Introduction to Habits of Mind

What are some ways that you could introduce the concept of thinking to your students?

National Science Teachers Association Conference

Use this entry to reflect on the National Science Teachers Association Conference on March 27, 28, 29, 30 attended by Celine Azoulay, Winnie Bracco, Christine Mazza and two teachers who work with our science Curriculum Integration Team, Benjy Blatman and Robert McDougall.

Microsoft’s Partners in Learning Briefing

Use this entry to reflect on the Celebration of Teaching and Learning Conference on March 25, 26, 27 attended by Crystal Lindsay, Lisa Nielsen, Carol Frankin, Amy Reynolds, Allison Sciandra.

Celebration of Teaching and Learning, New York, NY

Use this entry to reflect on the Celebration of Teaching and Learning Conference on March 7-8, 2008 attended by all.

PLEASE INCLUDE YOUR NAME AND TITLE AT THE END OF YOUR POST

CoSN Conference Reflection, Washington, DC

Use this entry to reflect on the CoSN Conference on March 10-11, 2008 attended by Troy, Celine, Winnie, Jim, Teri, Amy, Denise, Sue, Lia

January department meeting discussion on voting in the classroom (SMART Board)

These are our collective words regarding what the voting technology can bring to the classroom.

Descriptive words:
Proficiency, Interactive, Accountability, Innovative, Motivating, Responsive, Safe, Engaging, Empowering, Correcting, Flexibility, Instantaneous and Data Driven decision

Challenges:
Planning, Facilitating, Set-up, Unexpected, Scary, Availability, Time consuming, Complex, Management

We can further our discussion, turning words into ideas and concepts.

January department meeting discussion on multitasking

To multitask or not to multitask, that is the question. Actually the discussion analyzed how students multitask, should we teach multitasking, and how digital citizens can foster the appropriate use of multitasking with regard to full absorbtion of material and prioritizing for efficiency.

What we want to know is: is multitasking good for students. Research has shown that multitasking for adults can be detrimental to the quality of their work but little research has been done on how it affects students.

A spin off of the D is for Digital report, the concept that digital students learn differently is a critical concept for us to understand and have an articulated position as leaders in this new digital world.

Many opinions were expressed including:
children need fewer distractions until they can be efficient multitaskers
children are better at multitasking than we are and can best teach themselves
multitasking has its time and place and can be an impediment to any meeting when not reigned in

What do you think?

Please include your name in your response.

PhP Conference, Washington, DC on November 7-8, 2008

Use this entry to reflect on the PhP Conference, Washington, DC on November 7-8, 2008 attended by Michael.

FETC Conference, Orlando, FL

Use this entry to reflect on the FETC Conference on January 21-25, 2008 attended by Crystal, Jacquii, Shelly, Andrew, Dorit, Sheila, Arlene, Beth, Frances, Winnie, Christopher, Phyllis, Mitchell, Valrie, Julet, Brad, Celine, Jim, Sherif, Allison, Lois, Susan, Lia, Denise.

MacWorld Conference in Cupertino, CA

Use this entry to reflect on the MacWorld Conference in Cupertino, CA on January 14-16, 2008 attended by Teri and Amy.

CES Conference, Las Vegas, NV

Use this entry to reflect on the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, NV on January 6-10, 200 attended by Troy, James, Thomas, Sherif, Timothy, Erik, Ion, and Wayne.

Web Design Conference, Boston, MA

Use this entry to reflect on the Web Design Conference in Boston on December 10-12, 2007 attended by Michael and Jennifer.

NYSCATE Conference, Rochester, NY

Use this entry to reflect on the NYSCATE Conference on November 18-21, 2007 attended by Winnie, Gustavenos, Michael, and Jim.

T&L Conference, Nashville, TN

Use this entry to reflect on the T&L Conference attended by OIT in October 2007 by Troy, Celine, and Winnie.

How to share

This is a public blog open to anyone who wishes to share their experiences at each highlighted conference. There will be a posting for each conference. Use the reply function to share your experience. Please include your full name and position with your entry. The following are some topic starters:

• Reflection on a presentation / keynote
• Summary / share-out of a workshop or session (and if there was a digital project you created, include the link!)
• Review of a product you liked on the vendor floor
• Notice of an opportunity you found valuable (contest, grant, political action, etc)
  
• An interview (formal or informal ex: you saw Steve Dembo and had a short discussion with him about an opportunity that could be of interest to your colleagues)
• A journal of your day (to give those who didn't attend an idea of how a typical day can go)
• Original thought encompassing themes, overall conference, instructional technology perspective enlightened by a global perspective, etc

Remember a blog is a tool to facilitate online discussion so feel free to reply to each other and the following types of dialogue are encouraged: sharing your perspective on someone's entry, giving additional insight, and public praise.

A place to share your conference experience

The NYC Multiplayer Tournament that OIT ran a few weeks ago was the subject of a District Administrator article that had a nice quote shedding light on one of our main functions as instructional technologists.

Fischer's team and other members of the district's division of teaching and learning are responsible for looking at innovative educational solutions to share with instructional coordinators.

One of the best ways to find innovative educational solutions is to visit edtech conferences around the country ... and we're lucky enough to be able to do that!

Many would say there is no single greater influence in our understanding of how technology can transform instruction than conferences. SO, let's share our experiences. This blog is a reflection blog designed to help us share our thoughts and impressions of the different conferences we attend with each other.

If you're into reading blogs, you'll note that one of the recurring themes is conference coverage. Whether it's a reflection on a keynote, a summary of a workshop, a review of a product, an interview, or a journal of your experience, your blog entry can help your colleagues share what you found at a conference.