iPlay iLearn iTeach: March 2015

It's pretty interesting to look back on what was cutting edge technology over the decades. Even more interesting to me how some schools remained behind in terms of not having access to some of these items until years after their introduction.

Even today there are many schools in the United States that do not have reliable access to wireless internet coverage, laptops, or mobile devices.

Friday, March 20, 2015

FlipCon15 PreSession Work - Flipped Learning On The Go With iBooks

I will be presenting at the 8th Annual Flipped Learning Conference this summer on Flipped Learning On The Go With iBooks.

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PreSession Work:
If you will be joining me for my session, please complete the following PreSession Work:
1. Complete the short survey below
2. Read the articles linked below
3. Gather resources for iBook creation

2. Read the article "Paper Books vs. iBooks -- An Overhyped Debate? - https://edtechdigest.wordpress.com/2012/05/29/paper-books-vs-ibooks-an-overhyped-debate/
and
Read the article "Paper Books vs. iBooks & Kindle Books" - http://www.imore.com/paper-books-ibooks-kindle-books

3. Gather resources to get started creating an iBook:

10-12 copyright-friendly images
Text you authored or copyright-friendly text
Copyright-friendly video

Looking forward to meeting you at FlipCon15!

Monday, March 16, 2015

Presenting At Winning Strategies Conference

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I will be presenting at the Metro ESCU 10th Annual Winning Strategies Conference later this month at Normandale Community College.

"The goal and focus of the Winning Strategies Conference For Paraprofessionals & Future Teachers is to provide directly applicable, quality professional development through awareness sessions that lead to developing the knowledge and skills necessary to maximize student learning and achievement."

I will be presenting a session on Using iPads To Make Learning More Visual and will focus on a variety of free and low-cost iOS apps that can be used for screen casting and creating multimedia.

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Saturday, March 14, 2015

What I Learned At My First PLAYDATE

I spent the morning at PLAYDATE at TIES today.

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What is a PLAYDATE?

"PLAYDATE (People Learning and Asking ‘Y,” Digital Age Technology Exploration) is a space for us to come together and collaboratively explore these tools we’ve always wanted to learn more about. Modeled after an unconference or an EdCamp, the sessions will be participant-driven, exploration-based, and hands on."

This video helps explain what PLAYDATE is about:

Another blog entry coming soon with my learning from today, but overall I took away a few key ideas about what makes a PLAYDATE event successful:

1. Like an EdCamp, sessions are proposed and led by participants based on the interests of the group.

2. Sessions are all about having a discussion, playing with the tool, device, software, etc., and trying things out.

3. Time to just explore with no pressure is invaluable to thinking about how new technologies, devices, software, ideas fit it with curriculum and instructional practices.

4. Having the new devices available allows you to explore and play without the pressure of having to vouch for the value-added component of something before you have even had a chance to try it out.

5. People are key. Having knowledgable people who have tried things, devices, software to some extent already is critical. Being able to tap into their knowledge prevents you from floundering and losing out on the value of exploration with devices or software that have a lot of bells and whistles to figure out.

I give today a giant thumbs up and look forward to the next opportunity to play and learn.