ISTE+Take+Home+Message

=ISTE Reflections=


 * Below share your Ah- ha moments from the conference.** What are your take home ideas? What did you learn, or reflect upon that stands out?


 * Use the discussion board above** to discuss the format for sharing our ideas with others. What do we need to think about for the fall? How can we share all that we have learned?

I also think we need to give a lot of thought to our lesson planning around technology. Why are we using technology in the lesson? What is the benefit? Is the technology piece an add on, or is it a vital part of the lesson? We should be trying to meet the Technology Standards with lessons where the technology piece is necessary not just something we threw in their because it fit and made the work a little easier. Does the use of technology increase the students' understanding of the concept? ||
 * **Person** || **Idea/Thought/Resource** ||
 * Leah || Mine is global perspectives. Alan November really made me think about how students need to search using country codes, I also will never forget the student from Singapore at Tuesday's keynote who said - "I really liked when I had a teacher that was a guide. A teacher who let me explore my curiosities and ideas." " I wish I had learned how to learn when I was in school. I learned a lot, but I find myself dependent upon others to give me knowledge. I don't know how to learn on my own." ||
 * Lynee' || * We are extremely lucky in JeffCo and at AWest to have fantastic resources, support and training.
 * We need to create norms within the school so that **all** students are given **access** to technology and 21st century skill sets. Next year's expectation that all teachers have websites is a small start.
 * Social networking apps like Twitter and using cell phone are difficult to manage but the way that students are learning and communicating in college and in the workplace. ||
 * Annie G || The thing that was the most beneficial for me to hear was a dos and don'ts speech on implementing technology in schools. Dealing with tech resistant people can be difficult and it is important for our entire building to get on the same page in understanding that our students need 21st century skills to be successful. With that said, the session about the dos and don'ts of implementing technology in schools emphasized that people will either choose to get on the "technology bus" or they won't and it is up to them-we cannot force everyone to use technology and we shouldn't try. Instead our goal should be to have meaningful sharing opportunities for teachers to find out what other teachers are using technology for in their classroom. Using this approach, the hope is that eventually the tech-resisters will realize what they are missing out on and want to learn more about it and use it in their classroom.
 * Bret || I echo Annie's thoughts. My vision for AWest is that we are a school that supports 21st century learning in the classrooms through effective application of technology that encourages student discovery and achievement. But, how we present that to teachers will be critical to achieving that goal; technology should be seen as the 'solution' for teachers and not a 'you have to use this'. The tech team and ISTE participants will be an important part in encouraging and supporting teachers using technology in the classroom effectively.

I hope that we can have some PD time around all the new things that we have learned from the conference. Maybe we could have a rotating forum where teachers can share the technology that works in their classroom. Other teachers will be able to see what is working, and how students are learning and engaging in those classrooms. Teachers will also know who to go to get help. I have a lot of things that I want to try next year but I know that I will need help along the way. If teachers know that they will have support they might be more willing to try new things.

The ongoing piece might be along the lines of the Literacy Project where teachers who are tech savvy can lead a small group in exploring the use of a technical tool in their classrooms or allow walk-ins for other teachers to observe how technology is being used in the classroom. ||
 * Lauren || While I understand that tech-resistant people should not be pushed, there should be some mandated use of technology. Didn't we decide that our goal for the year was to make sure that every teacher has an updated and working web page where students can find useful information?

I envision a quick whole-school demo on //why// websites are important, then a series of sessions on setting up websites?

Perhaps these sessions could be embedded in the round-robin style set up that Bret mentioned? ||
 * Chris Madsen || Check out my twitter page to at: http://twitter.com/awestmadsen to see all the interesting/useful info I found. Plus it will give you a chance to see how one might use twitter in the classroom. ||