Digital storytelling!

Hello everyone
I'm back again this time to share about the lady I was referring to in my last post.Yes,I'm talking about Bernajean Porter.Barbara and I had the fortune of going to 2 of her workshops.Fortunate because we won some goodies . Kidding ! Both the workshops were very enriching .
A brief summary of her presentation -

Storytelling is an ancient art and has an extraordinary effect on people.This effect can be enhanced when the stories are told meaningfully to the world community through the web. Digital Storytelling is the practice of  weaving stories using  a mixture of computer-based tool such as graphics,music,sound and images.

Digital Storytelling by students provides a strong foundation in many different types of literacies such as information literacy, visual literacy, technology literacy, and media literacy.It is fun ,exciting and inspiring and evidence has shown that it contributes to deep learning.

I'm looking forward to engage and energize all my students to be active participants in our exciting learning community.

That's all for now.See you soon.

Students as educators

Bonjour!

An amazing experience being amidst thousands of educators from across the world sharing resources,ideas and passion for Ed Tech.The ISTE Exhibhition Halls showed a diverse range of products and it is important to see  the latest trends in Ed Tech .

It was really heartening to see young students as educators,producers and content creators.The new tools enabled them to write their interactive books,produce videos and record their own podcasts.
Technology is so empowering that it can inspire students to become global advocates.This was evident from the project that the students from Mexico had undertaken.Very impressive!

Next post is  about Bernajean Porter-The lady with a magic wand.Watch the space.

Ta

Dr Yong Zhao

Hi all

Tuesday morning we heard Dr Yong Zhao from Oregon University.He spoke about future oriented education.He discussed the importance of preparing students for the future.He emphasized the importance of recognising and developing the child's strengths and passion.He said that we need globally minded citizens who are creative and have entrepreneurial talents.
He talks about building education on the individual strengths and not what the system thinks is important.He also  added that the governments obsession with standards and statistics is driving the education system into the realm of ridiculousness and irrelevancy!

I personally think that we cannot totally do away with data (tests and scores)but what we need is a balance.Good educators will utilize the strengths of a struggling student to help them succeed. I  think without  data, everything becomes a guessing game.

He was indeed witty, interesting and engaging and had 100% attention of the  audience.
If I have to sum up his presentation  in one 2 or 3 words - it will be ,"Encourage Innovation And Entrepreneurship."

ISTE-2012, Day 1

Kia Ora Everyone

San Diego here I come! San Diego calling!! These are some of the expressions I've been hearing from the members of the group  days before the travel date.The day finally dawned and on 23rd June we boarded a flight to LA.After more than 24 hours of travel we reached San Diego on 24th afternoon.We used different modes of transport to reach our final destination ( Two flights ,AKL-Sydney,Sydney -LA,Bus in LA to reach the hotel,Train ride to San Diego and finally trolley  to reach the Convention Centre/Hotel)

It was a double decker train  and the  ride was superb .As it passed through the countryside we got to see and appreciate the  Spanish architecture of old buildings and private houses .How can I forget to mention the  the beautiful, sun soaked pristine beaches dotting along  the coast.

San Diego  is the eighth largest city in the USA and second largest in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in S. California, close  to the Mexican border.

Tourism is the main industry and some of the major tourist attractions are the  San Diego Sea World ,Safari Park and the Zoo.I was spell bound when I first saw a milky white Beluga whale.-a whale without fins.

We reached San Diego in the afternoon and headed straight to the convention Centre (after checking into our hotel.) to complete the registration formalities.

This conference is so huge.About 20,000 attendees educators,presenters,professionals and of course students. There are tech giants sponsoring events. Many hundreds of sessions to choose from. So many gadgets. How to use iMovie, iPads in the classroom, Create your own Android App.  One could easily  get lost in the pageantry of it all.. I've decided to choose  sessions carefully .sessions that would help me in guiding  my students

The opening Keynote address was at 5.45 pm by Sir Ken Robinson and a panel  of three speakers.It was a jam-packed session.

Sir Ken Robinson-

"Humanity is essentially based on the principle of diversity. We are hugely different in our talents, our passions, our interests, our motivations, and our aspirations. The irony is, our education systems are predicated on compliance and conformity, not on creativity and diversity. I believe there are opportunities now, with new technologies as well--not only, but including new technologies-- to personalize education for every student in the system. Sometimes I hear people say, 'Well you can't personalize for everybody. We can't afford that.' But I say we can't afford not to.  "                                         

                      --Sir Ken Robinson, ISTE 2012 Opening Keynote

He quoted Albert Einstein,Everybody is a genius.But if you judge a fish by its abiity to climb a tree,it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid."

I was greatly impressed by one of the panelists ,Mayim Bialik who is not only a famous actress but she also holds a Ph D in Neuroscience. She said , "I never really saw myself as a female scientist.I never thought that that was possible."That experience touches on a much bigger concept,in the wrong environment a student will not have their best brought out."
I left the hall with Sir Robinson's words resonating in my ears- "Creativity,personalisation and passsion."That was the most powerful message I got from the keynote address.
Sayonara

Auckland-20th June,2012

Hi everyone

The countdown has begun.Three more days to go before we leave.Although I'm trying hard to tick off things from my to do  list ,it seems to be growing bigger and bigger.Hope it will get better in the next couple of days.The first thing on my list is to finish off the reports,followed by planning etc etc.Then there are things to do at home as well.
Anyway enough of "TO DO"S in Auckland now.
Let's talk about TO DO"S in SAN DIEGO
I'm eagerly looking forward to hear  two key note speakers
1.Sir Ken Robinson with Shawn Covell, Marc Prensky, and Mayim Bialik -Redefining Horizons: Encouraging Students’ Passion to Achieve
2.Dr. Yong Zhao-Global, Creative, and Entrepreneurial: Defining High-Quality Education

Au Revoir.Abientot