k12onlineconference.org has an archive of the sorts of presentations you'd see if you were to attend any "real" educational technology conference, but without needing to actually go anywhere or sit through presentations that don't interest you. This could be a great way to save teachers' time and districts' money by using a few of these presentations instead of sending anyone off to the next regional or national conference. Although you won't get one of those stylish conference bags by watching online...
The presentation I decided to watch and discuss is Paul Curtis's "Building a Web 2.0 Culture." Curtis suggests that building a new culture is so important due to the shift of teachers being dispensers of information to helping students be better equipped to dig through the endless stream of information available using Web 2.0 tools. This is difficult for many teachers because many of us are so used to being THE knowledge source for the students that it is sometimes difficult to do less telling and more guiding.
Also, the challenges involved in the collaboration aspect of Web 2.0 can be daunting. Things teachers need to think about are fairly assessing students working in groups and getting teachers more comfortable and competent with incorporating Web 2.0 into their classrooms.
Curtis discusses New Technology High School in Napa, California. This school, which opened in 1996, attempts to turn all of its students into competent 21st century learners using a project-based curriculum in a one-computer-per-student setting. Some of the key features of this school are empowering students, engaging students, and using technology to enable the previous two goals.
One thing that I enjoyed about this presentation was the fact that a lot of Curtis's ideas don't really have much of anything to do with technology. He discusses many of the things that need to change within a school's culture in order to empower students and create an environment of trust and responsibility. In my school, we continue to try to find ways to get students involved so that they feel a sense of ownership and empowerment in where their education takes them. Sometimes getting my middle schoolers to buy in to things is harder than helping them master certain content.
I look forward to spending a bit more time with this online resource and think you should check it out when you get a chance.
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