Today I find myself at once exhausted and energized after experiencing three days of passion and inspiration at our Technology Symposium, so here's our #futurenow15 in review.
Tuesday kicked off with a keynote by George Couros, an administrator and lead learner from Canada. We're cyberspace collaborators on Twitter, so the coolest thing was that he recognized me Jen and I headed to the front to welcome him before his talk. He grabbed Jen's phone and we took this group selfie:
His message? Let's stoke curiosity, not compliance.
George challenged us to remember why we became educators in the first place, to change the trajectory of a child's future. He encouraged us to remember that if we want to inspire meaningful change, we have to make a connection with their hearts before we can connect with their minds. And he emphasized that innovation is the big game changer in education.
He also fostered a growth mindset with the Be More Dog clip.
He also fostered a growth mindset with the Be More Dog clip.
After his session, Jen and I presented a TweetChat workshop;
click {here} for our slides.
After our Twitter orientation, we hosted a mock chat that you can find in the #futurenow15 feed if you're interested. The best part was the Scavenger Hunt we sent our Tweeps on to encourage them to use Twitter after they left our class. I Tweeted out some clues and the first one to reply with the correct answer won and got to go to that person's door to find and claim their gift card. Tweet!
Here's a sample clue:
Gift card found on Mrs. Reed's door.
click {here} for our slides.
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| Jen and her daughter made these cool shirts for us! |
Here's a sample clue:
Day 2 brought Erin Klein of Kleinspiration fame from Michigan to Friendswood to talk about learning spaces and writer's workshop.
She, too, talked about reaching our students before teaching them. Why we especially connected with Erin is that she's not just an expert, she's a practitioner, a second-grade teacher in the classroom, doing what we do. Priceless!
She, too, talked about reaching our students before teaching them. Why we especially connected with Erin is that she's not just an expert, she's a practitioner, a second-grade teacher in the classroom, doing what we do. Priceless!
Secondary teachers got to experience Amy Mayer while we in Erin's keynote. I enjoy a Google Docs breakout with Amy later that day.
Today we were treated to Dr. Curtis Chandler. The thing that endeared me to him was that he was on stage playing piano as we entered the auditorium. I knew instantly that I'd connect with what he had to say.
His first point was to connect with each of our students.
Even the prickly ones. Especially the prickly ones.
How are you preparing for this year's superheroes?
Today we were treated to Dr. Curtis Chandler. The thing that endeared me to him was that he was on stage playing piano as we entered the auditorium. I knew instantly that I'd connect with what he had to say.
His first point was to connect with each of our students.
Even the prickly ones. Especially the prickly ones.
Then he talked about Expectancy Value Theory that so very closely parallels what it says on our Character T: I Can. I Will.
I came straight home and made this slide.
It parallels this Effort Chart that a Twitter contact recently shared:
Then I ran some errands and took a nap.
Because I am all techered out for today.
