So many great conversations took place at NECC both in sessions and in the Bloggers Cafe, there seemed to be a palpable excitement which I contribute to the dramatic rise in blogging over the past year. To have conversations with people through their blogs you feel as though you know them, at NECC this year, many of us who blog or who are avid blog readers had the opportunity to meet face to face those people. It was like meeting old friends who you had not seen in a long time, and all of these connections have come through conversations, social networking at its best.
I am hopeful there will be an educonblogger 2 either next year at the conference or before, I will have to keep my eye on the blogosphere to make sure I can get wherever it may take place. I believe we all help each other move forward in our thinking and in developing strategies for change in each of our situations, I am constantly learning from those whose blogs I read.
Dr. Tim Tyson, principal of Mabry Middle School was the closing keynote speaker. He has been called “the Pied Piper of Educational Technology” by the School Library Journal. He talked of school 1.0 being centered on rules, routines and rituals, always focusing on the right answer. School 2.0 centers on engagment, authentic learning, communities of learners, and the focus is on meaningfulness, connectedness, significance, and contribution. Tim talked asked the question “at what point does a child feel their life is meaningful”? His answer is today, provide opportunities for children to feel as though they can contribute and change the world today. At Mabry Middle School children do that, they are empowered and encouraged through video projects to think about the world, issues everyone struggles with, and to find their voice make themselves heard, to make a difference. He shared samples of the videos his middle school students have produced on such topics and child labor in the chocolate industry, stem cell research, genetically modified foods, just to name a few. The students know they have a global audience, the best of the videos are posted on iTunes, and their school videos have had 4 million downloads, this is authentic learning, students wanting to contribute, the world listening to what they have to say.
Other ideas for students contibuting were discussed in sessions such as Vicki Davis and Julie Lindsay’s Flatclassroom Project. Students in Georgia and Bangladesh collaborrated on the flattners inThomas Friedman’s book, through the use of wikis, blogs and videoconferencing. Allowing students to connect to others and discuss opinions, thoughts, all the while meeting standards, communicating making connections, building social networks and communities, all 21st century skills, their work was meaningful. I want develop a sense of meaningfulness in projects offered in my district, I hope to model what others are doing with students.
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