#blc14

Empower students by providing the powerful online tools that can help them with their assignments. Have students submit reflective self-assessment prior to making a submission, then give them meaningful AUDIO feedback for their submissions. This tends to be more reinforcing #benice! Empower students to make thinking more visible by using many different media for creation. Connect your students and their creations to the global audiences.

For an online course, create Twitter lists to connect course participants. Using a # provides some glue for the course and also allows users to sift. Google communities and hangouts offer the ability to interact. Blogging promotes reflection for all learners.

Following another class can facilitate discussion. Asking questions can facilitate further dialogue. Twitter can be a gateway tool that leads to further connection.

#BLC14 Friday Keynote by Alec Couros

Connectivity and augmented reality are “real life” for the students we teach; we need to value it appropriately—it needs to be integrated into EVERYTHING we do in the classroom! And for everything we do in the classroom, audience affects voice. Teachers should move from being digital visitors to digital residents. Make learning visible digitally. If everyone is respectful of digital citizenship, we can make the networked world a good place #benice!

Teachers need choice in PD, just as students need choice in their learning; this trend reflects our 2013-14 PPD—PERSONALIZED professional development #SJArocks!

Leadership includes “flipping the test”! This has worked for me for the past two years, but I like the added insight that comes with testing twice, making both tries count. Instead of automating; we should be “infomating,” according to Alan November. Teach teachers to design problems that cannot be solved by Google or Wolframalpha! #criticalthinking Teach students how to build their own PLNs to support their love for learning #geniushour!

Formerly distance learning, with technology (such as Office365!) online learning is much more accessible and personal. The face-to-face connection is important. With digital tools, there is a difference between complexity and unfamiliarity.