Teaching in Tallahassee

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

FETC: Day One Wrap-up

A day full of workshops. This is my first time coming to FETC for the full four days of action. While the opening keynote isn't until this afternoon (Tuesday), those that just could not wait gathered at the Orange County Convention Center for a day of extended workshops. I was lucky enough to snatch the presider's role in three of them.

Howie DiBlasi

I'll write a series of posts this week providing details of FETC presentations as I see them. For the time being, you can access all of my bookmarked resources on Diigo - username stephenveliz and look for the tag fetc12.

I kicked-off my FETC 2012 conference early Monday morning by spending three hours with Howie DiBlasi @hdiblasi in his workshop on cloud computing in K12 education. Howie surveyed a long list of web-based applications, from cloud storage, to free MS Office alternatives like ZOHO and Google Docs, to content creation tools like Glogster and Kerpoof, and many others.

Robert Miller's Session

After lunch, I presided over Robert Miller's @robrtmiller workshop on classroom video production. Robert is doing some incredible things with his 5th graders, shooting video with a class set of iTouches. I was surprised with the level of quality their getting out of their iPods. Robert took the group though camera operation basic sand editing essentials using iMovie. Big takeaway for me: go buy a Mac! Click here for Miller's presentation resources.

My long first day was rounded out with a three-hour Leslie Fisher @lesliefisher session on effective digital photography. This one was mostly about me. Leslie covered both point-n-shoot and SLR cameras, often at the same time. No easy task, I'm sure. You know all of those menu options on my point-n-shoot Lumix that most of us would never dream of trying? Leslie did a great job of demystifying a lot of it. Big takeaway from this one: I need a new camera! Between Miller and Fisher, this conference could end up costing me a fortune.

Leslie Fisher Talks Digital Photography

Well, I sitting in the OCCC concourse this morning polishing up my two presentations that come up later this week, and rekindling tech connections with folks that I run into once a year. I'll get my learning day started at noon with Ruston Hurley, and his presentation on Google Docs and Forms.

I hope to post again this evening, so check back for latest from Orlando. You follow throughout the day by following on Twitter - hashtag #fetc.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Monday, January 23, 2012

And so it begins . . .

Good morning form Orlando, FL, and FETC 2012.

Always one of my favorites, the Florida Educational Technology Conference kicks-off today. As I've done in the past, I'll be blogging and tweeting throughout the week - bringing all of the highlights, lowlights, and latest trends.

I have a full day of workshop presiding lined up today - Howie DiBlasi @hdiblasi on Cloud Computing, Robert Miller on Student Movie Making, and Leslie Fisher @lesliefisher on Digital Photography. I'll be tweeting from each.

Check back here for posts throughout the week.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:International Dr,Orlando,United States

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Are our kids ready for college?

Hat tip to Lee Kolbert. She posted this on her GeekyMomma's Blog.

Click on graphic for a better view.

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Keeping Things in Perspective

Being part of a vast network of technology integration specialists - sharing through Twitter and so forth - can lead one to forget how much work remains in bringing technology into regular use in our classrooms. I was reminded of that this weekend. I attended and presented at the Florida Council for the Social Studies annual conference. My presentation was entitled Transforming the Social Studies Classroom with Web 2.0 Tools.

As I spoke on building a PLN, I was surprised that none of the more than twenty teachers in attendance were users of Twitter. Perhaps it was naive of me to expect at least a few to be users of social media, beyond simply having a Facebook account. In the hustle and bustle of the school year, the fact that most of the teachers on my school campus are not much different than the group to which I was speaking is not something I think about very much. That is a big mistake on my part.

After teaching all day this past Friday, I got in my car and drove four hours to present to a group of teachers that I didn't even know. Yet everyday I pass teachers in the hall that are as technologically needy as those that I met this weekend. What am I doing to address that need? What should I be doing? I drove those four hours intending to share what I could about integrating Web 2.0 tools in the classroom. I didn't expect to learn much. In the end, perhaps I learned the more than anyone else in the room.

Engaging in the PLN with teachers from across the globe is important. Reaching out to those that we see everyday is just as important. Are you trying to meet the need on your own campus?