Google Apps: The Whole Kit and Caboodle
Presenters: Marc Elliott, Director of Information Services; Tanya Narramore, Instructional Technology TOSA; Mike Sheldon, Manager of Information Systems; all from Bethel Public Schools
The story of this workshop was the story of Bethel's migration from a FirstClass system of tools to Google Apps. By the end of the session, one could be pretty much sold on the superiority of what Google offers and the wisdom of leaving commercial services behind.
Opening Keynote -- Taylor Mali -- Poet
I'd have to confess to expending hardly a moment taking a look at who Taylor Mali was before it was time for his keynote. I did take note of the name but little else. Then when he was being introduced and he was described as a "poet" I did a mental double-take. A what? Wait a minute, am I at NCCE? Is there some regional poetry slam going on at the WSCC right now and I wandered in the wrong keynote session?
Nope. It turns it that 1) Taylor Mali *is* a poet and, 2) he was the keynote speaker at NCCE 2012. It took a little while as he read some poems and did his opening shtick but it wasn't really that long before it became clear that Mr. Mali was not a very conventional poet and, furthermore, many of his poems were very entertaining and more than a few were quite thought-provoking. He is a very effective performer, too.
In addition to his focus on poetry, he is also a dedicated advocate for learning and teaching. He currently has a project to inspire 1000 people to make a commitment to become a teacher. He is very close to reaching his goal and, actually, seems to have scheduled the fulfillment of this goal this coming April 7 (at which point he will cut off 11" of his hair [aka ponytail] and donate it to someone.....I forget who).
Like I say, many of his poems are very appealing. Below you'll find a video version of his poem "What Teachers Make" from YouTube.
Best Web 2.0 for Online Learning
Presenter: Katie Kotynski
A fairly straight-forward presentation that showcased a number of online resources that are useful in the classroom. Katie anchored her presentation around her website called BestWebForEd Wiki site.
Integrate Computational Thinking Skills Using Scratch
Presenter: Phil Big
The focus of this sessions was Scratch and Computational Thinking, just as the title suggests. The main point was the set of four problem-solving skills/techniques that, it can be argued, our students need to be 21st century literate. These skills include: 1) decomposition; 2) pattern recognition; 3) pattern generalization & abstraction; and 4) algorithm design.
Phil's contention is -- and it seems quite plausible -- that Scratch is a great vehicle to give students practice in developing, using, and refining those four skills.
