Connect Conference 2015 Day 2

Connect Conference 2015 Day 2

Did I tell you that I am in my element today? I sat in my seat waiting as the countdown for the day was about to begin.

I didn't need a second up of my coffee this morning as I was already bursting with energy when the day kicked off.

I had so many moments again where I wanted to stand up and clap. I refrained and held myself back. I know that most of the people in that room have their own reasons for being there but since I have been limited this year on my tech use it was a breath of fresh air to read what I have thought for years.

One of my favourites from the opening speaker today. I have been having issues with bullying in my classroom. It is no secret as I posted about it here, but as I sat there I started thinking......

Do we ban social media because of the "what if's" or the it happened once moment? I don't think so! I think we should be encouraging teachers to use it and our students should too. 

We should be leaning away from the being afraid of social media and embrace it. Face these "boogy men" issues of bullying and lack of digital citizenship just as we would on our play grounds and in our hallways. I am well aware that they are real issues-I am not trying to minimize. I just mean we are reacting to the possibility of it in many cases. 

Presentation: Tech Trends and Tools that Make the Grade by Marc Saltzman

Today I also had the experience of a star stunned moment. I attended a session entitled:

Eight Tenets of a Connected Relevant Educator.

Do you know who was leading this session? 

Steven Anderson and Tom Whitby
@web20classroom and @Tomwhitby

I follow these two gentlemen online via twitter. If you don't follow them on twitter or have not yet participated in an #edchat I strongly encourage you to do so. This was my first time attending a session of someone I follow from the twitter world. I so wanted to get a picture...but I wondered if I was a bit...well .....twittershocked.

Their session introduced two new things to me:

1. edWeb : An online community for educators 

2.Diigo: Bookmarking online. I can build my own library of resources and links. I heart that idea.

I love new things that I can use right away. Now after the session I have another book to read.

 

My wish list amazon is starting to add up.

Overall my main learning points from today were:

1. Students need to be heard and should be heard online. 
2. Students should be able to present their own growth in a way that is valuable to them.
3. Paper and pencil tasks are not always necessary. We need to prepare students for today and the future but not based on the expectations of the past. 
4. Collaboration is more then just working together. It is active and purposeful: it is not just working in groups.

There are so many more then just four learning points for me. I think I still need time to process it all! Overall an amazing conference and I am so honoured that I had the opportunity to attend and listen to these fabulous speakers.