After driving through a snowstorm on Sunday to get there and then getting home late Tuesday night I have had many hours in the car to reflect upon my TIES 2012 experience. Some of the ideas and resources shared there moved me to share 3 big take-aways with you.
1. As teachers, professional development has undergone a big change. Gone are the days where sitting in a class or all-day inservice is where we get our information. Professional development, especially dealing with technology, is available on-demand. Tap into resources available to you – your PLC, grade level, online communities (like Tioki or LinkedIn), read what others have to say (journals, blogs, etc.) and then when you are ready share your ideas. One of the best things I have done professionally is join Twitter. I am not the one that is usually doing the tweeting but by following professionals in my field, I have a plethora of resources at my fingertips. If you feel adventurous search for the hashtag #ties12 to see tweets from the conference.
2. “Teachers are the best apps.” – Simon Sinek My keynote on Monday was unbelievable and gave me the jump start I needed this time of the year. If you haven’t heard of Simon Sinek, take 20 minutes and watch this video.
Sinek’s message was about how even though we have technology at our fingertips, it doesn’t matter if you don’t have relationships and connections with kids. Here are some of my favorite tweets about his keynote.
-How many of your students, if asked 20 yrs from now, will remember your name. It’s not the ipad/laptop, it’s you
– School is the time you want to fail, not in life.
– Teachers don’t teach curriculum they teach students.
– Technology is good for speeding up transactions, passing out information and connecting people – not for building relationships.
– Time & energy = crucial for developing trust. Trust = required for working together.
– Supts priority should be principals, principals should be teachers, and teachers should be students. Protect those under you.
3. Our keynote on Tuesday was Dr. Tony Wagner . The focus of his keynote was about creating innovators and preparing our students for life outside our institution. I was proud to think about the work that our District is doing in college and career readiness to prepare our students. Here are some of my favorite tweets from his presentation.
– Survival skills: adaptability and initiative
– Play. Passion. Purpose.
– Learn to take intelligent risks and learn from mistakes. Can’t innovate w/o trial and error.
– Every teacher needs to be an effective coach today.
– There is no innovation without deep collaboration
– Critical thinking? The ability to ask the right questions, not get the right answers
– World cares what kids can DO with what they know. And if they’re motivated to do it
Ok.. there are way more than 3 big take-aways for me but information overload has set in. I would encourage you to check out the TIES 2012 wiki. All of the conference presentations are found here and there are technology resources for everyone.
Tales of a Tech Coach 