Reaching and Teaching the Digital Learner

MY THOUGHTS IN ALL CAPS

MARZANO’S SESSION WAS FULL SO THIS WAS MY BACKUP FOR THIS TIME SLOT…MORE TECHNOLOGY THAN I REALLY WANTED TO TACKLE, BUT IT’S BETTER THAN NOTHING 🙂

Presenter: Dedra Stafford

Session Description: Learn how educators across the globe are using podcasting, blogging, wikis, and other Web 2.0 tools to teach students of today (our digital natives). Many educators have found that students that create content for real audiences are motivated to create better content. Why not tap into this “My Space” generation’s interests and skills? They will not only walk out of your classroom knowing the facts of your topic, but they will do so in a way that engages them.

1st thing that makes a good session is: Candy

2nd is finishing slightly early to get to the next session

3rd is Door Prizes

I LIKE WHERE THIS IS GOING 🙂

Checks first to see what level of Tech comfort teachers have: 1 to 10 rating. 1: Use computer because someone makes me…10 I could run this session…many people say they’re 9s and 10s, only a couple of under 4s…GOOD SIGN!!

Three things teachers look for:

• Is it Free?
• Is it Easy?
• Will it take a lot of time?

Goals:

1. Understand tech is part of world
2. We’re preparing them for world they will live in
3. Know that everyone starts somewhere, but everyone has to start
4. Have a little fun!

Must start from a classroom management and relationship standpoint first…then tech can really happen.

Digital Native vs. Digital Immigrant discussion…NOPE, STILL NOT GOING TO BUY IT…YES THERE IS A DIFFERENCE, YES WE HAVE TO TEACH DIFFERENTLY, HOWEVER THEY ARE STILL NOT PROFICIENT WITH THE “IDEA” OF TECH…MAYBE WITH A FEW OF THE TOOLS THAT THEY USE FOR THEIR PARTICULAR PURPOSES, BUT THEY STILL DON’T UNDERSTAND WHY AND WHEN TO SHOW THEIR KNOWLEDGE WITH TECH.

Kids do have to use tools/technology to be able to get jobs in our digital world…despite whether or not they have them in their homes.

NOW DISCUSSING DIFFERENCE IN WEB 1.0 AND 2.0…ARGH ARGH ARGH…*DEEP BREATH*

Again, our job is to teach them, and we have to use their tools to teach them.

Simple Sites

• www.spellingcity.com
• www.stixy.com
• www.xtranormal.com
• www.bighugelabs.com
• www.wordle.net
• www.toondoo.com
• www.kerpoof.com
• www.blabberize.com
• www.rememberize.com

Xtranormal is great for teaching punctuation, sentences don’t sound like conversation unless proper punctuation in included.

Discussing allowing students to evaluate others work via comments on a VoiceThread.

Offline alternatives to VoiceThread: Photostory…NOT A BAD SESSION, PROBABLY NOT MOVING A LOT OF FOLKS FORWARD, BUT I DO SEE MANY FOLKS JOTTING DOWN NOTES

Mentioning Zamzar for converting and saving in other file formats.

KickYouTube being discussed

Working toward an environment that moves away from the way we’ve been taught and toward the way our students learn.

Audacity being discussed as a PC source for podcast recording. Mentions Dan Schmidt: Kidcasting…Dedra Stafford made a foldable 🙂

Ning = a Wiki…WHAT?? NOT SO MUCH…SOMEONE DOESN’T SOUND FAMILIAR WITH THE TOOLS

Wiki means What I Know Is…UM, I’M THINKING THIS IS A BACKRONYM, NOT AN ACRONYM…SOUNDS GOOD, BUT STILL NOT BUYING IT…

DECENT SESSION…GOOD FOR NEW FOLKS…BUT NOT QUITE AS ACCURATE AS I WOULD HAVE LIKED TO HAVE SEEN FOR AN INTRO…SHE DID SAY THIS IS A DAY LONG COURSE CRAMMED INTO AN HOUR AND A HALF…BUT IT STILL DIDN’T QUITE HIT ME…AGAIN THE LACK OF AVAILABLE COMPUTERS WAS A PROBLEM.  GLAD I’LL HAVE THEM FOR MY SESSION ON SATURDAY.

NMSA: Teaching the Middle School Brain

MY THOUGHTS IN ALL CAPS

Presenter: Dr. Spencer Kagan

Session Description: In this active, hands-on, brains-on presentation, you will view active brain images and experience a range of brain-science based instructional strategies to meet the unique needs of middle school students. The strategies 1) dramatically enhance engagement and achievement; 2) improve peer relations; 3) increase liking for class and learning. The engaging strategies include Traveling Heads Together; Listen Right!; and Take Off, Touch Down. An extensive handout is provided.

LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS ONE…WIFE ATTENDED KAGAN TRAINING THIS SUMMER AND LOVED IT, HAVE THE BOOK OF STRUCTURES AT HOME ALREADY, WILL BE INTERESTING TO HEAR WHAT HE’S GOT TO SAY!

Brain is more engaged during social interaction. Not enough to say Talk to a Partner or “Work Together”

Student Selector Spinner used to get materials collectors for group.

Goals of the session:

1. 5 Principles of Brain Friendly Teaching
2. Align Instruction to How Brain Learns Best through Structures
3. Silly Sports & Goofy Games lead to Brain Friendly Classroom
4. Deepen our Understading of our 3 Pound Miracle

Quiet Signal – under 5 seconds, when you see the signal: Raise Hand, Focus Fully on teacher, Signal Others…Attention leads to Retention…Quiet Signal gets folks attention quickly…External/Novel Stimuli gives an Orienting Response in the brain…Brain designed for survival so novel stimuli engages this trait…

Pair Discussion – Why you came to this session, what you know about brain, what you hope to learn – not good cooperative learning…actually increases gap between higher and lower student…high students talk and learn, low student minds wander VERY INTERESTING…MAKES SENSE

Rally Robin – trade sentences with partner…GREAT IN CLASSROOM, BUT WOULD NEED LOTS OF PRACTICE…KIDS TOTALLY WOULDN’T BE USED TO THAT TYPE OF INTERACTION…Leads to Verbalization which leads to Retention.

Mirror Neurons – Contagion of Attention…When you look at someone performing something, our brain acts as if we are doing that…basis for empathy…look of disgust on someone’s face causes you to feel disgust…baby doesn’t even know it has a tongue, yet it sticks out in response to you sticking out your tongue. VERY COOL…

Take Off – TouchDown – Say something, if true, stand up, if not sit down…instead of raising hand, moves whole body…Leads to more glucose and oxygen in the brain than just raising hand…Better nourishment…Brain Craves Novelty…Mix up structures

Brain is only about 2 pounds but gets almost 20% of the glucose and oxygen and nutrients

Hand comparison of brain and neurons

Novelty leads to Attention which leads to Retention

Stand Up, hand up, pair up –

Students remember more of what they say than what we say…want high achievement? Stop TALKING!

Frequent Processing

• More energy for new learning – frequent processing lessens inhibiting responses which drain energy
• Clarify and refine thinking – fills in gaps
• Store in long-term memory
• Clear working memory – very limited capacity for working memory
• Engage multiple intelligences and multiple memory systems

Emotion helps lead to Retention

Celebrity Interview – Example questions: Where have you lived in your life? What would your friends say they like about you most? Each person makes two questions, 45 second round robin with each person answering whichever questions they choose.

Amygdalae starts firing it shuts down the pre-frontal cortex…stress shuts down real thinking and leads to only survival thinking.

Silly Sports and Goofy Games – Hagoo – game played by the Inuit…challenge is to make the other person smile or laugh…if you make them laugh yell I Got You! and the other person says I’ve Been Gotten. Find a new partner and continue.  Releases endorphins, lowers cortisol levels.

Brain is never more engaged than during social interaction.  Must decode their words, facial expressions, gestures, body language…activates mirror neurons…Encode my own thinking…

Social Interaction leads to Engagement leads to Retention

 

Books

Spark by John Ravey

MIRRORING PEOPLE  BY MARCO IACOBONI

Memory and Emotion by James McGaugh

Social Intelligence by Daniel Goleman

GOOD SESSION…LOTS OF INFO…LOOKING FORWARD TO DIGGING INTO THE STRUCTURES FURTHER…GREAT WAYS TO ENGAGE IN CLASS, BRAIN BASED, SHOULD FIT RIGHT INTO MY CLASSROOM ALREADY, WITH SOME PRACTICE OF COURSE!

NMSA09: Extend Your Classroom with VoiceThread

MY THOUGHTS IN ALL CAPS

Presenters: Brent Anderson, Susanne Long

Session Description: Interested in being tech-savvy to handle your digital natives? Using VoiceThread allows students to have an authentic voice, learning with the world instead of about the world. VoiceThread activities are asynchronous activities that differentiate instruction and allow students to create and moderate instructional conversations. Today’s students have an unrelenting passion to interact, use this web-based tool to capture content knowledge, assess learning, and publish privately and globally.

http://www.voicethread.com

Picking up where Daniel Pink left off, VoiceThread should help you incorporate visual arts into the other classes.

Opens with:

Discussing features of VoiceThread

• Upload Image
• Leave Comments: via phone, webcam, text, audio only

• Doodle: allows you to markup the Image during the course of a comment

VoiceThread accounts are free for educators…economical for students…$1 per student account ACTUALLY UP TO 100 STUDENT ACCOUNTS FOR $60 A YEAR

K-12 PRICING INFORMATION

NOW HAVING A COMMENTING SESSION ON A VOICETHREAD CREATED BY THE PRESENTERS.  THOUGH THE THREAD HASN’T BEEN SHARED YET SO I CAN’T POST THE ID HERE OR COMMENT FROM MY OWN COMPUTER.

SESSION HANDOUTS UPLOADED BY @MRDOOLEY

Voice Thread Created for the Session

http://voicethread.com/share/720461/

GOOD INTRODUCTORY SESSION ABOUT VOICETHREAD…WOULD HAVE BEEN GREAT IF EVERYONE IN HERE WAS ABLE TO JUMP INTO THE THREAD AND ADD THEIR OWN COMMENTS, BUT NOT EVERYONE HAS COMPUTERS AVAILABLE OR WIRELESS. SO MANY OF THESE TOOLS ARE BEST WHEN THEY ARE ACTUALLY USED, NOT TALKED ABOUT.