Hello from San Diego! The National Educational Computing Conference began in full force today. I am so excited about all the wonderful ideas and information that are being presented! I can't wait to show you when school begins, so I will share them now. :)
The first session I attended this morning was presented by the author and creator of QuestGardens. You will love exploring all the webquests available. This is one of the websites I will be spotlighting in my HOTS session in August.
Podcasting is a word you will be hearing more and more. This technique of sharing information uses a format that is already in the hands of many, if not most, of our students (MP3 players). Podcasts may also be viewed/listened to on computers. The main presenter, Larry Anderson, is a native Mississippian. He is a hoot! This session was informative and fun!
"Electronic Constructivism..." was the topic of my first afternoon meeting. This presentation centered on the need to have solid, essential questions before we begin to develop assignments, webquests, projects, etc. Successfully designing the assignment, etc. results in changing those questions into challenges for the students.
The next session centered on advanced internet searching tips. It can be so frustrating when ten thousand hits come up for a search. Little additions to your search keywords can make a huge difference and save time.
The Discovery Education United Streaming presentation was great! They now have a Quiz Builder option. The teacher can choose a quiz that is already created and archived in the site, or he/she may design a new quiz. These quizzes could be used as short assessments after the students view a United Streaming video in class.
I am now the proud owner of a list of virtual fieldtrip sites that I will share with you when we return to school. I'll bet once you experience some of these "trips" you will be hooked!
I have so much more to tell you, but it is so late. I will add more later!
On Thursday, I spent time with the developer of Clicker software, asking for help in understanding the program. He is from England, and I love listening to him speak! He showed me how to navigate and use the program for lessons in vocabulary, sentence structure, topic sentences, etc. I will be glad to show you how this program will benefit your instruction and our students. :)
The next session was "Where does Technology Fit in the Writing Process?" This lady went through the basic Office programs and Inspiration showing how each could be used for the different steps of the writing process. She also shared websites that would aid in teaching writing. Some of these websites are the ones we have used previously; others are new. I plan to create a page in my website for listing these.
"The Tech Savvy English Classroom Revisited" was presented by a very energetic lady. This was so informative. She reviewed many techniques that may be used in a language arts classroom: book circles, podcasts, webquests, digital storytelling, blogs, etc. Her rule of thumb in determining which instructional tool to use is, "What are the unique capacities and limits of this tool? How does it allow us to do (our task) better?" An interesting fact she shared states that the national average for middle level students using a computer at school is 12 minutes per week! Our students are doing so much more than that! YEA!
An amazing man named Hall Davidson presented "Mega VCR: Media and More in Your Pocket".
He spoke for a solid 50 minutes, running back and forth from his iPod to his projector, to his computer. It wore me out just watching him! He showed us how to use our iPods as hard drives, storing our videos or podcasts in the iPod itself, instead of using the space on our classroom computers.
Next, I listened to "Traveling the World to Find Language Arts Web Sites". This session gave me even more sites to share with you when we return to school this Fall.
The Exhibit Hall was packed with technology vendors wanting to show off their products. Many of these exhibitors gave demonstrations/presentations to explain the benefits and unique qualities of these products. Here are a few I experienced:
PowerSchool Discovery PBS GradeQuick Thinkport
Visions HP HeartBeeps Scholastic
Study Island SmartTech Edutopia
One of the exhibits even had a massage therapist giving back massages throughout the day! I can't tell you what product was being highlighted, but the motto was "Making technology stress free"! Whatever was being sold there must have been wonderful because that booth had the longest lines! :)
Electronic Field Trips are free from Best Buy's Children's Foundation and Ball State University. Our students will have the chance to take part in 5 field trips this year: Philadelphia, Freedom in America (October 17), Hawaii, Eruption! An Island Rising from the Sea (December 5), Manzanar, Desert Diamonds Behind Barbed Wire (February 13), Indianapolis, Going, Going, Faster: The Science of Speed! (April 17), Alaska, Listening to Our Ancestors (May 8). Internet resources for each of these experiences will be online prior to the episodes. I will email you the details for each as I receive them. This sounds like a lot of fun! Electronic Field Trips have received several awards such as, Silver Telly, Bronze Telly, and Best Interactive Television Programming, Digital Entertainment and Media Excellence
Awards.
What a tremendous learning experience this conference has been!! I look forward to sharing it all with any one who wants to add spice to their lessons through technology! :)
Oh, before I close this section of my site, I want to share one more thought. This is a quote from one of NECC 2006's keynote speakers, Dewitt Jones.
"Celebrate what is right in the world."
I love it!
| 
