This Friday I am heading down to Singapore to present at the Teach IT! Conference for all Singapore international schools. The conference is being held at Singapore American School, workplace of the fabulous Susan Sedro! I am really looking forward to visiting the school and spending some quality time with Susan and her partner, Kent. We’ve been quite close ever since I moved into her old condo in KL when she left to go back to the US for a year. In fact, Susan is the first person I ever became friends with online before meeting face to face, she’s also the person who introduced me to blogging, and the person that inspired me to start working with web 2.0 tools. Basically, Susan rocks!
It’s also thanks to Susan that I’m even attending and presenting at this conference, considering that I don’t actually work in one of the many international schools in Singapore, I feel lucky to be part of this event. I spent a lot of quality time with the SAS team during the Learning 2.0 Conference in Shanghai in September, and with Susan’s good word to the Technology Director (and my official proposal, of course) I was in!
I seem to be kind of a glutton for punishment, so instead of just proposing one session for the conference, I proposed two:
Overview: This session will focus on utilizing web 2.0 applications, such as blogs, podcasts, and wikis, to develop 21st century literacy skills within the core curriculum. Metacognition, research skills, and online awareness help students find what they need, learn at their own pace and safely share with a wider audience. How can we incorporate these exciting, motivating skills and technologies into our classrooms? Examples of completed student projects, along with teacher materials and resources, will be shared.
and
The 21st Century Educator: Embracing Web 2.0 in Your Professional Practice
Overview: What exactly do RSS, blogs, wikis, podcasts, social networking and VOIP have to do with your professional practice? How can web 2.0 technologies change the way you learn, communicate, collaborate and teach? This session will focus on practical ways to utilize free web 2.0 tools to develop a personal learning network that will transform your professional practice and open your eyes to new possibilities in the classroom!
In my humble opinion, these two presentations go well together and I hope that some of the participants from the first session also opt to attend the second. This is the first time I’ve presented internationally in a few years (I inadvertently went on a little hiatus at my last school) and I’m really interested to see how much the average international school teacher knows about web 2.0 tools. I created a wiki for each presentation (linked to the titles above) and I hope that the participants will see those spaces as a resource beyond the duration of the conference. Right now the resources pages are a little “bare-bones” so please feel free to add anything that you think would benefit the participants – I would love to be able to say that my PLN added to my presentation!
I was initially thinking of Ustreaming my presentations, but alas, I found out this weekend that presenters will not have internet access during the conference. It’s amazing how quickly you can get used to ubiquitous wifi access – our entire campus here at ISB (including my house) is wifi. I haven’t seen an Ethernet cable since I plugged in our Airport Express the day after we moved in…
I guess that means a quick Twitter hello from my PLN is also out, and definitely no friendly Skype guest-speakers, either. I’ll just have to tell some animated stories about all of our previous adventures instead! Actually, I’m thinking of having my husband attend my workshop (poor guy) to video it so I can upload to Ustream later. I’ve always wondered what I look like teaching and presenting. This may be my very first chance to find out!
Tags: network, PLN, Twitter, 21stcentury, learning, TeachIT!, SusanSedro, global, educator, slideshare, PD, Singapore
These two presentations are really wonderful. Thank you for sharing them. We are kicking off an upper school network to push our teachers into this kind of thing and I would love to use one of your slideshows during the kickoff meeting. We used to require 6 hours of tech training a year but have transitioned this into having them keep something of an independent growth/portfolio pan and both of you slideshows would be fitting. Its too bad you can’t ustream it and I could make a few of them drop in and watch. Thanks so much for sharing.
Kim
These are fantastic presentations and I hope they reach a wide audience. You have really presented and traveled a lot of ground, even as it is moving beneath our feet.
Thanks for sharing your resources and ideas and talent with us.
Kevin
Some well communicated ideas there Kim.
Kim, as usual I am so impressed with the clear way you manage to communicate essential ideas! I love your presentations! Good luck in Singapore, you will knock them down for sure. The 21st Century educator really encapsulates the look and feel of a PLN…I would love to use this and show my teachers here in Qatar. Yes, I know what you mean about not having Internet and/or wireless connections at international conferences. After presenting at NECC I feel totally spoilt in terms of fabulous facilities and support.
Two suggestions: Have you considered consultation work? Your slideshows are so powerful I would love you to help me get mine up to standard! Also, I am hoping you have put in to present at NECC…..I want to see you in action as I am sure you have a lot of conviction behind your slideshow message!
Thanks as always for sharing!
Kim:
I’ve recently started following you via Twitter as I create my own personal learning network. Thanks for mentioning your slide shows. I’ll be presenting to teachers in a couple of months. Seeing your work has helped me further organize my thoughts. Enjoy the presentation. It looks great. If you do record and Ustream it, I’ll make sure I watch.
Ann
Just checked out your 21st Century Educator slideshow and am wishing that I was attending your sessions! All the very best – and I am sure that they will go well even though you won’t have an internet connection to demonstrate how well your own PLN is set up and working.
Kim, these are both really fantastic. Well done. I am going to use them to spark farther conversations with my schools and on the blog. Thank you for the though provoking and critical content. Keep on creating-you are the 21st century teacher that our students need!!
How’s it going, Kim? Can’t wait to hear about your presentations when you get back to the land of smiles…and more learning. At our school we have certainly done a whole lot of thinking, discussion and debating about 21st century literacy, learning and educating. We are so very lucky to have such exciting access to the think tank throughout our working days…
ehelfant,
Thank you! Please feel free to use whatever you like. I found out at the conference that SAS video taped my presentations, so I will hopefully have a copy to share with anyone who’s interested. As soon as they’re ready, I’ll post them here :)
Kevin,
Thank you so much for all your encouraging words!
Kristian,
Thank you!
Julie,
Thank you! I’m so flattered you think I could do consulting work! I haven’t submitted a proposal for NECC because I decided not to go this year. It was a really difficult decision, but I’m doing so much this year – new job, new school, new grade level, new degree program, 6 conferences during the school year – I just don’t think I could handle another major event this summer. That being said, I’m still somewhat contemplating Alan November’s BLC conference because it’s smaller and on the “right” coast to be convenient for my summer holiday plans… We’ll see…
Ann,
Thank you! I’m so glad my presentations are helpful!
Chrissy,
If only I had wireless – you would have been a part of my presentations!
Angela,
Thank you! I’m so glad you can use my presentations!
Annelies,
It’s cheesy, but it’s all because I’m empowered to do so, by you! Thank you for giving me the encouragement and freedom to think about all of this with such an amazing team!
Kim, I can only say “Ditto” to what Annelies has written. We are one lucky school to have you!!!
Diane