrooms of those attendees today, you would have sensed a level of excitement, confidence and all around positivity that can only improve student engagement. Students in Ontario are so lucky to have so many educators that care.
Special shout outs to Ruth Dawson @Ruth_Daws and her team for such an amazing event.
Oh and the Tweeting. I just wanted to quickly state that Twitter is my new PD. Well it has been for over a year now, but Sunday night I sat at home. Terrible movie on in the background and tweeted with a few teachers across the province. We discussed the pros and cons of gamification in the class, how to implement tech, and ideas on Google usage. Twitter. Get on it, follow like minded individuals and educational groups and watch your practice improve.
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