Finally, I have a moment to write about my own experience in presenting at RSCON3. What astonishes me in this whole process of being invited to speak is the speed with which this happened. In December of 2010, I began blogging to document the transformation of my teaching practice. By January I was on twitter; by February I had become an active, if small, voice in the global discussion on education through social media. By April my class was working with Ian, Esa and Cynthia to design an app and by June I had agreed to speak at a global econference.
I must thank Ian and Shelley for inviting and encouraging me to present. I had never done anything like this previously and it was a valuable learning experience that has not yet ended. It caused me to step out of my comfort zone - the way I ask my students to do every day. I had fun! I also have to thank the organizers who gave their time so generously in creating this event. They can be found here: http://reformsymposium.com/conferences/rscon3/rscon3-organizers/
Aviva Dunsinger, who moderated my session, did an excellent job and I am very appreciative that she gave her time to assist me. My goal for the next RSCON is to be a moderator - to help someone else have a successful presentation. Thanks also to those who took time on a weekend to be at my presentation. I have to say that it was a relief that anyone actually showed up!
I can't thank Ian, Esa and Cynthia enough for inviting my class to be part of the app project. This is by far the best learning experience I have ever participated in with students.
So, what is my presentation about? How we created an app? Definitely! How you can do this with your class too? Absolutely! Most of all it is about what I have come to call Real World Learning: how with access to social media, teachers no longer have to invent projects that mimic the real world, instead students can work directly with experts to create things that have real applications.
The big reveal of the app is included. See what it looks like! And see where this project is going next.
Here it is: https://sas.elluminate.com/site/external/jwsdetect/playback.jnlp?psid=2011-07-31.0430.M.CA7A0FC7567598A3A18D8899332A78.vcr&sid=2008350
I must thank Ian and Shelley for inviting and encouraging me to present. I had never done anything like this previously and it was a valuable learning experience that has not yet ended. It caused me to step out of my comfort zone - the way I ask my students to do every day. I had fun! I also have to thank the organizers who gave their time so generously in creating this event. They can be found here: http://reformsymposium.com/conferences/rscon3/rscon3-organizers/
Aviva Dunsinger, who moderated my session, did an excellent job and I am very appreciative that she gave her time to assist me. My goal for the next RSCON is to be a moderator - to help someone else have a successful presentation. Thanks also to those who took time on a weekend to be at my presentation. I have to say that it was a relief that anyone actually showed up!
I can't thank Ian, Esa and Cynthia enough for inviting my class to be part of the app project. This is by far the best learning experience I have ever participated in with students.
So, what is my presentation about? How we created an app? Definitely! How you can do this with your class too? Absolutely! Most of all it is about what I have come to call Real World Learning: how with access to social media, teachers no longer have to invent projects that mimic the real world, instead students can work directly with experts to create things that have real applications.
The big reveal of the app is included. See what it looks like! And see where this project is going next.
Here it is: https://sas.elluminate.com/site/external/jwsdetect/playback.jnlp?psid=2011-07-31.0430.M.CA7A0FC7567598A3A18D8899332A78.vcr&sid=2008350
Very cool ! and inspiring. I've been down the "app creation" path a number of times and it is a great journey. Congrats to you, Ian, Essa and Cynthia !
ReplyDeleteI also had the chance to moderate this time and almost enjoyed it more than presenting. It was great to be able to make a presentation just a bit smoother for someone and then also "get the crowd" involved and really make it a great experience for all.
Off 2 check out your presentation ! Cheers, Brad
Hi Brad,
ReplyDeleteThanks for taking the time to comment. What apps did your classes create?
I can see why you would have enjoyed moderating, you seem to engage people on twitter very readily. I am looking forward to contributing to Reform Symposium in this way.
I actually have collaborated with a number of professional programmers to develop a number of apps. The most recent one is SnaPanda, the 21st century dictionary for Android.
ReplyDeleteLoved watching your presentation--- the Real World Learning slide was powerful. So many good directions and it must be very rewarding for the students !
Cheers, b
Any way to get to see the presentation outside of blackboard? Sounds great.
ReplyDeleteBrad, I'll have to look for it. Thanks for your kind words about my presentation.
ReplyDeleteRiku, it is going to be available on You Tube and as part of the rscon3 app I believe. I'll tweet when it's available.
I've got a video recording that I need to edit to put on the RSCON YouTube and Vimeo channels. I'll drop a comment back on this thread when it's done.
ReplyDeleteAlso, if people are interested in learning more, there's the roadmap of where we are aiming to be later this year:
http://iliveoverhere.com/roadmap
and the general wiki:
http://iliveoverhere.com/wiki
We are very interested in making this useful, so are very open to different educators perspectives everywhere.
Please email me (details on the wiki) if you'd like to be added to the wiki for additional comments. I'm writing up a post on my blog which would welcome educator's insights and perspectives on how this may work with your own contexts.
Best,
- Ian
One thing I do want to add, since Heidi is very gracious about our involvement - my other collaborators (Esa Helttula @idevbooks on twitter and Cynthia Jabar @cynthiajabar on twitter) are also deeply grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with Heidi and her wonderful class of learners. We learnt a great deal from them as well about the challenges of making something useful as a learning platform. They are an intrepid group of collaborators and co-creators. The project would not be where it is now, and as rich and interesting without their enthusiasm, artistry and commitment in taking a road less travelled.
ReplyDeleteAll the best,
- Ian