New Year New Learning at @ETFOnews ICT TechnologyConference @JimCarleton

Last week ETFO (Elementary Teacher Federation of Ontario) hosted

their second conference so Ontario educators could connect and learn from each other about ways to integrate technology in meaningful ways. I had the opportunity to teach a 2 hour session about GAFE (Google Apps for Beginners) which was well received but the best part of the day was when I got to be the learner.  I had the chance to participate in two workshops. 

Although I am considered a tech leader in my school district I am always looking for more ways to meet the needs of students. 

My first workshop presented by @JimCarleton was about ways to make authentic global connections using two different but interconnected organizations.  I had heard about My Hero project (http://myhero.com/) but I had never had a chance to play with it and think how it might be used in class.  It has been around for awhile but I think our teachers are ready for another visit.  I thought of many ways we could incorporate it into our inquiry and deep learning initiatives. I can't wait to show a class how they might use this site to enhance their students' writing and digital citizenship.  I also joined IEARN  (http://collaborate.iearn.org/) that day and did not realize how many interesting projects were available. 

My second workshop that day was about the program Scratch http://scratch.mit.eduMark Johnston (http://mrjohnston.ca)  led us through the program and helped me to frame how it might be used in classes.  I am working with a class who has created many Scratch projects and I think we might be able to use some of these program on smaller simple computers.  I learned how detailed the programming can become just to make a simple event!  I see now how students have to think logically to communicate their ideas clearly.

I went home exhausted as I again had filled my brain with more great ideas!  I also felt that I had consolidated some of my learning around technology in the classroom.  I have had the opportunity to instruct twice in the last year as part of ETFO's professional growth programs.  Every time I get to teach colleagues I learn even more about my own practice and gain expertise.  Participating in ETFO funded events has furthered my practice and has added to my professional learning network.