stuff+overheard+-+MG

I'm using this page to keep track of stuff I heard today: (Mason Gregg)... Feel free to add anything you want. I just grapped a page so I could type in ideas I gathered from the conference.

Look at the discussion tabs for other sessions from today. But for now here's the first bit.

Here's what I heard while sitting in on the Thin Walls "movie".

Thin Walls - 2 classrooms in a shared learning 'single classroom'. One in/near Manitoba, the other in LA.
Tools used: Skype -free Voice Thread - free Twitter - being considered Flickr - paid by one teacher Moodle - kids got kicked off (probably network timeout issues) so they started up a new conversation on their own using a different medium Question: DO these tools make the classroom transparent? What is **essential learning** for students today?

BALANCE - technology isn't always necessary - a teacher needs to find a balance in how/when to use ANY tool - including technology. It isn't okay to live chat with kdis from another country when you're tuning out all the kids sitting right next to you. Ooops I'm ignoring the people next to me, so I end with that.

Talk with Lisa... Could we require SMART Goals or someting else where staff development piece could be delievered? eg: Blogging wiki, live-blogging, socratic seminar, fish bowl.

Can we have "cohorts" and train in constructivism at Euclid - when it is optional and no-credit and non-GRANTed?

Passionate learning - teachers learning while they teach - the kids see the teachers learning & struggling - models learning.

Success metrics - former student said "AHS taught me how to think" SO is this what this is about? Teaching kids how to think. It's not about technology so much.

Learning tools - technology brings more people into the conversation - perhaps! Asking the right question is the art of teaching - whether you use technology or not is immaterial. Balance - is a personal thing. Anne doesn't understand this.