October+5th,+2010+Reflection

=Please respond to the following questions (any one or all).=

What did you hear today that . ..

 * ==// inspires you to be a "teacher of context" (making content relevant to students)? //==
 * == //challenges you, or that you found particularly interesting?// ==
 * ==// opened your mind to a new possibility? //==

Jim McKenney - The possibilities are endless with technology. There is excitement and fear at the same time. There is always the student that has to push the envelope and go against the rules. This has a tendency to spoil it for the masses. Such is life.

Jeff McQuistan - After hearing about "what schools can be doing to enhance education", it was enlightening to see how Arnold Public Schools has integrated 21st century skills in a real-life, hands-on, educational opportunity for students.

Chris Good-I'm seeing the truth behind "There's an app for that." We need to truly shift from content experts to context creators...from in front of the classroom to behind the students...guiding them with probing questions and developing the relevancy for our students.

Jill Bates -- "Distance equals bandwidth" was the statement that made me think about how the world has changed. Nebraska students can work collaboratively on educational and/or business projects with partners located hundreds or thousands of miles away. Just think of the opportunities!

Chad Kment -- I think that I can do more with giving my students real world buiseness application, because if money is the limiting factor, anyone who puts their mind to it can find the money, but the time comitment involvedmay be more than i have to offer at this time.

Annette Rasmussen - After today's session I am thinking so many resources, so much technology to utilize, and so little time. I’m sifting through all of today’s material and trying to decide what is most urgently needed to make my students successful in today’s global economy. At the moment, I would like to utilize more technology to become more of a teacher of context.

Michele Schmidt - Things I heard today reinforce some of the things I already am doing in my classroom such as collaborating with others accomplish a task. One of the items I left for my 7th grade Keyboarding class this week was for one of them to type the report, but the other will be interpreting the instructions to help the person typing complete the report. Today also encouraged me to think of other ways I can incorporate collaboration into my classroom. Another thing that was talked about today that I knew but really hadn’t spent a lot of time analyzing was that we flourished in the type of school system that we came through (the traditional school system), but today’s students may not (most likely will not) flourish in that type of system. I have started to adapt my classroom, but haven’t really analyzed why I was doing so. I also want to thank Mark for his help in learning to set my camera to take better pictures. That was a wonderful plus! Marcy Roeber – by placing the technology covered today into our classrooms our students learning possibilities are endless. We must also remember our students have this technology at their fingertips and we need find ways for them to utilize it in a positive way.

Janet Rood - This is a very exciting time in which to teach, so much to learn and so little time. I learned being open to change is a good thing and that if motivated people can do amazing things.

Becky Corkle – I had seen and heard some of the content today when my school went to Apple briefing in Chicago last year, however, sometimes the one little thing someone says can trigger a whole explosion of ideas. My little thing today was when Mark mentioned the teacher that had her students create Facebook pages for a famous person. I loved that idea and also started thinking about having the kids “tweet” as a particular person, etc. Maybe even creating a whole modern day profile for this famous person. Brian Fanta-I thought the day was filled with great ideas and possibilities for the future. But the thing that opened my mind to new possibilities was the piece on handing it in versus publishing it teaching. It seems like a great idea to have more than just the teacher able to see their work. By publishing it to the web or school website makes it entirely possible.

Rhonda Jindra: Campfire, Watering Hole, Cave and Mountain Top. I want to consciously create experiences where learners (adults and students) are utilizing these various delivery models. In addition, having Mark provide the camera basics and on-site learning experiences was a "bonus"--so now I'm thinking about experiences I might provide (or other attendees might provide) that could provide "bonus" learning for those that want to extend their learning.

Marilyn Whitaker- What challenges me? I am challenged to think of new ways to add/modify course content to match 21st century learners. I am always open to new things and thinking of utilizing iPods and iPads to enhance/expand student learning will be a fun challenge for me and my students. I enjoy sharing the learning process and allowing students to share not only information but how to utilize new technology in the process and teach me new things as well. Thanks to all the facilitators for your efforts today!

      Tim Olin....It reaffirms my thinking of "not what can't be done"..."but all the possibilities of what can be done." We also need to move on not only as individuals but use the power of this group to work on all those possibilities.  Jill Bates #2 -- Last night I started thinking about the similarities between our photography session and education. Although most of us own cameras and use them regularly, very few of us realize their capabilities. We may be aware of manual settings but in most cases, they are unused or utilized ineffectively. Mark also challenged us to look at our surroundings differently, considering light/dark, focus, composition, etc. I see similarities to education. Although many educators have the technology tools, they really don't know how to use them. We all need to change our perspective as we consider how to maximize students' education as we teach context, integrate technology, and look toward the future. Our challenge is to look at the "same old things" from a new perspective.    Suzette McCarthy- I am feeling very challenged. There are so many opportunities and ideas. After day one, my mind is swimming with all kinds of ideas. My challenge is to try to pick a couple and get them implemented ASAP. Great session! <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Ryan Olander - The most interesting thing I heard and had been thinking about in the last year is that teacher's no longer have to focus on teaching content but teach students how to find the content and what content is fact and what content is opinion. Teachers must work to be able to facilitate student learning. All the information is out there, it just needs to be found. I haven't taught welding in four years and this year, with my new job, I have to teach welding for a semester. I found instructions and videos produced by credible welding institutions that I and the students can learn from. <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Lori McKenney - I am feeling challenged to return to my classroom and incorporate more of these ideas. It feels great to be building this network of peers to share with and learn from. I have been looking for ways to embrace some of the new handheld technologies, so this has been very timely.