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Keynote Reflections

April 22, 2013 Conferences, Conversations

I can vividly remember Steve Dembo walking up to me, as I was chatting with Pernille Ripp and Diana Laufenberg at ICE in February and asking if he could chat with me for a few minutes about business.

I can vividly remember Steve talking to me about the Virtual Conference in April and finally realizing he invited me to be the closing keynote.

I can vividly remember working on my presentation for the next two months.

But — smiles, the entire keynote presentation on April 20th from noon to 1 PM (California time) is a blur.

Luckily I had a lot of friends who had listened in — and gave critiques later….and grins — there is a video recording (sighs) –   :)

But I still am rolling it around in my head.

I had 3 goals in mind.

#1 — I wanted to be Jen.
I had a script – but I did not wish to be scripted.  I knew my content and had the words nearby just in case I got flustered or started to “squirrel”.

#2 — I wanted to remind educators in the room NOT to lose connections with other educators on their campus.
This was so important to me — they need us, we need them….and labeling them unapproachable does harm for both parties.

#3 — I wanted to encourage others to try new things.
Hmmm — I am not sure if I shared anything “BRAND” new to the group I was presenting to.   The extension ideas for Mystery Skype seemed to go over well as well as the Google Doc of Connecting Opportunities — where over 80 teachers are saying “Yes, I want to Connect”!!

So, all in all — I think I met my personal goals.

What I would do next time –
a.  Not give unnecessary information
…..smiles, the reason I don’t participate in #CAEDCHAT on Sunday nights is that I am with friends and we watch Amazing Race.   I have rule that when I am with friends, all devices are off — so that is why I do not participate in #CAEDCHAT — but smiles, that will change in 5 or 6 weeks when Amazing Race is over — (but I did not need to mention Amazing Race in my session)

b.  Have another computer to watch the chat.
I had asked my pal, Dennis Grice, to come and help with the keynote and he watched the chat.  In hindsight, I am sad I was not watching the chat — and next time, I think I need to be able to present & be conscious of the back-channel.
PS:   If you liked the look of the prezi — BIG THANKS to Dennis who tinkered with it that morning and made it look so so nice.

c.  Have more qualitative data.   
I can tell you with 100% certainty how important it is to connect with your fellow teachers & staff.  I can assure you that We (many of us) are building a huge chasm between us (the tech users) and them (the non) — which is harming our students.   I can promise you that relationship and working together WILL make a difference on our campuses…
But I need to back that up with proven statistics rather than just my personal thoughts.

I would love to hear your thoughts — if you were listening in on Saturday.
And if you were not a part — but might want to see what it was all about — here is the link to EVERYTHING!
http://jlwagner.pbworks.com/w/page/65273309/DENVC_2013

Also, I forgot to mention in the keynote but included in the presentation notes are links to 16 blog posts which were influential in my growing of this keynote!   ENJOY!

Jen

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Unexpected at ISTE12

June 28, 2012 Conversations

I just returned from the ISTE12 conference in San Diego — and this is the FIRST of several posts I will share about this experience.

As always, the conference was grand — but there were some special moments — some unexpected moments — some being in the RIGHT PLACE at the right time moments….and I thought I would share them first.

1.  I was excited to hear Sir Ken…so I got into line 2 hours BEFORE he was to speak.    As I waited, a lady with a walkie talkie was entering the room and I said, “Can I follow you in?” and she said, “If you volunteer as a paper helper (putting ads on the chairs) we will let you mark you spots first.”  So I ran upstairs, signed up to be a volunteer, and ran back downstairs to help lay papers.   After only 5 minutes of volunteering, all the volunteers were called over — we were done — and we were told we could mark our seats.   I asked the lady if I still could, since I only had helped for 5 minutes and she said “Of course”….and that is how I ended up 4 rows from Sir Ken.

2.  For the second day of the DEN event — on Saturday — I decided to try something totally different and host the O.R.E.O. project with grownups and then turn it into a digital story activity.   At first they were hesitant — and then they FLEW with ideas.   Some people came back to say it was their FAVORITE session of the entire day.

3.  During the O.R.E.O. project, I was informed that oreos are now kosher — and during that conversation, I was also informed that oreos have palm oil in them.    Jump forward to the final keynote….with Dr. Willie Smits – and a little bit more info about palm oil — the O.R.E.O. project will change this year.   I am still working out the details — but because one comment on Saturday, many comments on Wednesday — there will be a difference in the O.R.E.O. project.

4.  FOUR separate times….having a car came in handy.   I was blessed to have Dean Mantz and Dean Shareski in my car, Jon Becker, Ben Grey, and David Jakes in my car, Lee Kolbert in my car, and Carolyn Foote in my car — for 20 minutes or more.  Unexpected but extremely grand.

5.  I had spent Saturday at the DEN event — and had not been able to attend the Edublogger Con.  But as soon as DEN was over, I dashed over to see everyone.   Hugs began — and I saw MANY MANY people I enjoy being with.   I saw Maria Knee and wandered over to say Hello and just before I hugged her, I glanced to the right — and there was SHARON PETERS.   I had not known she had come in from Africa.   Sharon and I had been the two original founders of Women of the Web.

6.  On the way to meet friend on Coronado — I got lost and ended up at the Naval Air Station North Island – where they took my drivers license and made me wait for clearance.   I met 2 of the nicest Navy guys — sadly not Maverick or Goose — but do now have a story of getting lost on Coronado — that I am sure will expand with details as I get older.   :)

7.  On Sunday, I posted out a tweet that I was heading over to Balboa Park and had space in the car.  Christine responded and I picked her up about 90 minutes later.   Not only did we have a nice walk around the park — but I found out that SHE loves theater as much as I do….and I finally got to chat about WICKED with someone who understood.

I am sure this list will grow as my week of ISTE12 and DEN become more coherent as my mind shuffles through all the memories….

so consider this — just a start.

Jen

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Words I hope NOT to hear at ISTE

June 20, 2012 Conversations

As I get ready to present in the next few days — I take the time to look over my notes and make sure I am wise with my word choices.

And I am gearing myself up as I prepare to listen to what others have to say.

And these are the words I hope NOT to hear at ISTE.

EVERY TEACHER and ALL:
When we standardize teaching into one-size-must-fit-all then we might as well let robots teach our kids.
There is NOT one solution nor ONE 100% only way.
Make a suggestion of what worked for you……..but please don’t say EVERYONE or ALL.  That is dictatorship and not at all healthy for our students.
And feel free to add MUST to this list too.

RIGOR:
Hate this — I mean really what are you trying to say?
I am unsure how or why “being inflexible” really worked into the EdTech vocabulary — but it needs to be removed or be explained more precisely.

21st CENTURY
Really??   it is 2012….so this is a fact we kinda know now.
And truly — never in all my growing up did a teacher every shake their head and exclaim “oh, I need to be a better 20th century teacher”.   It was an unspoken fact they knew they needed to be a better teacher — at any time period”.

EXPERT
If you feel you have “arrived” to the point of expertdom then please snuggle deep into your recliner and close your eyes.
Anyone who claims they are an expert has just pretty much proclaimed they are no longer a learner.
Tell me you are struggling, tell me you understand something but are still working out some of the kinks, tell me you learn every day.
If you tell me you are an expert….it will make me sad.

NEWBIE and DIGITAL NATIVE
First of all — labeling is just wrong.
Secondly — we are all learners — so lets just all admit we are newbies and move on.
And digital native — nope.  Our kids were born in a world of technology but kids were not born with mice, stylus or devices in their hands.   It is a learning curve for all of us.

AMAZING
I wrote about this before (http://projectsbyjen.com/blog/?p=1739) and still feel the same.  The Grand Canyon is amazing, a star filled sky is amazing, new life is amazing…..a project, an idea, a gadget is productive, useful, helpful, and effective.  But amazing?  Not.

MUST HAVE
The exhibit hall is already on my mind — it both scares me and exhilarates me.   And if you are vendor and reading this — let me come to you — if I am interested, I will wander over.
But don’t tell me that my campus MUST HAVE something.   Because I can tell you, we don’t.   And please don’t show me how something works — but let me play with it.   And and and — please answer a direct question with a direct answer…..if I ask you HOW MUCH DOES IT COST — please tell me.    If you tell me someone will contact me, I will walk away.

Hmm — that is my list so far –
I am sure it will grow.

What are some words YOU hope not to hear at ISTE.

Jen

 

 

 

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We Go Round In Circles

July 27, 2011 Conversations, Just Jen's Thoughts

Intrigued but still a bit distant — I am wandering in a bit to G+ just to see what is going on.

I tried to screen capture a Hangout — unsuccessfully and I admit, I feel that G+ is still twitter with just a new address and more space to talk.   But also admit, this is a learning curve and I can be a creature of habit.

But what I am LIKING are circles.

So, if you are not using G+ — here is a short explanation.

Circles equal conversation opportunities.
Meaning:  when you type a comment, you can then choose WHICH circle (or circles) you wish to share that comment with.  ALSO:  you can click on a circle and see the conversations happening just from those people within the circle.

Right now — I have 11 circles.   Some circles are conference based (current conferences with people in attendance — ie BLC and Microsoft right now).  This way, I can easily follow the conversations by people attending that conference.   I also have circles that are state specific….(IL/WI, Texas, CA) which I check often to see what friends are up to.

When you first start with G+ there is an ALL or EVERYONE circle — and at first, I was dropping everyone there.   But it became overwhelming and a constant stream of conversation — so I deleted the EVERYONE circle and started smaller circles so I could (in a way) control content.

I began by creating an EDUCATORS circle — but again, I placed way too many people in this circle — and needed to small down even more to be able to sift through content and not miss a lot because the stream was so busy.

So — I have 2 circles for educators.
One is my LIGHTHOUSE circle.  This consists of a small group of educators who “enlighten” me.  They are trusted individuals to me.  Most of them I have met F2F.  In a way, they are family to me.
The other is my PATHWAY group.  Each person in this group  is also on this journey we call education.  This is my biggest circle and is my default for most conversations.  People in my PATHWAY group also overlap into other circles (such as State, Conference, etc)   So when I wish to blast a conversation to all — I choose the PATHWAY group.

The ability to have open or selected conversations has been interesting to watch and learn from.

One other nice feature of Circles is the fact that when you open a HANGOUT (meaning a video/microphoned conversation) you can invite the circle (or circles) you wish to join in.

This is still a work in progress as I am learning slowly about G+.

One other “aha” idea was to have a whiteboard behind you in a hangout to use for instruction.

But to be honest right now — I am not looking at G+ in regards to students.  First of all, I have not even glanced at TOS yet and secondly I would turn to skype first before hangouts with students.

I am 100% trying to figure out G+ for myself and learning new things each day.

And finding circles to be both interesting and powerful.

Feel free to share more about G+ if you wish.

Jennifer

 

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