PNAIS 2009 TechShare Conference -- Day Two

Session 1 -- All Attendees

Developing Best Practices around Digital Citizenship

Presenter: Jimi Robinson (Evergreen School)

Using the ISTE definition as a starting point (“Digital citizenship can be defined as the norms of behavior with regard to technology use.”), Jimi took us through the highlights of a presentation he uses on this subject. Other subjects he helped us explore included what specific behaviors constitute digital citizenship, the notions of digital etiquette and netiquette, what responsibilities fall to technology leaders, informational literacy, as well as copyright/fair use and the Creative Commons initiative.

We spent some time reflecting on the question of Internet Safety including some of the findings of the Internet Safety Technical Task Force and their report, Enhancing Child Safety and Online Technologies (from the Berkman Center for Internet and Society, Harvard University). We took a look at some of the important central findings posed by this report with respect to what parents can use to keep minors safe on the Internet (e.g. technology can play a role but cannot be the sole input to improved safety for minors online; the most effective technology solution is likely to be a combination of technologies, etc.).

The message in this session for me was all of us in schools can do much more to inform ourselves, along with parents and students, on the issues surrounding Internet safety. More than an opportunity to further inform ourselves, perhaps we are obligated to do this.


Session 2 -- Educator Track

Tech Training for Teachers: A Technologist’s and Librarian’s Story

Presenters: Lillian Godreau, Harold Johanson (Lakeside School)

This was the presentation that Lillian and I put together to talk about, reflect on, and gather suggestions for tech training for teachers.

Our focus was to tell our “story” of the TechTalk Thursday series we put together during the ’08-’09 school year. Through the mechanism of a PowerPoint presentation, we explored the issues we faced and the challenges in trying to come up with an effective (and, we hope, well-attended) series of technology trainings that would bring new tech tools and practices to the teachers in our building. We shared some of the content we presented and the things we thought worked well and the things we plan on tweaking for next year.

Our “story” seemed to be well-received and, in the discussion/Q&A period, we did get some useful suggestions and reflections based on what others at the session had tried at the respective schools.


Session 3 -- Educator Track

Web 2.0: Embracing the Monster

Presenter: Cheryl Wolotira (Northwest School)

The subtitle of her presentation was: Social Media in Schools. Cheryl did an effective job of showing us the many, many tools available (that fall within her definition of Web 2.0). She began by talking about wikis, blogs, social networks, RSS, IM, and the notion of personal learning networks (PLN).

This latter concept is quite intriguing. The idea is that, with the wealth (or, better yet, torrent) of online information from which one can choose every day, it can be useful to think about what places one uses on a regular basis to sort through the deluge. We all develop habits of finding the information that we think we need to know. Knowing those specific sources/tools you come to rely on can be helpful in analyzing what information is of value to you. Being aware of your PLN may help you let go of sources that end up not repaying your time and attention and moving on to better sources. Reflecting on this whole notion of a PLN seems to have potential in some of my work at the Middle School in the coming year.

I was glad to see that Cheryl took time to point out some of the potential down- and upsides of this informational onslaught, not only on adults but also on kids. Three downsides she talked about: a) inappropriate content; b) the distraction factor; and c) potential for cheating. Upsides included: a) like-minded people can readily share and communicate; b) communication is easy and quick; c) collaboration, collaboration, collaboration; and d) none of us is as smart as all of us.

In addition, Cheryl highlighted the following specific tools:

Wordle -- http://www.wordle.net/
Eyeplorer -- http://eyeplorer.com/show/
VoiceThread -- http://voicethread.com/#home
Animoto -- http://animoto.com/
Tidyread -- http://www.tidyread.com/
Free Tech 4 Teachers -- http://www.freetech4teachers.com/


Session 4 -- Educator Track

Video Chroma Keying

Presenter: Ethan Delavan (Seattle Country Day School)

Ethan gave us a demonstration (with a partial hands-on component) where he set up a green-screen, lights, and video camera to demonstrate the relative ease in video taping people in a technique that allows one to make those people appear to be various places on the globe though the subjects were actually taped in a studio and the pictures were overlaid on the green-screen area.

The technique is used routinely by TV weatherpeople. In schools, chroma key can be a useful technique for placing students in places without having them actually having to travel there for a wide variety of video projects and presentations.