Two hundred educators from 35 districts and agencies around the state got a jump start on the upcoming school year by learning about new technology at the UW-Stevens Point Digital Learning JumpStart Conference on Monday, Aug. 10, sponsored by Wisconsin Technology Initiative. [Photo Gallery]
The conference provided PK-12 teachers, pre-service teachers and higher education faculty with classroom digital learning strategies in a variety of topics including video-connected classrooms, inquiry learning, apps, social media, SMART Boards, flipped learning, and Google Apps.
Session Descriptions
Cool Tools for Student Content Creation (Elementary): Help your students learn in such a way that it won’t be lost tomorrow- get them creating! Learn some powerful web 2.0 products available to help your students go beyond basic knowledge to higher level content creation to demonstrate mastery of the concepts in your classroom. Presenter: Laurie Hansen
Cool Tools for Student Content Creation (Secondary): Looking for some ideas to get students thinking outside the box? This session will focus on putting the power of creation into students hands to allow them to showcase originality and creativity in your classroom. This session will focus on students in grades 6-12 and will provide general ideas, concepts, and tools that can be incorporated and tailored into your specific subject area! The goal will be that you leave this session with something ready to use day 1 in your classroom! Presenter: Brady Mesenberg
Fun with Flipping (Elementary): In this session participants will learn the fundamentals of how to successfully flip your classroom environment. We will discuss various technology enhancements including using QR codes, video instruction, ipad apps, and more. Presenter: Ellisa Ruppert
Fun with Flipping (Secondary): In this session we will explore the “how & why” of flipping. Participants will get a chance to see a variety of options available for creating effective flipped lessons. Presenter: Jeff Mlsna
Glorious Google Apps (Secondary): Google Apps for Education provides teachers with an amazing set of tools to use for communication, collaboration and digital workflow. This session will provide examples of how secondary teachers can use these tools in their classroom. Tools discussed will include Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Forms, Chrome extensions and Chrome apps. Examples will include organizing student workflow, providing better and more frequent feedback to students, increasing productivity and techniques for online collaboration. This session is intended to provide an overview of a wide variety of ideas about using Google Apps for education. Teachers wanting more help with specific tools can get additional help and follow up practice during the Edcamp sessions. Presenter: Brian Casey
Going Green with Screens: Let’s get creative! In this session participants will learn green screening 101. This will include basic setup, various ipad apps and their usage, as well as alternative opportunities when budgets and space are limited. We will also discuss ways to incorporate this awesome technology tool into the everyday classroom curriculum. There will be a hands on component, so please do not wear green! Presenter: Ellisa Ruppert
Google Apps Meet the 4C’s (Elementary): Critical thinking, Communication, Collaboration, and Creativity. Get more out of Google Apps and Extensions by connecting them to the 4Cs of Education. We know the 4Cs have a great impact on student learning and achievement, so why not use Google’s tech tools to achieve these higher level thinking skills? You will discover great apps for collaboration, creation, critical thinking, and communication for all elementary levels K-6. Presenter: JoAnn Hudak
Increase Engagement With Live Polling: In this session participants will learn about several tools that can be used to increase student engagement. The tools can be used as a means of formative assessment, as a fun way to get students actively engaged in topic matter, to quickly assess student learning and/or a lesson’s effectiveness, as review activities, and others. The tools are accessible via almost any devices that can send/receive text messages and/or access the internet, so they are great to use in BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) classrooms. Learn more about how you can get your students actively participating in class by using these free tools. Presenter: Eric Simkins
Super SMART Boards: Increasing Interactivity: Are you using your SMART Board as a presentation screen, or have you unleashed it’s potential by truly engaging student interactivity? Discover the treasure at your fingertips found within the Gallery Toolkit of your SMART Notebook software. Explore a wide variety of activities and tools to engage your students and help their understanding grow. Presenter: Laurie Hansen
Successful Social Media: The use of social media has become ubiquitous in American society in the last several years. Almost every politician, pop star and pundit has a Twitter account and the fastest growing group on Facebook are Americans aged 65 years or older. Many educators are still unsure about whether to use social media and have questions about the professional use of this 21st century medium. This session will discuss several important questions related to the use of social media in education. What should educators consider before using social media? What is the best way to use social media to engage students, parents or other groups? How can educators use social media to learn about new and innovative teaching and share ideas and information? Specific examples of how to create accounts and use social media safely and correctly will also be discussed. Presenter: Brian Casey
Tech Enabled Classroom Management: As the price of technology has come down, more and more computers, chromebooks, and tablets are making their way into the classroom. In this session we will look at how we can utilize various tools to help manage a digital classroom. Presenter: Jeff Mlsna
Video Connected Classrooms (Elementary): Teachers around the nation and world are using the power of video to enrich their classrooms. Mystery hangouts, virtual guest speakers, virtual book buddies, and virtual field trips are just a few of the ways teachers are leveraging video in their classrooms. This session will explore the technology requirements, options, and recommendations for a video connected classroom, ideas for using video, and established virtual communities which teachers can join. Presenter: Kristi Roth
Video Connected Classrooms (Secondary): As device numbers grow in our classrooms, using video can become a powerful tool to connecting students to each other and to other parts of the world! This session will focus on the tools and resources available for free to educators to help facilitate learning and how to use video to open up learning beyond your classroom walls! Presenter: Brady Mesenberg