The tech committee (comprised primarily of teachers) organized a series of workshops centered around digital learning with the presenters being those of us that have of experience and ideas around best practices and technology. And there were lots of great choices - here's a sampling:
- itsLearning
- Technology in the Classroom: Why and How?
- Intro to Google Docs
- eportfolios and weebly
- Google Docs using iPads
- Introduction to the TV Studio
- Accessing Online Resources, ebooks & ereaders in the classroom
- Creating Movies and Digital Stories w/ iPads
- Digital Tools for New Teachers (PowerSchool, First Class, Evernote)
The TV studio workshop featured a demo and tour of all the cool things they have going on - especially since the addition of some sweet new equipment at the end of last year. You can see the TV Studio website here. Friend and fellow UA Hall dweller, Danielle Mannion has so many cool resources and couldn't have been more emphatic about wanting to assist us with adding video to our programs. I can't stop thinking about how I want to jump right in!
MY workshop on eportfolios and weebly was well attended and I hope the participants came away with some ideas on how they can incorporate digital portfolios into their classrooms. I also talked about setting up a class blog or website (like this one)! I realized a little way thru that some were mainly interested in portfolios and others mainly in building a website. I probably tried to fit too much in and we definitely could have used more time. In any case, there was great discussion and lots of questions and I hope the attendees feel it was time well spent - I know I learned a lot from all of them. And now I feel that much more prepared for when I present at the 2014 Blended and Online Learning Symposium at the end of the month.
Here's part of my presentation - it outlines the what and why of student portfolios:
In other news, classes are swimming along. Fundamentals of Studio Art I is an amazing group and they are very good at talking about their art. And s-l-o-w-l-y the students are getting into the swing of thing with their blogs. Pop on over to the Ap/Art II&III, Art I or Photo tab and take a look at the students have created!
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