Dear Heads and Technology contacts:
Below find info about a summer technology conference and scholarship opportunity.
The application deadline is April 17, and funds are awarded on a first come/first served basis.
Thanks.
Sarah
~~~~~~~~~
Sarah Sweeney-Denham
Associate Director
Friends Council on Education
www.friendscouncil.org <http://www.friendscouncil.org
-------------------------------
Dear Irene,
During our sharing time at the CAPE board meeting, I mentioned that each organization had received an invitation for their schools to apply for scholarships to iSummit '09. This is a 3-day conference tailored for private school personnel who want to learn more about integrating technology into learning through 1:1 programs.
The conference provides strands of participation for faculty, technology staff, and administration / leadership
The iSummit scholarship covers:
• 3 nights hotel stay
• 7 meals
• 1 ticket to the Memphis Redbirds Baseball game on Thursday night
Complete information about iSummit '09 can be found on the web at:
http://www.lighthouseschools.com/isummitscholarship.html
I hope you will pass this information on to your schools. It is a great professional development opportunity for private schools. The application deadline is April 17, 2009.
All the best,
Martha
*******************
Martha Rolley, Ed.D
Director, K-12 Marketing ?
Apple Inc.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Gaming Festival April 24th & 25th
Keynote Speaker - Chris Crawford
Chris Crawford, the noted computer game designer and writer, developed a number of important games since the 1980s, founded The Journal of Computer Game Design, organized the Computer Game Developers’ Conference, wrote De Re Atari and The Art of Computer Design, and, most recently, developed the authoring tool Storytron and its beta development system Swat.
2009 Game Festival & Symposium - GSAS Program at Rensselaer
From PopTech- Conversations, people and ideas shaping the future
"I consider myself a digital native, but when I say that, it feels a bit like when we all had to watch Pat Boone sing heavy metal songs. My children, however, are born digital. What does that mean? For the shiny-seekers, it’s not all that scary, but what does it mean?"
Click the link below to continue reading...
Envisioning digital kids | The Pop!Tech Blog | Accelerating the Positive Impact of Worldchanging People and Ideas
Fwd: [Forum] June Smart Board Conference
Hi,
You are invited to join fellow educators for a Smart Board one-day
conference on Tuesday, June 9, 2009 hosted by Rye Country Day School. We
have planned an information-sharing day focusing on the use of interactive
white boards.
Following a continental breakfast, the morning will be comprised of lesson
sharing sessions organized by either grade level (for lower school) or
subject, and the afternoon will be arranged by topic using an unconference
format. Our vendor, Colortone, will be present to demo a Smart Table, the
Senteo Interactive Response System, and the Smart Document Camera. And of
course, lunch will be provided.
We are asking for a modest fee of $25 per attendee, the total proceeds
which will go to funding the folks who facilitate the day's sessions. Each
subject session will have a faculty facilitator who will share some of
their lessons, encourage you to share your lessons, and facilitate
discussion on lesson planning. Afternoon sessions will be organized based
upon your feedback on the registration form.
We are hoping for a strong turnout but, knowing we should be careful what
we wish for, we reserve the right to limit registration so that the
numbers are manageable and people get the most from the sessions.
We encourage you to bring at least one of your Notebook lessons to share
with others. To that end, please bring your laptop or, at the very least,
a Flash memory pen. If you do not have a laptop, a limited number will be
available to borrow during the conference. Also, if you are interested in
facilitating a session, please note that on the registration form.
Looking forward to seeing you!
SCHEDULE
8:30-9:00 Registration & Continental Breakfast
9:00-9:10 Welcome
9:15-11:30 Subject Sessions (with breaks as needed)
11:45-12:45 Lunch
1:00-2:45 Unconference Sessions
If you have any questions, please contact me via phone or email:
Laurie Bartels – 914-925-4562 or [ mailto:laurie_bartels@ryecountryday.org
]laurie_bartels@ryecountryday.org
REGISTRATION
Registration consists of two parts.
(1) Please visit this link to submit your registration:
[
http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=cHVpamJkRnVaTTJacnFlQkk0NGxJZHc6MA
]http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=cHVpamJkRnVaTTJacnFlQkk0NGxJZHc6MA..
(2) Please send a check for $25 payable to Rye Country Day School, to:
Laurie Bartels
Rye Country Day School
Cedar Street
Rye, NY 10580
If multiple faculty attend from the same school, it is fine to lump each
person's fee into one check.
For directions to RCDS please see our school site at:
[ http://www.ryecountryday.org/page.cfm?p=21
]http://www.ryecountryday.org/page.cfm?p=21
Social Media is here to stay-
Here is a link to Will Richardson's Blog, "Weblogg-ed: Learning with the read/write web"
The article is called "Social Media is Here to Stay' Just no in the classroom, please."
There are some links to the original post/presentation by Dinah Boyd as well.
Recommended reading for those interested in social media and rethinking 'school' in a Web 2.0 world.
Weblogg-ed » “Social Media is Here to Stay.” Just Not in Classrooms, Please
The article is called "Social Media is Here to Stay' Just no in the classroom, please."
There are some links to the original post/presentation by Dinah Boyd as well.
Recommended reading for those interested in social media and rethinking 'school' in a Web 2.0 world.
Weblogg-ed » “Social Media is Here to Stay.” Just Not in Classrooms, Please
Have you forgotten?
Over the long weekend and holiday if you have time this is a good opportunity to back-up your laptops.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Online learning- a spark from the Academic Affairs Meeting
At today's Academic Affairs meeting- where the Division Heads and the Department Chairs gather every six weeks or so- the topic of online learning was raised. This quickly became a vibrant and passionate discussion between and among us. Many initial thoughts and opinions were expressed about the pros and cons of "online learning."
As I came to pack up to leave for today I realized that in our conversation we were not all working from the same definition of the phrase 'online learning.' There were at least two variations:
Online Learning- all learning is done online and the brick/mortar school & classroom are no more.
This was the image that came to mind for some. The idea that students would be sitting affixed to their computers in social and intellectual isolation from one another behind a row of screens. In my opinion I don't think that is what was the intention of the topic nor would this be an idea I support.
Human beings are inherently social animals. Although there are great discussion online about online learning and there are many opportunities for studetns of all ages to learn at their own pace, at a time that is comfotable to them by taking courses online I don't think at this point in time anyone is advocating a move away from "school" being both a place and a process. School as a a communty center (center for community) and gathering place still has great use in the structure of our soceity. School as a physcial location and gathering place serves an essential function in the development of human beings- socialization and the building of community (or network). Manners, values, civility and citizenship are human social skills and these, I think, could not be taught online. We need to sing, paint, dance, eat, discuss, laugh, talk and play together as human beings face to face.
Online learning- an augmentation to the classroom.
This is the place where I think BFS could benefit- learning online as an augmentation to the classroom.
There were some good points brought up at the meeting about the positive contributions that can happen if we as a school approach online learning this way.
-As a small school our students could have the option to take classes online that we cannot offer here due to a scheduling or staffing constraints
-Adding an online component to an already existing class could encourage students to have deeper engagement with the material being studied in that learning online requires engagement as opposed to passivity
-Adding an online component to an already existing class would allow the faculty member to truly practice differentiated instruction- presenting the class material in various ways that would speak to multiple learning styles
-Adding an online component to an already existing class would allow for greater 1:1 attention in that a faculty member can focus and address the needs of each student without the constraints of having to do in a given class period and for the student they could get the attention they need academically without having to 'compete' for the teacher's attention during class time
There are many pros and cons to online learning. I encourage you to gather as much information you can for yourselves as you enter this conversation.
The conversation is already happening in many places. Visit the Independent School Educators (ISED) website to join the community and a conversation about the value of online education.
The conversation about learning online, also called distance learning, is happening here among our students as well. For example-
A few weeks ago a few 11th grade students at BFS came to my office to chat- these are regular visitor. As one he entered he said he had a very serious question to ask me, something he said he'd been discussing at home with his parents. I pushed back from my desk to give him my full attention.
He dropped his bag on the floor haphazardly, planted his feet firmly and used his Public Speaking voice in my very small office-
"WHY do I HAVE to come to school EVERY day at 8:00 in the morning-" he said, with an emphasis on the earliness of the hour, "-when I can learn anything I want anytime I want with this!" he finished holding his well-used, slightly beat-up laptop out in front of him in a huff.
I smiled broadly, offered him a donut and a seat. Our conversation lasted almost 90 minutes as he explained his latest scientific exploration- string theory. We munched and shared resources on sting theory on the internet. Before he left we shared our favorite new applications for the iPhone/iTouch, too.
I did not think he was planning to drop out of school, our conversation included a good deal of things he enjoyed about coming to 375 Pearl Street/55 Willoughby and interacting with the people in the community. I completely understood his delimna...school as process and school as place.
There has been a great discussion about online learning happening on the Independent School Cooperative (iScoop) website that was started by Fred Bartels, Director of Technology at Rye Country Day School. The introduction to the website reads as follows:
If you interested in furthering your readings about online learning and participating in a discussion between and among Independent School educators who are committed to exploring the possibilities of online learning then I encourage you to sign up for the website and join the conversation.
This afternoon it was very hard for me to sit through this conversation without bubbling forth the well-spring of information that I have been wading in for the past few years in various communities about the transformations in education and learning that are taking place in our society now. I just get so excited by the possibilities! I believe that education is the most powerful change agent in society.
These conversations I'm particiapting in have grown quite organically but most trace their seed back to the advent of laptop programs and the idea of anywhere anytime learning.
Now there are new buzzwords like "21st Century skills" and there are positive and negative implications in the new buzz but the underlying concepts are the same. These conversations are influenced by the rapid growth of a media infused society, expanded research into brain development and the realization that our interaction with information spurned now by technology has a direct impact on brain development, voracious developments in technology which have led to an increased production of and access to a variety of information and the relationship between societal innovation and the nature of our school systems which are often still following the model of education developed when we were an agrarian society.
The conversation was *very* exciting.
I've been waiting for this conversation to come to Brooklyn Friends, I just did not want to be the one to introduce it.
So, to add to the conversation (um, online...) and get you started, wading in slowly, here are a few resources:
International Association for K-12 Online Learning
Here is their mission statement from their website- "iNACOL strives to ensure all students have access to a world-class
education and quality online learning opportunities that prepare them
for a lifetime of success." I highly reccomend you visit this site for further information.
SLOAN-C A Consortium of Institutions and Organizations Committed to Quality Online Education
On the website is a PDF of a nationwide survey from 2005-2006 reporting on the frequency of online or blended courses in school districts across the nation.
K-12 Online Conference Website
A resource that discusses blended courses using Web2.0 materials and classes taught fully online.
K-12.com
Here are some resources and white papers on online learning in a K-12 enviroment. I reccomend "Virtual Schools and 21st Century Skills."
November Learning
Alan Novemeber's website. Mostly a consulting company there are also links to some useful resources and further reading.
Florida Virtual High School
I mentioned this school during the meeting
Virtual High School Global Consortium
Accrediated by Middle States Commission on Secondary Schools, 2008 Distance Learning Award Winner
NAIS Article from the Winter 2009 Issue "Teaching in a 2.0 World"
I highly reccomend if you are interested in this topic that you take a look at the entire Winter 2009 issue.
Do you have other resources to add to the conversation?
How can DIMS help?
As I came to pack up to leave for today I realized that in our conversation we were not all working from the same definition of the phrase 'online learning.' There were at least two variations:
Online Learning- all learning is done online and the brick/mortar school & classroom are no more.
This was the image that came to mind for some. The idea that students would be sitting affixed to their computers in social and intellectual isolation from one another behind a row of screens. In my opinion I don't think that is what was the intention of the topic nor would this be an idea I support.Human beings are inherently social animals. Although there are great discussion online about online learning and there are many opportunities for studetns of all ages to learn at their own pace, at a time that is comfotable to them by taking courses online I don't think at this point in time anyone is advocating a move away from "school" being both a place and a process. School as a a communty center (center for community) and gathering place still has great use in the structure of our soceity. School as a physcial location and gathering place serves an essential function in the development of human beings- socialization and the building of community (or network). Manners, values, civility and citizenship are human social skills and these, I think, could not be taught online. We need to sing, paint, dance, eat, discuss, laugh, talk and play together as human beings face to face.
Online learning- an augmentation to the classroom.
This is the place where I think BFS could benefit- learning online as an augmentation to the classroom. There were some good points brought up at the meeting about the positive contributions that can happen if we as a school approach online learning this way.
-As a small school our students could have the option to take classes online that we cannot offer here due to a scheduling or staffing constraints
-Adding an online component to an already existing class could encourage students to have deeper engagement with the material being studied in that learning online requires engagement as opposed to passivity
-Adding an online component to an already existing class would allow the faculty member to truly practice differentiated instruction- presenting the class material in various ways that would speak to multiple learning styles
-Adding an online component to an already existing class would allow for greater 1:1 attention in that a faculty member can focus and address the needs of each student without the constraints of having to do in a given class period and for the student they could get the attention they need academically without having to 'compete' for the teacher's attention during class time
There are many pros and cons to online learning. I encourage you to gather as much information you can for yourselves as you enter this conversation.
The conversation is already happening in many places. Visit the Independent School Educators (ISED) website to join the community and a conversation about the value of online education.
The conversation about learning online, also called distance learning, is happening here among our students as well. For example-
A few weeks ago a few 11th grade students at BFS came to my office to chat- these are regular visitor. As one he entered he said he had a very serious question to ask me, something he said he'd been discussing at home with his parents. I pushed back from my desk to give him my full attention.
He dropped his bag on the floor haphazardly, planted his feet firmly and used his Public Speaking voice in my very small office-
"WHY do I HAVE to come to school EVERY day at 8:00 in the morning-" he said, with an emphasis on the earliness of the hour, "-when I can learn anything I want anytime I want with this!" he finished holding his well-used, slightly beat-up laptop out in front of him in a huff.I smiled broadly, offered him a donut and a seat. Our conversation lasted almost 90 minutes as he explained his latest scientific exploration- string theory. We munched and shared resources on sting theory on the internet. Before he left we shared our favorite new applications for the iPhone/iTouch, too.
I did not think he was planning to drop out of school, our conversation included a good deal of things he enjoyed about coming to 375 Pearl Street/55 Willoughby and interacting with the people in the community. I completely understood his delimna...school as process and school as place.
There has been a great discussion about online learning happening on the Independent School Cooperative (iScoop) website that was started by Fred Bartels, Director of Technology at Rye Country Day School. The introduction to the website reads as follows:
"Our goal is to build a supportive and challenging online learning
community comprised of independent school educators committed to
collaboratively exploring the design and construction of excellent
online learning communities for independent school students."
community comprised of independent school educators committed to
collaboratively exploring the design and construction of excellent
online learning communities for independent school students."
If you interested in furthering your readings about online learning and participating in a discussion between and among Independent School educators who are committed to exploring the possibilities of online learning then I encourage you to sign up for the website and join the conversation.
This afternoon it was very hard for me to sit through this conversation without bubbling forth the well-spring of information that I have been wading in for the past few years in various communities about the transformations in education and learning that are taking place in our society now. I just get so excited by the possibilities! I believe that education is the most powerful change agent in society.
These conversations I'm particiapting in have grown quite organically but most trace their seed back to the advent of laptop programs and the idea of anywhere anytime learning.
Now there are new buzzwords like "21st Century skills" and there are positive and negative implications in the new buzz but the underlying concepts are the same. These conversations are influenced by the rapid growth of a media infused society, expanded research into brain development and the realization that our interaction with information spurned now by technology has a direct impact on brain development, voracious developments in technology which have led to an increased production of and access to a variety of information and the relationship between societal innovation and the nature of our school systems which are often still following the model of education developed when we were an agrarian society.
The conversation was *very* exciting.
I've been waiting for this conversation to come to Brooklyn Friends, I just did not want to be the one to introduce it.
So, to add to the conversation (um, online...) and get you started, wading in slowly, here are a few resources:
International Association for K-12 Online Learning
Here is their mission statement from their website- "iNACOL strives to ensure all students have access to a world-class
education and quality online learning opportunities that prepare them
for a lifetime of success." I highly reccomend you visit this site for further information.
SLOAN-C A Consortium of Institutions and Organizations Committed to Quality Online Education
On the website is a PDF of a nationwide survey from 2005-2006 reporting on the frequency of online or blended courses in school districts across the nation.
K-12 Online Conference Website
A resource that discusses blended courses using Web2.0 materials and classes taught fully online.
K-12.com
Here are some resources and white papers on online learning in a K-12 enviroment. I reccomend "Virtual Schools and 21st Century Skills."
November Learning
Alan Novemeber's website. Mostly a consulting company there are also links to some useful resources and further reading.
Florida Virtual High School
I mentioned this school during the meeting
Virtual High School Global Consortium
Accrediated by Middle States Commission on Secondary Schools, 2008 Distance Learning Award Winner
NAIS Article from the Winter 2009 Issue "Teaching in a 2.0 World"
I highly reccomend if you are interested in this topic that you take a look at the entire Winter 2009 issue.
Do you have other resources to add to the conversation?
How can DIMS help?
Sync your GoogleDocs Calendar with your iPhone or iTouch
You can now sync your GoogleDoc calendars with your iPhone or iTouch.Read this article very carefully to set this up.
Innovate: Journal of Online Education
Interested in adding to your classroom facilitation by extending your class online? Skeptical or curious about online education?
Innovate: The Journal of Online Eduction published by the Fischler School of Education and Human Services take a look at online learning from multiple perspectives in this month's issue.
Online tutoring systems, a learning theory for 21st century students harnessing the power of the social network using Facebook to create an online community to extend the classroom experience in an organic chemcistry class are some of the topics this month.
Interested in talking more about these articles or applying some of these ides to your classroom?
How can DIMS help?
Innovate: The Journal of Online Eduction published by the Fischler School of Education and Human Services take a look at online learning from multiple perspectives in this month's issue.
Online tutoring systems, a learning theory for 21st century students harnessing the power of the social network using Facebook to create an online community to extend the classroom experience in an organic chemcistry class are some of the topics this month.
Interested in talking more about these articles or applying some of these ides to your classroom?
How can DIMS help?
Apple Classroom of Tomorrow
Wondering what people are talking about when someone says "21st Century Skills" or "classrooms of tomorrow"-?
Here is faculty friendly introduction to the concept of the networked student, the networked teacher and classrooms of tomorrow from Apple.com. The project is called Apple Classrooms of Tomorrow- Today.
On this site you can see six design principles of the 21st Century High School as well as an explanation of the 21st Century Skills and Outcomes.
Take a look around.
What can you do differently in your own classroom?
How can DIMS help?
Here is faculty friendly introduction to the concept of the networked student, the networked teacher and classrooms of tomorrow from Apple.com. The project is called Apple Classrooms of Tomorrow- Today.
On this site you can see six design principles of the 21st Century High School as well as an explanation of the 21st Century Skills and Outcomes.
Take a look around.
What can you do differently in your own classroom?
How can DIMS help?
Monday, April 6, 2009
A list of Edtech focused blogs
Are you interested in following the conversations around educational technology and the effects of technology on pedagogy? If so, here is a list of active blogs that focus on educational technology.
You may recognize many of the authors from the bloggesphere and as as speakers a educational conferences nationally.
You may recognize many of the authors from the bloggesphere and as as speakers a educational conferences nationally.
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