Unleashing the Potential is the theme of a new virtual conference called K12 Online 2006. Being organised exclusively on the net, presentations can be accessed by anyone around the world interested in using new technologies in their teaching. Sessions will have particular emphasis on Web 2.0 tools such as blogs, podcasts, wikis and social bookmarking and will be aimed at teachers of K12 pupils (equivalent to 5-18 yr olds in the UK).
The conference runs over a two week period from October 23rd to November 3rd and includes these four strands:
Week 1
Strand A: A Week In The Classroom
These presentations will focus on the practical pedagogical uses of online social tools (Web 2.0) giving concrete examples of how teachers are using the tools in their classes. They will also show how teachers plan for using these tools in the delivery of their curricular objectives.
Strand B: Basic/Advanced Training (one of each per day)
Basic training is “how to” information on tool use in an educational setting, especially for newcomers.
Advanced training is for teachers who have already started using Web 2.0 tools in their classes and are looking for: (a) advanced technology training (eg. how to write your own blog template or hack existing ones), (b) new tools they can make use of in their classes, (c) teaching ideas on how to mash tools together to create “something new,” (d) a pedagogical understanding of how technologies such as Weblogs, wikis, podcasts, social bookmarking sites, RSS feeds and others can deepen learning and increase student achievement, or (e) use of assessment tools to measure the effectiveness of Read/Write Web technologies in their personal practice and with their students.
Week 2
Strand A: Personal Professional Development
Tips, ideas and resources on how to orchestrate your own professional development online; the tools that support Professional Learning Environments (PLEs); how to create opportunities to bring these technologies to the larger school community; how to effectively incorporate the tools into your personal or professional practice; or how to create a supportive, reflective virtual professional community around school-based goals.
Strand B: Overcoming Obstacles
Tips, ideas and resources on how to deal with issues like: lack of access to tools/computers, filtering, parental/district concerns for online safety, and other IT concerns while trying to focus on best practice in the use of Web 2.0 tools.
The speakers include:
- Darren Kuropatwa
- Bud Hunt
- Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach
- Will Richardson
- Ewan McIntosh
- Anne Davis
The presentations will be made available as podcasts and screencasts on the conference blog (URL tbc) and then archived for prosperity.
The organisers Darren Kuropatwa, Sheryl Nusbaum-Beach and Will Richardson are interested into hearing from new or experienced bloggers who would like to share their ideas and present sessions at the conference. You can email them with suggestions by clicking on their individual names. For more details about individual speakers and general information about the convention, go to Will Richardson's blog weblogg-ed - the read/write web in the classroom and say hello.
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