Professional Development

These are some sample workshops that I have conducted in the past, but this is not a complete list. Contact me to discuss other session ideas that you may have. Some of the topics can also be conducted remotely via skype as needed.

Awareness Sessions

(Not hands-on sessions. Meant to raise awareness and generate interest. Max time = 2 - 2.5 hours)

• This Changes Everything

  • In this presentation I point to a variety of web tools that, when used in a thoughtful, meaningful way can dramatically and immediately change how kids work with our content. I’m constantly updating this to reflect the latest tools and data that support their use. This is a good workshop to get your teachers excited about the many tools and applications on the web that change everything.
    

• What Does Digital/Information Literacy Look like?
  

  • The term is used frequently when speaking about the kinds of skills that students and teachers should have in order to access and manage the resources on the web. It's much more than a basic search. It's about knowing copyright laws, effective researching skills and managing those resources, leveraging RSS to bring information to you, interpreting data, and having a truly global perspective. It's about document management. It's knowing how to efficiently find the information you want online and how to manage what you find. It's knowing how to share it and discuss it with others. It's knowing where to get images and music for your projects. And, it's knowing how to present that information in meaningful ways. There's more to consider, too. We'll examine those ideas and others. All in all, we'll be describing what could be the course outline for your school's required computer class.

• The 21st Century Social Studies Class

  • Imagine a Social Studies class where both students and the teacher collected, shared, and commented on articles on the web. And, imagine the teacher having a site where current events articles were collected automatically. Add to that scenario a place for students to carry on discussions after school hours, a way for students to effectively collaborate with other students from (potentially) around the world and the means for students to understand the world perspective on the news. Finally, imagine a social studies class where the student projects did NOT involve PowerPoint. We'll set up such a class right in front of your eyes.
    

• What Changes in a One-to-One Environment?

  • When students are each given a laptop, everything changes. Or at least it should. The kinds of assignments teachers can give change. The kinds of projects we ask the students to create change. The way a classroom functions changes. If they don't change, then you'll be doing what you always did - only now you're doing it with a lot of computers. You can't expect different results, in that case. This session will examine many of the ways that  your school will change when you go One-to-One.

• Developing a Personal Learning Network

  • After first defining a PLN, I use a series of free web tools to connect myself to other professionals from around the world, thus building a network of learners with whom I share my passion for education. Designed to show the power of the tools as personal professional development.

• Top Ten Skills Every Teacher and Student Should Have

  • In this session I show a series of skills from information management skills to personal computing skills that I think are “must-have” skills for today’s learners.
  
  

Hands-on Sessions

(Can either be half or full day workshops)

• Moodle Training

  • This works best when offered over two days. In this workshop we'll learn how to add Resources, Activities, Groups, Assignment Types, Blocks, Glossarys and much more to a Moodle class. Host site must provide the Moodle server and accounts. I can supply a sample Moodle course for all to use.

• Getting Started with Blogs and Wikis

  • In this workshop we not only set up a blog and a wiki account, but we review some outstanding examples of their uses. These two tools, I believe, have the most potential to dramatically engage students. We’re not using the tools for the sake of the tools, we use them for what they do for our student’s learning.

• Making Your Homepage Work for You — Intro to RSS

  • In this session we learn about RSS and then set up an aggregator to collect the information you want and have it serve as your home page. A nice way to learn about RSS and what it brings to a class.

• Intermediate Internet for Teachers

  • You have to have something that says ‘Intermediate’, you know, so this is it. In this class we’ll assume that all attendees know the basics of the Internet. Once that’s established we’ll move on to topics such as understanding urls, advanced searching, managing bookmarks, RSS and aggregators, tools to help overcome hurdles to classroom restrictions, and much more.

• Google Earth in the Classroom

  • This session is for those who are only somewhat familiar with Google Earth. Here, we will learn to use the many tools in the program (like the measuring tools, for example), create virtual tours, learn the keyboard controls, and even find wonderful websites that help us learn about the many uses of the tool. This is best done in a half-day session. Small class sizes are important due to the resource demands of the program. Larger class sizes will have to double up on the computers.

• Alternatives to PowerPoint

  • The web is packed with sites that allow users to create excellent presentations, complete with voiceovers, and then embed them onto web pages. These sites are perfect for digital story telling projects, lessons, and just plain PowerPoint alternatives. We’ll also show some ways of getting around the email requirements for creating accounts.

• Google Docs for the Classroom

  • This works best as a full day session, although we can modify it into a half day if necessary. Users will create an account and learn the basics of using Google Docs, from word processing to Spreadsheets and presentations. We’ll see how to share documents, keep alerted to changes, and even how to mange the documents. In the second half of the day we’ll learn how to embed files, create and embed forms, and how to present with the presentation tool and the chat feature. The focus will also be on how the tools change the classroom dynamics.

• Survey of Google Tools
  

  • This, too, works best as a full day session. We look at many of the tools from Google, from collaborating on Google Maps to sharing Google Calendars. We set up a Google Reader account and subscribe to RSS feeds. We look at the Google Scholar, custom web searches, Google news, and much more. This session is designed to assist the teachers in their understanding of how the tools work as well as how they can be used with students to facilitate powerful learning opportunities.

Keynote Speaker

I am available to give "Keynote" addresses on any of the subjects listed above. I make every effort to deliver my presentation so that my audience will leave excited about integrating technology in their classrooms. I strive to get them to understand the nature of the changes that are happening online, and how those changes impact teaching and learning.

Return On Investment Evaluations

Imagine a school where students and teachers are effectively finding, managing and sharing their online resources and appropriately using copyright friendly media. Imagine a school where students and teachers are using 21^st Century skills to analyze, create, and collaborate.

My goal is to help school districts create real 21^st century learning environments for their students.

I will work with districts to:

• evaluate existing understanding and uses of technology by the staff, focusing on the return on investment (ROI) with regard to teaching and learning
• consider how technology can help address areas of concern in the PSSA tests
• examine current technology offerings in their Professional Development plan
• assess how current use of technology addresses ISTE NETS standards for students, teachers and administrators
• analyze how current uses of technology can better support the district in its efforts to implement PA's Standards Aligned Systems (SAS)
• suggest ways to help administrators recognize the many possibilities that current technology provides for deepening student learning

Based on evaluation of the above, I will suggest a workable, sustainable plan that meets the goals and objectives of the district. Contact me for more information about how my services fit your goals and needs.