TCEA 2016 in review

It's been a long time since I've actually attended a conference. There, I said it. I've been to many and presented at many recently. However, I read so much in my own time that I find it hard to be surprised at a conference. And, recently, I have been presenting so I've been too fatigued to actually attend. 

This year, though, I attended. 

I wonder how many others who present actually attend. Most, like me, gain their information from their own personal learning. However, it's beneficial to not always be the one leading - to be the one following. I'm so used to leading that I find it difficult to follow and I find it difficult to sympathize - at times - with followers. But, following is necessary at times. To be a leader, you have to be a follower.

So before I sum up my highlights and learning challenges, I challenge all those stuck in the presenter circuit to attend. To take a break from leading to be a follower. I plan to do it more this year. It was refreshing even though the content was not unique. It's the act of following that is important. 

To kick off TCEA 2016, I went to the opening session of the STEM Academy. Keynotes and opening sessions are usually a lot of talk and no action. In fact, many sessions are. And, attendance in my own sessions is up when it is a lot of talk and little action. We, like our students, are trained to be receptacles of information. This needs to change.

Cindy Morris led the keynote with a fast-paced, high energy talk. She gave us about 20 seconds to turn to a partner to talk. Though, in a large room, this is a reluctant task. Again, we are trained receptacles. I argue that more sessions need to be structured in a maker format - more around creation. 

That said, I left with a confirmation. It was not necessarily anything new, but it was confirmation of my beliefs. 

My favorite take-aways included: 

STEM Academy Opening Session: Using technology to engage students in problem solving

• Cindy Moss - @stemboss, Cindy_moss@discovery.com
• STEM is a culture, not a class
• It’s for ALL kids
• 70% of hs graduates wouldn’t qualify with lowest level of military b/c lack problem solving skills - says it’s a matter of national security
• Every 18 seconds, some student drops out of hs
• Banks hire 90% math majors & would hire 3 times as many if they could find them
• Stemconnector.org - sign up for Stem Daily
• 768,000 new stem jobs in Texas by 2018 - must get kids ready for this
• Change the equation - sign up for this email in organization
• 75% of all jobs will be 75% stem in a few years
• Many stem jobs you can get with little to no college jobs
• Graduating with a ton of debt does no one any good
• We need to be honest with kids about the job market
• Kids aren’t afraid of STEM - teachers are, but we need to help them not be
• Don’t pass on fears of math & science to kids
• Be a STEMINIST! - Girls should have opportunity to go into STEM
• Project STEM - by Duke university
• STEM is one of few industries where women make as much as men
• DOUBLE # of girls in STEM!!!!

• Students make decision to go in math & science by 6th grade
• You can’t be what you can’t see - why Google Cardboard is so great - show kids jobs they aren’t seeing
• STEM jobs are changing - 71% of jobs that need to be filled are in STEM, million jobs open in US because we can’t fill those jobs
• Behind music services is a whole bunch of statisticians - making at least 80,000/year
• Algorithms - developing these for companies - makes a lot of $$
• We need 80 hours of high quality, ongoing PD over two years - most fields have this
• We need 160 hours of high quality, ongoing PD over three years to change culture
• 4Cs - we need to teach these!!
• STEMformation Continuation - standards!
• We need these under a transdiscplinary theme - we don’t say we’re doing 2 hours of literacy, 2 hours of math, etc.
• FAIL - first attempt in learning
• Angry Birds creator - took 10,000 tries to get it!
• Reading like a scientist
• Give kids problems to solve & make them figure it out
• STEMtastic Staturday - play being a Stem person
• discoveryeducation.com/STEM - a whole lot of free resources - STEM Camp
• The more diverse the people solving the problem, the more robust the solution

The Making of a Makerspace

• Jason Harron - @jrharmon - jasonharron@utexas.edu
• Maker movement started around 20016 - with idea that we are all makers
• White House supports
• Bill passed by colleges & school educators calling for need in K-12 education
• 1200+ hacker/makerspaces around US
• The 4Cs are what we want- these are the qualities we want in all professions
• Tortillas/Cookies under laser printer to engrave thigns
• Montessori schools - hands on -
• Constructionism - different than constructivism - final product you can see, hear, touch - and learning is physical in world
• New UT building has 10,000 sq. ft. of maker spaces available
• ATX hackerspace - has full car lift
• TechShop
• Agencybydesign.org - design thinking principal - broke it down into four steps - maybe use this for maker class
• FabLearn conference - held Oct. 14-16 - need to attend! - buff.ly/1RGcyZI
• SX Create - Mar. 11-13 - Maker aspect of SXSWedu - don’t need SXSW wrist band & it’s free!!! At Palmer Events Center
• Go beyond banana piano
• Use Arduino to code teddy bears
• Drimmel tools - more child-safe, Skill also has tools for lighter materials with guards

Leading Innovative Change

• George Couros - @gcouros
• Innovation - invention or iteration - something totally new or a reiteration of something existing
• We expect innovation in everything outside of what we work in
• What innovation is and isn’t
• What is it actually changing vs. changing for changes sake
• Taking out candy of vending machines & replacing it with good stuff is not innovation
• Saying that kids will figure it out is not always right - not all are proficient so - do need an adult guidance and the longer you wait the more afraid you’ll get - “the suspense at the top is what freaks you out”
• Don’t fit people into job titles - find great people & give them titles
• Competitive collaboration
• We’re missing notion of competition - no one wants to be the weakest, but someone always is
• We push each other to get better, though
• We don’t want “mind your own business learning.” We want to ask - what is tech allowing us to do that we couldn’t do before - we must collaborate
• 5 elements of leadership
• Strength-based leadership
• Best people to teach this are these passionate educators - and have them go to places they love
• Powerful learning first, technology second
• Business vs. Education - don’t base what we use vs. what makes sense for business. For instance, don’t use Office 365 just because the IT dept. feels comfortable with it
• Ask - what is best for kids, how does this improve learning, if we were to do ----, what is the balance of risk vs. reward, is this serving the few or the majority.
• Power is about what you can control, freedom is about what you can unleash - our jobs as teachers is to get others to unleash
• Creating meaningful learning
• Teachers should be responsible for their own learning now
• To innovate, disrupt your routine
• How do yo move people from their point a to their point b
• How do you disrupt the routine of other
• Stop giving meanings with handouts - if they say they have to use paper, show them how to print
• Less is more - paradox of choice - TED talk to walk - a lot of people can’t make choices
• Literate - adaptive - trans-formative
• Focus on just a few and know them inside out
• Move to meaningful creation
• Embrace an open culture
• When kids leave school, they should be well-Googled - you need to develop your Google footprint
• We live in a world where everyone can have a voice - but how are we using it
• We are data-driven - but need to think about - what are we really good at and why
• I think, I question, I design, I create, I struggle, I collaborate, I try, I solve, I invent, I reflect, I LEARN
• You can’t ignore change-makers - they push human race forward. The crazy ones...

#YourEduStory: Who/what was most unexpected inspiration ?

This week's topic: Who or what was one of your most unexpected inspirations for the work you do with kids?

I love that kids are paired with the word inspiration in this week's topic. In the field of edtech, we are all extremely passionate. We are the yes-sayers. As a result, credit often goes to those of us in the field for advances and inspiration that happen. And, there is no denying that we all are inspiring, we we were initially inspired by someone else. That is where we need to focus. 

I write this while I am at #iste2015. I am surrounded by educators from all over the field, all over the world. Many of which have become celebrities in this field for obvious reasons. However, it is critical to remember we may be innovators, but we are not always the inspire-rs. We would not be effective if we did not have the "followers," or the inspire-rs. So, while the credit is worthy, it is not wholly attributed to the edtech profession. It is because of students. 

Let us celebrate the students and the educators who implement our ideas. The "followers." Without them, innovation would not occur. When you return from ISTE or your summer conferences, remember the real celebrities: students. 

Last year, my librarians and I teamed together for teen tech week. The focus was on hacker movements. It's no surprise now that it is my focus. Making and hacking and girls in STEAM are now my passions. They have evolved and I attribute it all to a student. 

During our hackathon last year, we only had a few students come. One of those was a girl. And, at the time, we were a little disappointed by the numbers. But, after the week was over, this one girl came to us and said she wanted to start a branch of Girls Who Code at our school. She head this passion for a while, but this event cemented her ideas. Sadly, we are not allowed to have any exclusionary clubs at our school - and girls only clubs fit that category - unless they are part of a branch. So, in came Girls Who Code. 

After that week, this girl took the lead. She helped me start our student tech club, Warrior Tech, and represented the one girl in that club as well. She gave me the idea to do student-led PD for teachers. She gave me the idea to run a BYOD table. She came to speak to our teachers. She encouraged me to bring in other student speakers. In fact, she was the inspiration behind my passions. 

When I reflect on last year and my goals for the future, I have her to thank. Right now, I am getting the credit, but it is not because of me. It is because of her. 

As you finish out the summer, think about the whos and whats that inspired you. Who do you have to thank? Get excited by others ideas, but always ask who inspired them. That is who you must thank. 

What's a 1 in 3, #iste2015? And, why should you attend?

Today, I got to take part in the inaugural ISTE 1 in 3 talk. And, by take part, I mean present. And, by present, I mean be the very first presenter ever of the ISTE 1 in 3 talks. I can't say that the little tidbit did not add to my already-increasing nerves. However, that's not what this post is about. This is about why you should attend them and why you should try these for staff development and future conferences.

Here's what's great: you only have three minutes, which means you get to hear a lot of really inspiring stuff and, if you don't enjoy one, it's only three minutes!

Here's how it works: Each person has a set of slides they have created. There is no restraint to the slides. You can have as few or as many as you want. The catch: you have to say it all in 3 minutes. After 3 minutes, your mic is cut off and your half of the stage goes dark. If you are in mid-sentence, you end in mid-sentence. Meanwhile, the next person immediately begins their presentation from the other half of the stage. The presentations continue alternating on different halves of the stage until the end. The countdown clock starts immediately once the previous presentation is done.

It is intense as a presenter. It also allows you to focus on the gist. It's a great practice for students. Imagine if you had to cut your students down to these? Though I often struggled to get my students to use 3 minutes, I think I could win them over in this format. The focus is on the content and the delivery.

This would also be a great closing/opening session at any conference or professional development. You could even shorten it to 60-seconds. Similar to an elevator pitch, you could have participants share their stories/sessions in 60 seconds in order to win over audience members to their sessions.

The possibilities are numerous.  Having delivered both an Ignite and a 1 in 3, they are different in nature. A 1 in 3 is an inspirational idea. An Ignite can be that, but often it is also a topic of controversy meant to spark/ignite the audience.

There are still two more rounds of 1 in 3s so make sure you attend! You won't be disappointed!

#tceatots - Chrome for K-5!

Sadly, due to some "fun" plane adventures, I ended up spending the night in the airport so I had to cancel my session on creativity in Chrome. However, it is available here for those who want to check out the resources.

Tomorrow, I'm presenting on Secrets of a Google Ninja: Social Studies Ninja. These are the tips, tricks, and tools Google offers that are competely free and perfect for your Social Studies classroom. I hope to see you there @1PM!

Enjoy!

#gegct summit tomorrow! #appsu

I am excited to be part of an awesome group of presenters tomorrow and Sunday at the Apps University Summit in Connecticut! In case you miss the resources, you can catch my three sessions here:

Making Google Sites...Beautiful:



Let's Get Chromified:


Google Apps Hacked:


Enjoy and register before tomorrow!