Learning to Network and Networking to Learn

Mark Wagner, edtechlife.com

Look beyond the tools! Many educators explore revolutionary new online tools with their students: blogs, wikis, podcasts, and more - including social media like Ning and Twitter. But, it is more important for teachers to become part of an online learning network than to master any of these specific tools. Hear how one teacher-turned-educational-technologist learned to network, and then networked to learn. Leave with inspiration and concrete ideas to use for your own professional development - and for helping your students build their own personal learning networks. Become part of a global learning community - and feel good about it!

 

Video Podcasting for Better Learning and Instruction

Ramsey Musallam, Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory

In this session you will learn how video podcasts enhance learning for students. Instructional uses include recording live lessons, pre-recording lessons for meaningful class-time schema development, utilizing pre-recorded lessons for individual pacing solutions, and scaffolding information. Specific cost-effective creation methods will be shared as well as cognitive psychology research that establishes a research-based rationale for video podcasting in education.

 

Captivate Students with Verizon Thinkfinity's Free Educational Resources

Magali Meza, California K-12 High Speed Network (K12HSN)

Are you struggling to find free educational resources aligned to California standards? Verizon Thinkfinity is the answer! In this session, you will learn how to access thousands of FREE high quality resources, lesson plans, interactives, multimedia explorations, and more. You will receive a demonstration of specific examples highlighting Verizon Thinkfinity.org's engaging content and will walk away with a basic understanding of how to quickly and effectively find resources on www.thinkfinity.org. In tandem with these free resources, Verizon Thinkfinity offers free professional development for educators. You will be given an overview of the free professional development opportunities available to you.

 

Do and Don't: Getting Teachers to Adopt Technology

Rushton Hurley, NextVista.org (educational nonprofit)

How can teachers pull together using technology? Some are ready, some want no part, and the rest need inspiration and direction. This session includes a dozen suggestions on what to do and not to do regarding the best use of resources and funds, building collaboration, promoting schools and programs, and pulling the inner technophile out of even the most technophobic.  Information on training, implementation, and equipment will also be provided. The presenter speaks at conferences and trains teachers nationwide.

 

Read Naturally Software Edition (SE):  A Fluency Solution

Kristi Vincent, Read Naturally, Inc.

Learn how to combine the research-proven strategies of teacher modeling, repeated reading and monitoring of progress into a single, powerful strategy to accelerate the reading fluency, comprehension, and vocabulary achievements of Title I, Special Education, ELL and mainstream students. You'll actively participate in a Read Naturally Software Edition simulation activity and walk away with amazing free website resources for Language Arts fluency, phonemic awareness, vocabulary, comprehension and the alphabetic principle for struggling readers.

 

Jumping the Educational Shark

Kyle Brumbaugh, Woodside High School

The current state of education has made the industrial model of education irrelevant for the students of today. The disconnect between the modes of communication of students and teachers make it increasingly difficult for each to relate to the other in ways that will facilitate learning and deepen student understanding. Teachers need to "jump the shark" by learning how to use free social networking tools and other no-cost Internet-based resources to regain relevance with students in a world that is social, fast paced and instantly connected.

 

Virtual Classrooms for Bringing Text to Life and Parents into the Classroom

Kimberly Greene, Brandman University

Text-based virtual classrooms have proven exceptionally powerful for both teachers and students. Learn from a former K-12 teacher and current professor of education how you can best create constructivist learning through the meaningful implementation of technology. Virtual classrooms offer relevant real-time communication, authentic application for the daily curriculum, and even online office hours for students and parents. Examples and anecdotes will be shared along with a hands-on tour of the virtual environment, TappedIn.org.

 

Digital Tools for Teachers: The Paperless Classroom

Brian Van Dyck, Santa Clara Unified School District

Leave this session with a comprehensive understanding of how three powerful digital tools -- document cameras, LCD projectors, and digital scanners -- can enhance your teaching practice, make classroom management more efficient, and reduce your use of paper and photocopies. See a demonstration of how these tools can transform your classroom into a "green," student-centered, digital learning environment that increase instructional effectiveness and boosts student learning.

 

American Memory K-12 Lesson Collections and Analysis Guides

Kathleen Ferenz, Consultant to the Library of Congress

Tour the newest collections from the Library of Congress American Memory site. Explore the latest classroom-tested lesson ideas. See how educators have developed innovative lessons using historical baseball cards in mathematics; learn how to develop a study of popular culture and the media by tapping original materials from the Titanic. A new set of primary source analysis guides that help students learn to analyze the media offered by American Memory are now freely available to everyone. Get practical ideas for using digital primary sources in your K-12 classroom!

 

iHigh Virtual Academy: Online Independent Study High School

Patricia MacIntyre, iHigh Virtual Academy

Learn about San Diego Unified School District's new, innovative, online, independent study high school, iHigh Virtual Academy.  The principal of iHigh will share the successes and challenges of this unique program, including ensuring Internet access for all students, creating an online curriculum for physical education, and providing wet labs for online science courses. iHigh Virtual Academy currently serves 50 full-time students (grades 9-12), over 500 dual-enrolled students from other district high schools, and 6 students (grade 8) from private and charter schools.

 

The Keys to Search City

Cheryl Davis, Acalanes Union High School District

With abundant information at our fingertips and globally-based content available to us all, it's important to teach and reinforce literate searching. This BYOL session will take you through nine compelling and practical search lessons created by Google Certified Teachers and engineers at Google. The lessons you'll take back to your classroom can be mixed and matched depending on the level of your students and the skills you want emphasized.  Each lesson comes with a teacher guide, inquiry questions, a slide presentation, and a fun search challenge or puzzle for students that will give them the keys to effective searching.

 

Using GPS Technology in Science: Navigation Adventures

Katherine Hayden, CSU San Marcos

Learn how global positioning system (GPS) receivers have been used in two National Science Foundation projects to engage students in exploration, technology and science. Learn about the technology behind GPS navigation, experience hands-on exploration while working in teams to find treasures, and discuss ideas for integration in science classroom activities. Receive example lessons developed by project teachers. University computer science students will act as guides during the exploration.

 

A Power-Up Opportunity: Online Classrooms and Mobile Learning

Robert EM Craven, Saddleback Valley Unified School District

Mobile technologies and online learning are revolutionizing teaching and learning. With reports indicating students learn more when online instruction and content is part of a course, these "disrupting technologies" will play an increasingly important part in the future of education. Whether you are investigating adding an online component for your face-to-face course, expanding your online courses or utilizing mobile devices, you'll gain new insight into using these technologies for creating a paperless classroom, increasing collaboration and boosting student achievement.

 

Quick and Free Tech Tools to Save Time

Devin Vodicka, Carlsbad Unified/TICAL

School Leaders: Learn to use free online tools to save time and money! Beginning with the TICAL website, free tutorials for a variety of tech resources will be highlighted. Blogs, training videos, podcasts, twitter updates, and other easy-to-access tools will be presented and reviewed. Finally, learn to connect with other school leaders in moderated professional networks so that you can access the expertise and support you really need. TICAL is a project funded through the California Department of Education and all of these resources are absolutely free.

 

Delicious Apps for Education

Jonathan Brubaker, Mountain View Middle School

Walk away with one web app you can use in your classroom on Monday! The presentation has two acts. The first demonstrates how to use the social bookmarking service Delicious.com to share and discover educational sites on the web. Delicious now even integrates with Twitter. The second act presents websites by subject area that are directly applicable in your classroom. You can now use the web to do many things that in the past would have required a separate program. Come and discover how to use the social web to enhance your teaching!

 

Broadcasting Learning from Your Classroom with GarageBand

Burt Lo, CTAp 6

Podcasting is an easy way for you and your students to share news, stories, and more with an authentic and perhaps global audience. Participate in creating a podcast that includes copyright-free music, interviews, and all the bells and whistles that you expect from a professionally-produced radio show. Audience participation is requested for this session.

 

Goomoodleikiog

Leigh Murrell, Scripps Ranch High

The Internet is booming with new read-write web tools. But what tools should you use, why should you take on learning something new, and how do you use these tools in concert? Come explore Google Apps, Moodle, wikis, and blogs -- four free web tools that make student learning easier, faster and more fun. Learn how you can enhance your existing best practices and enable collaboration and information exchange both inside and outside of your classroom.

 

Fueling America

Thomas Cooper, The Walker School

Fueling American is an interdisciplinary, semester-long technology project. The problem-based scenario asks students to collaborate on a proposal for upgrading Freemont City's energy grid to support alternative energy solutions such as geothermal, solar and and wind and compare the proposal to  current coal and nuclear operations. Students use Google Apps, Photoshop and Scratch to create their proposal and an educational website for the Freemont community. More information: http://sites.google.com/site/fuelingamerica.

 

Green Learning to Make Colleagues Green With Envy

Rushton Hurley, NextVista.org (educational nonprofit)

What happens when you mix educational technology, environmental themes, and cool projects? You get engaged learners and excited teachers! Come see the how and why of such things, including project ideas, freely available tools for green activities, and possibilities for local and international contacts. The presenter will describe and demonstrate a variety of tools focused on environmental learning, exploring green careers, and how all this can generate support for your school and its programs. It's both philosophical and practical, and you are invited!

 

CTAP: Providing Resources to California School Districts

Marianne Pack, Stanislaus County Office of Education

Learn how the California Technology Assistance Project (CTAP) provides services to help improve teaching and learning through the effective use of technology in the curriculum. CTAP provides assistance in district technology planning, professional development, identification of funding resources and more. Hear about the MYCTAP web portal, the Online Tech Plan Builder, technology funding and assistance, the K12 Voucher Program, EETT and District Technology Planning. Know what services are provided in your local region.

 

Create Your Own Film Festival for Students

Elizabeth Stambach, Fresno Unified School District / Computech

Students want to be creative, show their talent and have an audience. See how middle school students develop creative and descriptive writing, oral communication and leadership skills by writing scripts and creating their own videos. Using camcorders, computers and microphones, students produce PSA's, feature short movies, original music recordings and documentaries that are good enough for a festival. Learn the steps your students would take to create similar videos!

 

Expand Your Classroom's Reach through Online Media Sharing

Burt Lo, CTAP 6

Do you create PowerPoint presentations to teach and review content with your students? Wouldn't it be great if you could easily post these resources online for your students and their parents to use at home? Drop by this session to explore a collection of websites were you can find PowerPoint presentations, pictures, podcasts and videos for your classroom. Learn how you can upload and share your own presentations, pictures, videos and more online for FREE.

 

Videos to Enhance Leadership

Rowland Baker, TICAL--Santa Cruz COE

Are you in need of visionalr, comical or powerful ammunition to assist in getting your message across in presentations or meetings?  Video clips from movies, commericals and other presentations can be a powerful tool for sparking conversation, provoking thinking and developing vision.  This presentation will share a growing collection of video pieces used by current educational leaders to help make their messages more dynamic.  Time will be set aside to discuss the clips and their relevant uses.  You will walk away with a "video vault" you can use immediately.

 

Google Docs and Apps for K-12 Teachers

Scott Moss, San DIego Unified Schools

Do you want to improve student communication skills while increasing collaboration and easing the teacher workload? Learn how to easily maximize your use of Google Docs and Apps for a variety of student projects. In addition, see examples of ways to use Google Docs and Apps as a teacher tool to provide improved student differentiation. Join this Google Certified Teacher for a session with many examples and templates.

 

Saturday, December 5

 

Fueling America

Thomas Cooper, The Walker School

Fueling America is an interdisciplinary, semester-long, problem-based technology project that asks students to collaborate on researching, writing and designing a proposal for upgrading the Freemont Energy grid to support alternative energy solutions such as geothermal, solar and and wind; compare the proposal to the city's existing coal and nuclear solution; and create an educational website on the issue for the community. Students use Photoshop, Scratch and Google Apps such as Earth, SketchUp and Presentations to complete the project.

 

Master Scheduling Made Easy Using Google Tools

Nicola Krey, Innovation Middle School

Administrators and counselors: come discover Google forms and documents that can assist in the development of your school's master schedule.  Starting with students inputting course requests into a Google form, data can be easily viewed and sorted to create your master schedule. This method is easy to set up, free and efficient -- and will save you time and paper. A step-by-step process will be demonstrated. Other uses of Google tools will also be shared.

 

Quick Collaboration, the Wiki Way

Tamerin Capellino, Canyon Lake Middle School

With time being one of the most precious commodities administrators have, this session will teach you to improve collaboration among students, parents, and teachers and save time through the use of collaborative workspaces known as wikis. Specifically, you will develop your own wiki that you can put into use immediately and some ideas how to effectively introduce a wiki to staff to improve communication, collaboration, and buy-in at your school site or within your organization.

 

Social Media, Social Change and Education

Mark Wagner, edtechlife.com

A new sort of tools - and a new sort of ethics - are required for the next generation of students to succeed in the face of global challenges. Come explore how social media can be used by educators to effect positive social change. See examples of how teachers have collaborated with colleagues, connected their classrooms to others around the globe, and helped to bring green initiatives to their schools and communities. Discover how students too can use powerful (and often free) tools to tap into their own passions, bring new relevance to their learning, and make a real difference in their world.

 

Shifting Platforms, Shifting Paradigms

Gregory Dhuyvetter, Mater Dei High School

Just as technological platforms are in a state of constant change, so the education system from administration to classroom instruction continues to change. Understanding the user/platform relationship can help teachers and administrators address the needs of 21st century schools. Teachers will analyze their own relationships to technology in order to better understand how to initiate and sustain change for their own "users."

 

Reel Diversity: Teaching Difference and Social Justice

Brian Johnson, Bloomsburg University

Explore techniques for preparing students to be global citizens through teaching multicultural media literacy and developing thought-provoking questions that stimulate cross-cultural dialogue. By sharing clips of well-known films and discussing the messages they consciously or unconsciously give, students learn about diversity (values, expressions of identity, similarity, and the devaluation of "different"), consider the concept of American "culture," and examine social justice themes such as oppression, ethnocentrism, stereotyping, prejudice and discrimination.

 

Podcasting with 50 Middle Schoolers

Heather Wolpert-Gawron, Jefferson Middle School

This session looks beyond "What is Podcasting?" to instead cover "How do I run a podcasting class?"  You will learn what equipment is needed to successfully run a program,  strategies in computer lab classroom management, and ways to develop standards-based, student-created rubrics.  Bulldog Radio is one middle school's podcast news series that allowed students to write, edit, produce, perform and publicize an entire podcasting network.  It combines students of all levels in many languages, and brings news to an entire district community.

 

Unleashing Student Potential with Web 2.0 Tools

Wayne Basinger, Cleveland High School

Web 2.0 allows students to compile, organize and create information in ways that engage them in learning and the curriculum.  Yet web 2.0 tools are underutilized in most classrooms because many teachers are unfamiliar with them. This presentation provides my list of the top 20 web 2.0 tools with specific examples of how to utilize them in the classroom. I will also share products created by my students with these tools, and I will share the lesson plans used to generate those products.

 

Tech Training: Education is a Team Sport

Dennis Grice, St. John's Lutheran School

Getting teachers to embrace and integrate technology tools requires more than just mandatory in-service trainings. It involves listening, building relationships, team teaching, and mentoring. Learn some techniques and strategies that help teachers focus on learning goals and provide "just-in-time" technology training. As teachers learn to develop lessons and projects that integrate various tech tools, they become more familiar with the tools and become subject matter experts, mentoring and supporting others.

 

Inside Technology: Supporting English Learners and Striving Learners

Emil Ahangarzadeh, San Diego County Office of Education

Come and learn about some dynamic technological tools. This workshop will showcase the remarkable computer-based support systems included in the California State Board of Education-adopted 4th-8th grade ELD and intensive intervention instructional program -- "INSIDE Language, Literacy, and Content" by National Geographic School Publishing and Hampton-Brown. The tools include state-of-the-art voice recognition software to support reading fluency and comprehension, instant grading and reporting tools, interactive electronic texts, free online unit planners and more.

 

Graphing Calculators and Higher-Order Mathematical Tasks

Rong-Ji Chen, California State University San Marcos

In this workshop, you are invited to explore the nature of mathematical tasks that allow middle and high school students to identify relationships and make conjectures. You will go through an open-ended task and use a graphing calculator (or alternatively Geometer's Sketchpad) to examine linear and quadratic functions and their graphs. This task calls for higher-order thinking as no particular procedures will be given. Based on this hands-on experience, you will discuss the implications of mathematical tasks with a high level of cognitive demand.

 

Interactive Instruction for Shreks or Entire Casts of High School Musicals

Kathryn Pariseau, Easy Access ELA

In this session, teachers and administrators will learn not only how  teachers can maximize the use of an LCD projector in a classroom, but be able to enhance standards in ways that are not only vivid and illustrative, but match the speed of the user.  Though the majority of this presentation is about hyperlinked Office files like PPT with inserted media to bring lessons to life, it also includes picture files, text files, and tips for troubleshooting.  Lastly, once the file is set, it can be used to present to an entire class or be useful to one student who may need individual assistance – something a whiteboard cannot offer. BRING A LAPTOP IF YOU HAVE ONE! Free cd with over one hundred presentations ready to go!

 

Making Movies Using Freely Available Tools

Rushton Hurley, NextVista.org (educational nonprofit)

Digital video can be a powerful tool for student projects, professional collaboration, exchange activities, and program or school promotion. Yet a common barrier to more widespread use of digital video is the perception that editing video is a complex and expensive process. This workshop will show how an inexpensive Flip camera and software that comes with Windows XP or Vista can be used with a variety of freely available resources to make fun and educationally powerful videos.

 

Google Forms: Have You Seen the Possibilities?

Jennifer Roberts, Point Loma High School

See what Google Forms can do for you and your students! Learn how easy it is to make a form to survey your students or create a variety of assessments. You'll see how you can instantly share response data with students to promote discussion and use spreadsheet tools to speed your own data analysis. Useful for any subject area! All are welcome. (Note: To practice creating forms with Google Forms in the session, you must have a free Google or Gmail account. Sign up for your free account beforehand at www.google.com).

 

Learning 2 Learn All Over Again

Chris Walsh, New Tech Network

From the creator of the Infinite Thinking Machine and the co-founder of the Google Teacher Academy comes an epic multimedia event on how eLearning is quickly changing the way we think about school. Action-packed scenes include a romp through the eLearning universe, time traveling encounters with history's greatest minds, a personal quest to map how we learn, and the epic battle that digital generation students are waging. Walk away armed with the knowledge and tools to start your own revolution in learning. Warning: audience participation is required!

 

Building Learning Communities: Making the Global Connection

Lainie Rowell, Newport-Mesa USD

Discover free web-based tools that motivate your students to learn and connect them to the global community. Make the move from content consumption to content creation and community building while developing more self-directed learners and raising global awareness. This session will be a rich source of ideas, resources and information about learning with technology in the 21st century.

 

Search and Rescue in the Classroom

Chris Bell, Julian Charter School

Do you feel like your students are drowning in a sea of information when researching topics? If so, then this is the workshop for you! This workshop will introduce participants to advanced search features within Google, search tips and tricks, and lesson plans that can be immediately implemented in the classroom. Throw your students a search life preserver today and help get them on the boat to more productive searching. Presented by a Google Certified Teacher.

 

Web 2.0 Tools for the Social Studies Classroom

Theresa Bolton, Van Avery Prep

In this session, you will see how several Web 2.0 tools can be used in a middle school social studies classroom, video of students using the tools and critiquing their value and uses, and project ideas for using wikis, blogs and Twitter in the classroom. A list of "Top 10 Useful Tools" will be included, along with an opportunity to sign up to collaborate with other teachers and classrooms on projects using Web 2.0 tools. This presentation will be interactive and useful for any middle school content area.

 

Podcasts and Vidcasts as K-12 Learning Tools

Penelope Swenson, California State Univ., Bakersfield

Seeking an engaging, high interest, high impact way to enhance teaching and learning in your classroom or school? In this session you will see, and take home, examples of podcasts and vidcasts with accompanying standards-based lesson plans. You will explore ways to incorporate student- and teacher-produced podcasts/vidcasts in teaching and learning. Guides for producing podcasts and vidcasts will be shared and ways to incorporate them into the standards-based classroom will be demonstrated.

 

Enhance Learning with Nutrition and Technology

Tracy Conkey, Dairy Council of California

Learn how Dairy Council of California enhances learning using nutrition education and technology. This interactive session will show educators how to integrate free USDA's MyPyramid online learning tools into core curricular areas. Students can use the tools to build resilency and success by practicing decision making and learning problem solving skills that will benefit their health. Discover additional free nutrition education resources for parents, students and teachers.

 

Get Outside! Geocaching with Kids

Diane Main, Milpitas Christian School

Many students learn better when they are free to move around. Kids need a chance to connect with nature. Gadgets get kids learning without even realizing it. Combine these three concepts and you have geocaching: using GPS receivers to find hidden objects. Geocaching activities can be adapted to all curricular concepts and topics. In this session you will learn how to use geocaching in your classes, and you will go out and try it for yourself!  Online resources will be shared, and we will discuss how to seek grant funds to purchase GPS receivers.

 

Rethink Arts Integration with SFMOMA: ArtThink

Esther Kligman-Frey, SFMOMA - Education Department

Integrate art, history/social studies, and language arts into your core curriculum with San Francisco Museum of Modern Art's ArtThink!  Find out how teachers are increasing visual literacy and artistic understanding by incorporating interactive media and hands-on lessons -- and utilizing site resources to address California Content Standards. ArtThink connects students with artists' voices, artworks, and cultural perspectives through two award-winning online programs, Making Sense of Modern Art and Voices and Images of California Art. Explore ArtThink's big ideas, themes, lessons and other resources and learn how educators are using online, interdisciplinary, thematic, standards-based curriculum.

 

Reinventing Education: SDUSD's i21 Initiative

Darryl LaGace, San Diego Unified School District

San Diego Unified School District is boldly stepping up to the challenges this country is facing -- including addressing the need for teachers who are prepared to teach to rigorous academic standards in a technology-rich environment. Hear about this district's systemic five-year plan to transform every classroom to a 21st-century, technology-rich learning environment.

 

Bring Learning "Alive" with Clay Animation!

Linda Oaks, Tarbut

Looking for a motivating way for your students to show what they know? Have you ever wanted to try clay animation in your classroom? Here's a session that will give you the hands-on experience for yourself. First, you'll create a clay character. Then you'll experience taking the photos needed to bring him to life! You'll import the photos and learn how to easily create a finished product using iMovie and/or Frames. Management tips and cost information will be shared and all participants will receive a free copy of Frames. Join us for the fun!

 

Engagement: What Is It and Where Can I Get Some?

Bernie Dodge, PhD, San Diego State University

Second Life, World of Warcraft, Wikipedia, Facebook, YouTube... the list of tools and media discouraged at school but indispensable at home grows longer every year. Are students disengaged because their teachers were born in a pre-digital era or is that a myth? What does engagement look like? In the pursuit of engagement, which technologies are worth the costs and overhead and which aren't? We'll show interviews with learners of all ages describing true engagement as well as graphs showing the ups and downs of engagement during the playing of a game.

 

Celebrate Success, Save Paper, Get Your Fifteen Minutes

Ted Lai, Fullerton School District

Podcasts, wikis, blogs, tweets, social bookmarking… Now, more than ever, teachers and students can easily share ideas and accomplishments with family, friends and the world. The print media business is declining, but digital forms of communication have exploded. Learn tips and tricks for creating compelling projects and using new media to promote and celebrate classroom work… and your fifteen minutes of fame. Once published online, then what? You'll also learn how to promote published work to develop an audience, educate others and empower student creativity.

 

MyCTAP: New California K-12 Educational Technology Portal

Ben Anderson, Sacramento County Office of Education

Learn about the new, free CTAP California Educational Technology Portal known as MyCTAP that is provided by the California Technology Assistance Project (CTAP).  The result of CTAP's integration of regional resources with the CTAP SETS projects, MyCTAP offers free live online professional development workshops on weekday afternoons and evenings plus free technology tutorials, guides, and resources for integrating technology in your curriculum. You'll also see examples and best practices of other teachers integrating technology in their classrooms.

 

Thinkquest.org in Collaborative Student Projects

Steven Caringella, Russell Middle School

Discover how the online collaboration tool Thinkquest.org can be used in project-based learning as a vehicle for the development of 21st century skills and the completion of projects that promote powerful learning. See how students collaborate with peers in the U.S. or in other countries, learn how you can enroll at Thinkquest.org, and experience an online demonstration of the tools and features of  the Web site. Thinkquest.org is a student-safe, password-protected community of learners and teachers that is free to accredited schools.

 

Live Interactive Park Experiences, Delivered by PORTS

Bradley Krey, California State Parks PORTS Program

The Parks Online Resources for Teachers and Students (PORTS) Program has delivered entertaining and engaging videoconference presentations to nearly 100,000 students throughout California over the past five years. Whether you've participated in previous years or are new to distance learning, now is a great time to learn how this FREE California State Park program uses technology to bring park resources and park professionals into your classroom. Explore current program offerings, logistics, and requirements for participation.

 

Cybersafety: Information and Curriculum to Keep Your Students Safe

Burt Lo, CTAP 6

Do you have questions about the risks that your students face going online? This workshop will provide an awareness of cybersafety issues, including cyberbullying. In addition, you will learn about the FBI's Safe Online Surfing Internet Challenge, a free cybersafety curriculum that you can implement with your students on Monday. Other free resources for lesson plans and activities to teach cybersafety will also be shared. All resources are web-based and accessible from all computer platforms.

 

Tear Down the Walls: Going Global with Your Instruction

Kenneth Shelton, Walter Reed Middle School

With the advent and accessibility of a variety of technologies available today, we have the power to expand our learning and our students' learning to a global level. A myriad of web 2.0 tools, student programs, teacher programs and educational offerings are available for educators to extend their instruction beyond the physical walls of a classroom.  We will examine the many ways video conferencing, virtual worlds, worldwide collaborative educational programs, and other technologies transform teaching and learning to levels that at one time were unimaginable.

 

Sunday, December 6

 

Must Wikis Be Boring?

Wayne Basinger, Cleveland High School

Your wiki will not be boring after you see this presentation! This session demonstrates Web 2.0 tools that can used to add images, music and movies to your classroom wikis to make them more educational, entertaining and fun. The session offers step-by-step tutorials on these Web 2.0 tools that will make your wikis more appealing to your students, their parents and your colleagues.

 

How Twitter Changed My Life in 140 Characters or Less

Jenith Mishne, Newport-Mesa USD

Where do you go for information and sharing of knowledge? Who influences your knowledge? Imagine a place where you could go and ask any question and get immediate feedback. Twitter is a tool that does just that -- and in only 140 characters or less. Learn how to use Twitter to share and gain knowledge, increase your professional network, and learn something new every day. Even if you've already been using Twitter, there are still plenty of other tips, tricks and tools to discover. Come and learn!

 

Students as Teachers: A Collaborative Video Project Template

Mark Dohn, Millikan Middle School

See an ongoing, collaborative project in which students create informative and entertaining curricular videos for their peers and post them at NextVista.org. Learn to implement your own digital video project, from preparation and equipment to tips for planning and managing your classroom. See student videos, get templates and resources, and hear from the students as they describe how creating videos benefits their learning process.

 

School-Wide Collaboration with Google Apps

Dan McDowell, West Hills High School

Google Apps has helped transform the potential for collaboration. See how a school has used Google Docs, Sites, and Calendar to write an accreditation report, share subject area goals, and track collaboration time. Taught by a Google Certified Teacher.

 

Tricks Are for Kids, Strategies Are for Professionals

Sondra Miller, Jordan High School

Teachers are leaving the profession within the first couple of years because they are unable to deal with classroom management issues. As secondary teachers, we need proven strategies to keep our classrooms running smoothly and provide a safe and productive learning environment for students. Learn strategies that you can take back to your classroom and implement on Monday! Develop better rapport with your students and set classroom standards that will allow all students to learn, minimize low-level behavior problems by 80%, and keep you calm.

 

Communicate, Collaborate, Connect: Using Google Docs

Jenith Mishne, Newport-Mesa USD

In this session, you will explore the many features and benefits of going paperless and using Google Docs. Working with colleagues and using hands-on experiential learning, discover how Google Docs can be a tool to communicate, collaborate and connect student learning in a classroom. Plan ways to use Google documents to freely share files, store student work, and collaborate on projects using shared files.

 

From Programming to AP Computer Science

Jeffery Seibert, Lincoln High School

Learn to set up a computer programming sequence of classes culminating in AP Computer Science (Programming in Java).  Explore Beginning Programming and Advanced Java as presented in AP Computer Science and the classes in-between.  Necessary equipment and software will be discussed along with techniques for teaching programming in general.

 

The League Learning Network

Mark Wagner, edtechlife.com

Join us during this final session and see how to extend your conference experience online when you leave! The California League of Schools (CLES, CLMS, & CLHS) have a free online Ning social network for educators. Learn how to join and how you can collaborate with a statewide community. Discover and share blog posts, pictures, videos, lesson plans and more. Participate in groups and discussion forums - and keep informed about the latest news and events. Best of all, meet and converse with like-minded colleagues -- all in the League Learning Network.

 

Kids Teaching Kids with Student-Created Screencasts

Eric Marcos, Lincoln Middle School and Mathtrain.TV

Explore how a kids-teaching-kids collaborative model can empower and engage students. Using screencasting software and a tablet PC, students create math video lessons called mathcasts which are used in classroom instruction and for iTunes podcast. These tutorials are also uploaded online to our collaborative class Web site and  video Web site. View student-created videos, witness a live screencasting demonstration performed by a student, and learn how to create screencasts for any subject.

 

Technology's Role for Better Teaching, Better Learning, and a Better Planet

Rushton Hurley, NextVista.org (educational nonprofit)

The principle promise of educational technology may be more dynamic learning, but engaging tools and powerful teaching provides much, much more.  When teachers reconnect to the passion that brought them to teaching and design projects that connect students to their role in improving their communities and the environment, everyone wins.  Learn how students are discovering opportunities in the new, green economy, as well as how you can connect students to their peers around the planet using simple techniques, free tools, and a lot of fun!

 

Photos, Videos, and Animation to Boost Language and Writing

Adina Sullivan, San Marcos Elementary

Visuals help students increase valuable vocabulary. This is especially true for reluctant or struggling readers and English Language Learners. In this session you'll learn how to use digital cameras, video cameras, online images and animation sites to move students from working with a single word to multiple paragraphs. You'll also learn about copyright issues and other considerations.

 

Teaching High School Writing is Easy

Mona Lisa Pfeiffer, San Jacinto High School

In this session you will be provided with Power Point presentations that can be used this year in your classroom to teach writing. Teaching students how to select a topic all the way to the final research paper, short story, persuasive essay, and more. I will explain how easy Power Point makes this experience and show samples of student work. This is of vital importance as students today are used to having much more action, than many years ago, in the classroom. TECHNOLOGY is our friend and is utilized. Students produce better work when technology is involved. Students and teachers will appreciate the work that I have done to make all of our jobs easier when teaching writing. Activities will be showing samples of each Power Point, and samples of student work, from this school year. FREE to each participant will be all of the Power Points sent to your own email for your own classroom use. All of these are current this year. By attending this session you will be able to receive all of these great tools for teaching that you don't have to create and you can begin using them the day you get home. Having these emailed to you allows you to make them your own.