Brock's Tech Showcase!



http://pipedreams-education.ca/2011/01/05/brock-tech-showcase/

The Technology Showcase at Brock Hamilton campus was an enlightening experience.  I would have loved to attend more of the sessions... but was limited to three.  I can't write about everything I learned... so I'll focus on the points that most impressed me.
I started off with Google in the Classroom... this session introduced us to several online tools that can be used in the classroom  They were introduced in centers moderated by student teacher candidates.  I especially enjoyed the  popplet  station... this tool is a kind of mind map/graphic organizer tool that can be collaboratively constructed and include anything from photos, webpages and videos.  I could use this tool for lesson planning ... but also in the class, for students to add their comments about a theme studied.   I also found the Google in the Classroom presentation memorable... I especially liked the idea of having "office hours" on line ... you assign a time, for example 5-6 PM, as your "office hour" for students or parents to communicate with you.
The next session linked in to the first... Web 2.0.  I was amazed at what can be done in the classroom using the collaboration of Web 2.0.  The moderator was Royan Lee...

Royan Lee in action.... http://royanlee.tumblr.com/

He used a web site called todaysmeet.com where you can create a temporary "room" and have students comment on what the class is discussing.  Royan did a model lesson with a book called "The Stranger" by Chris Van Allsburg.  As he read the book, Royan gave us questions to post answers to.  In his class, all the students have ipads or mobile devices that they use during the class.  It's a great way to get the class involved in a discussion.

Royan also showed us an example of a class blog where a particular student's post inspired others to add to the blog.  This is a good example of how collaborative learning enhanced the learning and learning environment.

I have a couple questions about this approach... how early can this approach be effectively used in a classroom?  Royan's class was grade 7.  Would or could this work for elementary?  

How can some of this be implemented in inner city schools where many students don't have an i-pad or i-phone to use?  Could this be done on a smaller scale... in a different way?

Another issue was raised by a teacher... what about privacy issues?  You may have a student that is from a broken family...  and one of the parents is not legally permitted to contact his/her child.  It is difficult to control access to web pages.  Is there a way to make these classroom blogs secure... or limit access?

The last workshop I attended was the Live Learning with Livescribe.  This technology uses a smartpen which records both the script and conversation that goes on with the script.  This workshop was also done in centers with Brock students introducing various uses for this pen.  Although this pen has some amazing features, I'm not sold on the idea.  Only the pen that wrote the script can be used to "play it back" and you need a special paper for the pen to work.  It usefulness is limited... unless each student has their own pen... but even then, it would be unreasonably time consuming to collect the data and use it either for teaching or evaluation.  My perception may change as I see more applications...

It was a great day to see some innovative ideas that enhance our classrooms now and in the future.  I look forward to incorporating some of these ideas into my classroom practice. 
#xcited2xplore, #technology showcase #Web2.0