Learning, Teaching, Leading: Creating a Toolbox for Today

Over the past few months I've had the great experience of teaching a 3-credit equivilent graduate course for my school district to other teachers who were interested in learning ways they could teach 21st century skills.  Each of the 10 sessions was on a different aspect of teaching and learning, and each provided me with the opportunity to collaborate, teach, and learn.  We found many great resources along our journey, and since I'm sure there are others who could benefit from them, I'm sharing them here.  Embeded below is the Livebinder of the resources, videos, and information we used during the class.

Learning, Teaching, Leading: Creating a Toolbox for Today

ISTE 2011 - Day Three

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As I mentioned in my last few posts, I am fortunate to be attending my first ISTE conference this year in Philadelphia.  Yesterday was another fantastic, exhausting day, and I wanted to share some of the insights, resources, and information that I learned as a way to "pay it forward" to those who aren't attending.  The volume of information that came my way was so overwhelming that I cannot possibly share all of it, so I'm passing on what I found most illuminating.  If you want more info from the conference, those attending and tweeting the conference are using the hashtag #ISTE11.

• Brandon Lutz from Philadelphia presented "60 Tools in 60 Minutes."  I was blown away by the number of tools that I had never heard of before.  My speed typing skills were tested as I tried to get them all into my Delicious account.  You can get all of the tools, videos, Prezis, and the backchannel for the session here.
• Walking the Expo Hall was loads of fun (see the cheesy picture above).  I saw lots of awesome products that I can't afford and met loads of interesting people.
• I spent more time browsing the poster sessions.  One that was really good was "Using Tech to Promote Young Adult Literature" by Colette Cassinelli.  You can see all of her information on this Google Sites page.
• I found out about an amazing new tool that just launched - a free, online graphing calculator  from a company called Desmos.  Instead of me explaining more, watch the video below.  
• Around lunchtime I had a cup of coffee with Mary Garrison from Math Solutions, a company founded by Marilyn Burns that provides professional development for teachers so that they can teach math in a way that emphasizes conceptual understanding.  I really like what they are trying to do.  
• I met my goal of learning enough about Livebinders and Edmodo to use them effectively in my classoom next year from some of the amazing people in my PLN.  It's been fantastic to meet some of these educators in person.  While it's sad that after tomorrow I probably won't see many of them until at least next summer, it's wonderful that sites like Plurk and Twitter allow us to keep in contact throughout the year to learn from each other and give each other the support that allows us to grow as teachers.

Friday's Five: Things I'm Looking Forward to at ISTE

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Friday's Five is a feature every week where I pick a new topic and list five items that I think fit best.  Then I ask you, my readers, to share your thoughts in the comment section.  For an archive of past topics, check the Friday's Five Page.  If you'd like to make suggestions about future topics or discuss topics I bring up on the blog with others, make sure you click the "like" button on the right hand side of the page to join A Teacher's Life for Me on Facebook.  Don't be shy about sharing the blog and Facebook Page with others.  Each post has a "Tweet" button on top and buttons on the bottom that allow you to share in several ways, including e-mail, Facebook, and Twitter.


For the first time this year, I'll be attending the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Conference.  It is the world's premier education technology event and according to ISTE's website it draws about 20,000 people from 60 countries.  This year's conference is in Philadelphia, PA.

Attending a conference this large is a bit overwhelming.  The number of sessions, events, and opportunities is incredible.  To help me navigate through them, I've identified these 5 things that I would most like to do while in Philadelphia:

1. Meet members of my Professional Learning Network (PLN) in person - My PLN has been exceedingly helpful in giving me new ideas, supporting me, and giving me opportunities to collaborate.  It's not a stretch for me to say that I wouldn't be nearly as successful as a teacher had I not found my way to the amazing network of teachers on Plurk.  I find it incredible that a group of educators that I've never met face-to-face can be so influential.  It will be great to put faces to names and be able to talk in person with many of these teachers.  
2. Learn more about how to use Edmodo in my classroom - Edmodo is a secure social learning network for students, schools, and teachers.  I know some members of my PLN do amazing things with their students using Edmodo as a tool to allow for collaboration, distribution of resources, and communication.  I signed up for an account a while ago, but I've never gotten around to leaning enough about this tool to use it.  I'd like to get familiar enough while at ISTE to be able to use it with my students next school year.
3. Meet and discover new people - The world is full of amazing educators.  Conferences are great places to meet and/or discover them.  Many of the people that have influenced my career I have learned about for the first time in sessions, keynotes, or while mingling at conferences.  I'm curious to find out who I will meet or learn about for the first time in Philadelphia.  
4. Find out what's the big deal about Livebinders - Many in my PLN are discussing, utilizing, and raving about Livebinders.  I've been curious for a while what the rage is about, but haven't had the chance to explore the site.  According to their homepage, Livebinders is "your 3-ring binder for the web."  Like Edmodo, I'd like to get to know more about this tool while at ISTE.
5. Browse the Exhibitor Hall - One of the great things about large conferences is the expo hall.  I've been to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America's (NSCAA) National Convention many times, and I've always come home with bags of free goodies, great professional contacts, and knowledge of companies that fit what I was trying to accomplish with my girls high school soccer program.  I'm hoping that the expo hall at ISTE affords me the same opportunity to talk to ed-tech companies and make good contacts.  I wouldn't complain about free stuff, either.  

Now it's your turn.  Let me know your thoughts in the comment section.  If you're going to ISTE, let me know what you are looking forward to.  If you've been there before, what are your thoughts?  Any suggestions for a rookie?  If you aren't going, what would you want to learn if you were?  

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