I attended various sessions throughout the three day convention. The sessions consisted of learning about new online resources (Class Flow, NearPod, Plickers, Google Classrooms, Edmodo), websites to assist all students for various needs, incorporating different apps, new products (SMART Walls by Board Share), using social media in your classroom and so much more! In addition to the many sessions, there were vendors and exhibitors present to share their products as well. I was more than thrilled when I actually won a product! I'll give more details about that later.
Of all the sessions, I thoroughly enjoyed learning about the online presentation resource NearPod, Sketchnotes, Creating Classroom Smart Walls, and both presentations by Chris Pombonyo - #Social Media Jr. and Lights! Camera! Teach! Creating Ways to Engage Young Learners. I believe all the sessions were more than informative but these were sessions where I received big 'take aways' and resources to use in my class immediately.
NearPod is an online resource where teachers can create and present lessons in their classroom, with multimedia resources such as YouTube. The best thing about it is that students can follow along with their teachers and interact with the lesson from their own devices! Now isn't that amazing! Students can participate in polls you create, write in answers or respond to a question instantly. Once students submit their answers, it comes to you immediately. You can then showcase the responses to your class with or without students' names presented. It can be used as a quick formative assessment if you think about it. I learned about NearPod last month at another conference but we didn't go into too much detail about the resource. Although the site is free, all lessons aren't free. I don't see that as a complete downfall or anything, but just wanted to make you all aware. I see so much potential with this resource and am beyond excited to present it to my principal. Check it out yourself if you haven't already.
Sketchnotes is another session I attended that I figured would be a great idea to incorporate. I am not sure if there is a website for this, but you can find more information about sketchnoting online. There are some apps, so your district or school could possibly purchase. Many of you may be aware of sketchnoting and it doesn't have to incorporate technology exactly. Sketchnoting allows students to use another outlet to take notes in the classroom. Instead of writing words and short phrases from a presentation, students may use their artistic skills to form their notes. I believe this is a great alternative, especially for a lot of right brain thinking and visual learners. My main concern was how to smoothly integrate this into an elementary classroom. I could see several benefits for students in middle and high school, but would my students take this serious in 3rd grade? I believe many will, but it's a matter of setting the procedures for how students can and should use it.
SMART Walls by Board Share is quite similar to SMART Boards. The main difference between the two is that the product by Board Share is portable. That means it's not fixed or attached to anything and you can present it anywhere on a flat surface. I met some of the representatives the second day of the conference and was immediately interested in the product. I figured this could definitely be used in a center or even a day when we want to work outside. Although I have to find a projector, I still see several benefits to having a second SMART product in my classroom. Interestingly enough, I attended their session that afternoon and ended up winning the Board Share product and software!!! That's $350 saved! Whoop whoop! I'll keep you all posted on how I use it in my class. 😁
#Social Media Jr. and Lights! Camera! Teach! were very informative sessions to help teachers make learning fun and engaging. In the first session, Chris focused on how he and his students incorporated technology into the classroom. I knew I wanted to use social media in my class the upcoming school year, I just wasn't sure how to go about doing it effectively. Clearly I don't want to go into the classroom and just give a student a camera and say, 'Here take a picture of something' (FYI- I wouldn't do that in the first place). But in Chris' presentation he explained the steps on how he integrated Twitter into his classroom. He went over receiving parent consent, establishing rules and procedures with students on how to handle the duty of 'Tweeter of the Day', taking photos of exciting adventures in and out of the classroom and what accounts to follow. After this session, I went ahead and made my classroom Twitter account to encourage myself to integrate this resource. My plan is to start with Twitter and show students how they will use it and when they will use. Once I see that they are ready to take on this duty (and some students may not be ready as others, but you have to begin with one), I will hand it off to my students to lead.
His other session Lights! Camera! Teach! focused on bringing the magic into the classroom and how your class is basically like a show. In order for the show to run smoothly, we must have set rules and procedures that are consistent in the class. We must also make sure students understand their duties and roles. In addition, we must have things prepared and organized to operate effectively in the class. At this point you may say, 'Well duh, I already know that.' Believe it or not, some teachers need that reminder. Now I'm not going to give away his presentation because it's something you must attend yourself. He showcased his amazing classroom and how things are run so that his students are benefited. It was definitely a session teachers enjoyed because for almost every slide of his presentation someone was either taking notes or clicking on their camera phone or Ipad. It's sessions like this that rejuvenates teachers and builds our enthusiasm so we can create that same joy in our students learning.
All in all, the Tots and Technology conference was very beneficial. With the new resources and built up enthusiasm teachers received after this conference (at least I hope others feel the same way), we should all be eager and ready for the upcoming school year with our students. My coworkers and I must give a presentation on a take away from the conference and that's not problem since there are several options to choose from (besides what I previously explained). But one thing is for sure, I'm ready to be more creative, innovative and effective with my teaching! Aren't you? 😃
Have a great school year and HAPPY TEACHING!
P.S. Did I tell you I also won a $50 Amazon gift card at the closing ceremony? Now what teacher supplies could I spend that on? Hmmm...
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