Journeys with Learning

K-12 Online was one of my most powerful professional learning  opportunities last year. I would enourage all our teachers to participate in this years conference.

Announcing
the second annual “K12 Online” conference for teachers, administrators
and educators around the world interested in the use of Web 2.0 tools
in classrooms and professional practice! This year’s conference is
scheduled to be held over two weeks, October 15-19 and October 22-26 of
2007, and will include a preconference keynote during the week of
October 8.

OVERVIEW:

There will be four “conference strands”– two each week. Two
presentations will be published in each strand each day, Monday -
Friday, so four new presentations will be available each day over the
course of the two-weeks. Each presentation will be given in any of a
variety of downloadable, web based formats and released via the
conference blog (www.k12onlineconference.org) and archived for posterity.

FOUR STRANDS:

Strand A: Classroom 2.0

Leveraging the power of free online tools in an open, collaborative and
transparent atmosphere characterises teaching and learning in the 21st
century. Teachers and students are contributing to the growing global
knowledge commons by publishing their work online. By sharing all
stages of their learning students are beginning to appreciate the value
of life long learning that inheres in work that is in “perpetual beta.”
This strand will explore how teachers and students are playing with the
boundaries between instructors, learners and classrooms. Presentations
will also explore the practical pedagogical uses of online social tools
(Web 2.0) giving concrete examples of how teachers are using the tools
in their classes.

Strand B: New Tools

Focusing
on free tools, what are the “nuts and bolts” of using specific new
social media and collaborative tools for learning? This strand includes
two parts. Basic training is “how to” information on tool use in an
educational setting, especially for newcomers. Advanced training is for
teachers interested in new tools for learning, looking for advanced
technology training, seeking ideas for mashing tools together, and
interested in web 2.0 assessment tools. As educators and students of
all ages push the boundaries of learning, what are the specific steps
for using new tools most effectively? Where “Classroom 2.0″
presentations will focus on instructional uses and examples of web 2.0
tool use, “New Tools” presentations should focus on “nuts and bolts”
instructions for using tools. Five “basic” and five “advanced”
presentations will be included in this strand.

Week 2

Strand A: Professional Learning Networks

Research says that professional development is most effective when it
aims to create professional learning communities — places where
teachers learn and work together. Using Web 2.0 tools educators can
network with others around the globe extending traditional boundaries
of ongoing, learner centered professional development and support.
Presentations in this strand will include tips, ideas and resources on
how to orchestrate your own professional development online; concrete
examples of how the tools that support Professional Learning
Environments (PLEs) are being used; how to create a supportive,
reflective virtual learning community around school-based goals, and
trends toward teacher directed personal learning environments.

Strand B: Obstacles to Opportunities

Boundaries formalized by education in the “industrial age” shouldn’t
hinder educators as they seek to reform and transform their classroom
practice. Playing with boundaries in the areas of copyright, digital
discipline and ethics (e.g. cyberbullying), collaborating globally
(e.g. cultural differences, synchronous communication), resistance to
change (e.g. administration, teachers, students), school culture (e.g.
high stakes testing), time (e.g. in curriculum, teacher day), lack of
access to tools/computers, filtering, parental/district concerns for
online safety, control (e.g. teacher control of student
behavior/learning), solutions for IT collaboration and more —
unearthing opportunities from the obstacles rooted in those boundaries
— is the focus of presentations in this strand.

CALL FOR PROPOSALS:

This call encourages all, experienced and novice, to submit proposals to present at this conference via this link.
Take this opportunity to share your successes, strategies, and tips in
“playing with boundaries” in one of the four strands as described above.

Deadline for proposal submissions is June 18, 2007. You will be contacted no later than June 30, 2007 regarding your status.

Presentations may be delivered in any web-based medium that is
downloadable (including but not limited to podcasts, screencasts, slide
shows) and is due one week prior to the date it is published.

Please note that all presentations will be licensed Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported.

As you draft your proposal, you may wish to consider the presentation topics listed below which were suggested in the comments on the K-12 Online Conference Blog:

• » special needs education
• » Creative Commons
• » Second Life
• » podcasting
• » iPods
• » video games in education
• » specific ideas, tips, mini lessons centered on pedagogical use of web 2.0 tools
• » overcoming institutional inertia and resistance
• » aligning Web 2.0 and other projects to national standards
• » getting your message across
• » how web 2.0 can assist those with disabilities
• » ePortfolios
• » classroom 2.0 activities at the elementary level
• » creating video for TeacherTube and YouTube
• » google docs
• » teacher/peer collaboration

KEYNOTES:

The first presentation in each strand will kick off with a keynote by a
well known educator who is distinguished and knowledgeable in the
context of their strand. Keynoters will be announced shortly.

CONVENERS:

This year’s conveners are:

Darren Kuropatwa is currently Department Head of
Mathematics at Daniel Collegiate Institute in Winnipeg, Manitoba,
Canada. He is known internationally for his ability to weave the use of
online social tools meaningfully and concretely into his pedagogical
practice and for “child safe” blogging practices. He has more than 20
years experience in both formal and informal education and 13 years
experience in team building and leadership training. Darren has been
facilitating workshops for educators in groups of 4 to 300 for the last
10 years. Darren’s professional blog is called A Difference (http://adifference.blogspot.com). He will convene Classroom 2.0.

Sheryl Nusbaum-Beach, a 20-year educator, has been
a classroom teacher, charter school principal, district administrator,
and digital learning consultant. She currently serves as an adjunct
faculty member teaching graduate and undergraduate preservice teachers
at The College of William and Mary (Virginia, USA), where she is also
completing her doctorate in educational planning, policy and
leadership. In addition, Sheryl is co-leading a statewide 21st Century
Skills initiative in the state of Alabama, funded by a major grant from
the Microsoft Partners in Learning program. Sheryl blogs at (http://21stcenturylearning.typepad.com/blog/). She will convene Preconference Discussions and Personal Learning Networks.

Wesley Fryer is an educator, author, digital
storyteller and change agent. With respect to school change, he
describes himself as a “catalyst for creative educational engagement.”
His blog, “Moving at the Speed of Creativity” was selected as the 2006
“Best Learning Theory Blog” by eSchoolnews and Discovery Education. He
is the Director of Education Advocacy (PK-20) for AT&T in the state
of Oklahoma. Wes blogs at (http://www.speedofcreativity.org). Wes will convene New Tools.

Lani Ritter Hall currently contracts as an
instructional designer for online professional development for Ohio
teachers and online student courses with eTech Ohio. She is a National
Board Certified Teacher who served in many capacities during her 35
years as a classroom and resource teacher in Ohio and Canada. Lani
blogs at (http://possibilitiesabound.blogspot.com). Lani will convene Obstacles to Opportunities.

QUESTIONS?

If you have any questions about any part of this, email one of us:

• » Darren Kuropatwa: dkuropatwa {at} gmail {dot} com
• » Sheryl Nusbaum-Beach: snbeach {at} cox {dot} net
• » Lani Ritter Hall: lanihall {at} alltel {dot} net
• » Wesley Fryer: wesfryer {at} pobox {dot} com

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really like people to do that ) or link back to this post (published simultaneously on all our blogs).

Conference Tag: K12online07

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