I love when I can get together with like-minded educators that are excited to learn new things and collaborate. For me, it was also about making connections . . . which leads me to meeting a ninja, Tech Ninja Todd, that is! Todd Nesloney was the keynote speaker at the conference. He has a lengthy list of accomplishments that could intimidate just about anyone, but I pushed down my nerves and approached the Ninja! I had a great time chatting with Todd. We shared various sites, apps, lessons . . . and then continued the conversation at lunch where I got to introduce him to several of the teachers and ITSs I work with in my district.
Todd's keynote was inspiring, motivating and pretty darn funny! He kept us engaged the whole time with his fast talking - ever so funny stories about life in his classroom.
I love that he showed how the power of being connected has opened up so many doors and created many meaningful experiences for his students. Throughout his presentation he shared tweets from his friends, other educators, and authors. He discussed how those tweets have impacted his teaching.
Just a few (cuz there were many) fun things Todd shared...
Mystery Skype - connect with another class and call each other and try to guess where each class is located in the United States or around the world. (Advice from Todd . . . Texas teachers-be sure not use the word "ya'll" or show the state flag posted in your room! Huge give-aways!)
Double Robotics - Using an iPad, Todd's class controlled the robot and toured a school in another state.
Genius Hour - Students have choice in what they learn during a set period of time during school.
I was able to attend one of Todd's sessions, Podcasting with Google Hangouts. I'm still wrapping my head around this . . . Google+ . . . Google Hangout . . . circles . . . thing!
During Todd's session we got to "hang out" with Drew Minock (Two Guys and Some iPads) and see the features of Google Hangout. Tons of fun, but really such a powerful tool! It was entertaining to watch the two try to outdo each other with all the features of GHO.
During Todd's keynote he said, "There's a huge difference between not knowing and choosing not to know." So, I'm choosing to figure this whole GHO thing out!
Pardon, the fuzzy pictures . . . clearly (or not so clearly) I'm having issues taking pictures. I'm going to blame it on the fact that yesterday we were in the 30s (That's cold for us Texans!) and I was shaking from the cold!
I was excited to present, Creating Digital Artwork using Google Drawing at the Google Summit. I really think this is an untapped treasure in Google Docs! There are some amazing teachers at my school doing some even more amazing things with their students using Google Drawing, but that will have to be my next post along with Speed Share #4. Check out #1, #2 and #3, if you haven't already, for some really great tech resources.
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