Engaging Education

Day 2 of the Global Education Conference has begun!  Yesterday was filled with inspirational speakers and practical tips.  I especially enjoyed Tony Wagner‘s ideas about fostering innovation in our students and Rita Oates’ practical tips for connecting with guest speakers who have International perspectives, yet live within our local communities. (If you missed them, I will be posting a link to the #GlobalEd12 session recordings later this week.)

As promised, tonight (or tomorrow morning depending on where in the world you live) at 11:00 PM Eastern Time, U.S, I will be presenting as well.  Here’s the scoop!

It’s a Small World: Elementary Global Collaboration
Nancye Blair, Education Innovation Specialist & ISTE Emerging Leader

Direct Link to the Session: https://sas.elluminate.com/d.jnlp?sid=2008350&password=GECPart101

Session Description: With mountains of resources available for Global Collaboration, elementary teachers often spend hours sifting through tools and practices to find the select few that will be successful for young learners. In this high-energy session, attendees learn about powerful web resources and best practices that are perfect for our youngest learners. With ideas for tools like Google Docs, Storybird, Voicethread, ePals, Skype, Flockdraw and more, participants will learn how to find other teachers and classes who are interested in collaborating, how to set-up 21st century learning activities that promote global awareness and real world problem solving, and easily implement these new tools in their classroom. In no time, elementary students can be blogging; digital storytelling; sharing videos, images, knowledge or skills; and even creating websites with other students across the classroom and around the world.

Today guarantees to be another wonderful day of connecting and learning.  Once again, the full GlobalEdCon schedule can be found  here.  And remember, you can follow #GlobalEd12 or me (@EngagingEdu) on Twitter for ongoing updates, tips and highlights as well!

Today marks the first day of the 2012 free, online Global Education Conference.  Running all week, nearly 24 hours a day, this conference offers incomparable diversity and opportunities for global connections.

If you are new to the Global Education Conference, #GlobalEdCon ”is a collaborative, inclusive, world-wide community initiative involving students, educators, and organizations at all levels. It is designed to significantly increase opportunities for building education-related connections around the globe while supporting cultural awareness and recognition of diversity.”

Here are a few of today’s sessions I think you’ll find interested… and details about the session I am presenting tomorrow, too!  The full schedule can be found here.  And remember, you can follow me on Twitter for ongoing updates, tips and highlights as well!

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 12
(All times given in Eastern Time, U.S. Use the schedule above to check times in your area!)

10:00 AM — Opening Keynote: Creating Innovators
Tony Wagner, Technology & Entrepreneurship Center at Harvard
Link to Session: https://sas.elluminate.com/d.jnlp?sid=2008350&password=GECKPart1

1:00 PM — Session: #VideoGamesForGlobalLearning
Terry Heick, Institute for Habits of Mind
Link to Session: https://sas.elluminate.com/d.jnlp?sid=2008350&password=GECPart6

3:00 PM — Keynote: The Lessons I Learned While Making A Difference
Ilona Dougherty, Executive Director of Apathy is Boring
Link to Session: https://sas.elluminate.com/d.jnlp?sid=2008350&password=GECKPart13

10:00 PM — Top 10 Places to Find Real People in Your Community to Globalize Student Learning
Dr. Rita Oates, Oates Associates & Florida Society for Technology in Education
Link to Session: https://sas.elluminate.com/d.jnlp?sid=2008350&password=GECPart36

MY SESSION TOMORROW, TUESDAY, NOVEMEBER 13:

11:00 PM — It’s a Small World: Elementary Global Collaboration
Nancye Blair, Education Innovation Specialist & ISTE Emerging Leader
Discover powerful web resources and best practices perfect for connecting young learners around the globe. More details here.
Link to Session: https://sas.elluminate.com/d.jnlp?sid=2008350&password=GECPart101

I would love to connect with you through #GlobalEdCon this week. If you see me, please say hello! And have a great conference!
~Nancye

Today is the FETC Free Virtual Conference.  There is a great line-up of speakers and sessions, plus opportunities to connect with other educators!  To register and log-in to the sessions, visit Register or Log-in Now.

Schedule:

Uniforms are neatly hanging in bedroom closets. School supplies are flying off shelves. Yellow buses are getting reacquainted with neighborhood streets. This can only mean one thing…

It’s time to go back to school!

Of course, this is not just an exciting time for students. This is a time for us as educators to dream of educational ideals and new beginnings, to imagine the next great learning adventure. It’s a time to take a chance and try something new in order to make a difference in the lives of our students.

This week, I encourage you not to dream alone.  In the midst of the hustle and bustle of back-to-school, I encourage you to take advantage of a unique opportunity to dream alongside educators around the world through the Learning 2.0 Virtual Conference.

As part of Connected Educator Month, the Learning 2.0 Virtual Conference is “a global conversation on rethinking teaching and learning in the age of the Internet.”  From August 20-24, the conference will feature powerful interviews and keynote talks from experts like Howard Gardner, Yong Zhao, Heidi Hayes Jacobs and Sugata Mitra, as well as a diverse offering of concurrent sessions.  A full schedule of the conference can be found here.  And the best part?  Participation is free!

So, check out Learning 2.0 and join me in kicking off the new school year by building a new dream for improving student learning by harnessing the amazing technological resources of the Internet age!

CoolTECH 2011 took place at the Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI) in Tampa, FL on June 10th. It was a great event showcasing emerging technologies from throughout the bay area. I was there debuting the 3D Ladibug Document Camera and sharing the work we’ve been doing with our students using the prototype at McKeel Elementary Academy (MEA) in Lakeland, FL.

The best part? We made the news! Check out the story about MEA here:

Or you can view the full report below:

Enjoy!