Friday, October 18, 2013

Technology Travels with Coffeechug: Backchannel Notes and Responses #ITEC13

I have finally found time to answer and respond to all comments shared on the backchannel for my second presentation at ITEC13. I have shared the information below, but constructed all responses in Evernote: https://www.evernote.com/shard/s31/sh/e05b6a6c-d282-4ac9-9279-651cb7c27351/c91e2160d8b9ddbc3e1d92d9a1c3e7d1

If you have further questions, resources, or ideas please share. I will continue to add the Evernote page from this point forward.

Here is the link to my slides - http://coffeeforthebrain.blogspot.com/2013/10/itec13-conference-presentations.html

Here is the link to my backchannel notes from my Speedgeeking Session - http://coffeeforthebrain.blogspot.com/2013/10/speedgeeking-notes-from-itec13-via.html

Here is the link to my reflections on the two presentations - http://coffeeforthebrain.blogspot.com/2013/10/reflecting-on-my-presentations-from.html


A lot of my students don't have access to technology outside the classroom.
My thought is what are you doing within the classroom to help have a chance to use technology in ways that challenge their thinking?

Is there a link for this presentation somewhere?

Blocking programs and websites creates more fear for teachers--especially for teachers who know little about the programs. "Blocked"="Bad"
Could not agree more. It is time to bring in freedom and allow teachers and students to have real conversations and teaching opportunities about how to handle all the information and issues that come with so much information at our fingertips.

Best advise: Do not care what the person down the hall thinks about what you are doing.
YES! It is all about what YOU are doing. Are you developing an atmosphere for learning, freedom to fail, and challenge new thoughts.

maturity of a group of students helps teachers trust students more which helps alleviate fear
Maturity plays a huge role in things. We are currently dealing with students who lack of maturity hinders what we are trying to achieve. Hopefully we can provide guidance and sometimes more structure and limitations that allow them to have some success. When dealing with immaturity and/or younger kids they need confines to have creativity develop. Wide open range with no parameters will just make them spin in circles.

Fearful of losing precious time trouble shooting problems
This is a valid concern. I think that overtime if more and more classrooms and schools provide this environment for learning through failure, then students will need less "me" time and try to solve problems on their own. We are dealing with this right now. They will just sit and wait forever instead of trying to problem solve. What this statement alludes to is the notion of changing mindset and the culture of learning in schools. Until that happens this troubleshooting concept is an issue.

Fear comes from the fact that I can't control everything, but am still held responsible by parents, admin, etc.
It is not our job to control everything. We are one person. A powerful person with an amazing job, but at the end of the day one person. We have to begin to expand this conversation to the bigger idea that what we are talking about here and in previous questions is that this shift in thought and education is a community effort. We need to bring not only students on board, but educators, admin, parents, community members, etc. While the fear is relevant the conversations need to start happening about how we ALL play a role and the teacher is one part of this much larger puzzle.

I have had to help teachers overcome fear of learning new technology. So what if the kids know more about it than you do?
AWESOME! Create a genius/dream team board where kids declare what they are an expert in so people know who to go to whether it is an adult or student. Student voice is so powerful. If students get a chance to share their knowledge that that provokes more incentive to learn more and develop those skills. I love it when I learn from my students.

Never feared - my teacher parents taught me to embrace!

State of fear - the "what ifs" win too much.
The "what ifs" are something we all deal with in all aspects of life. Sometimes we just gotta take the plunge to see what happens. Scary, but when something clicks there is not a better feeling.

Teachers are fearful of giving up losing/control
The day has arrived that we are no longer in control. Education is a process not a place. Our jobs today are to guide, motivate, and provide the next challenge to the students. Our jobs are not to run the show and prove our knowledge. 

As a high school teacher, I have the same fear as that student...
Which is what? I would love to know more!

PLNs help with digital interaction
My PLN is the greatest resource of EVERYTHING that I need. I am so glad I have taken time to develop a strong PLN because I am becoming better every single day learning from others.

Besides fear, teachers also have a problem with letting a student take control. Sometimes a kid knows more than the teacher.
Valid point. Please see answer above

If a student shares a file with me, I can project it from my PC, & he can work on it from his while explaining to the class what he's doing.
How cool is this that technology allows this happen. We can now be a facilitator and give students more chances to share their wisdom

Atomic Learning to help differentiate!
Another great resource shared. Thanks for mentioning this.

Explaining your thinking and thought process out loud.
Perfect! We need to share how we think and process. How cool would it be to go back from this conference and share with students all the things we did. How we took notes, talked with others, wrote blog posts, made lists, experimented, etc. Students need to see how we are constantly learning as adults. We don't share that enough.

What are other examples of modeling?
We should model how we develop lesson plans. Have you ever taken time to show students what goes into preparing for a lesson. They would be amazed. I think so many still believe we just read a book from somewhere that is hidden from plain sight that tells us exactly what to do. Show them how you use your PLN, develop ideas, brainstorm with others, make a million drafts, adapt lessons throughout the day, change ideas for next year. They need to see how we work and operate.

I use the Promethean Board to create an example in real time. I also have a finished product ready to share...like a cooking show!
I love this and would love to see an example of this!

I have a blog. I show kids how it works and teach them to make blogs for journaling and linking sites that help learn the lesson
Love it! Also, would love to see an example.

Real, active (invisible) audience - we just talked about this in class! 
What else did you learn? It is such an interesting topic that I want to know more about personally.

Is there a link for that video? I'd love to show my students.
Check the link above for the slides. The link is in the notes.

I love coffee.
Me too!

Can a person really chug coffee? #notacoffeedrinker
Yes, but I am guessing it is not enjoyable!

coffeechug..., not sure what this session is about, but I love the name.
And I hope you enjoyed it!

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