Conversations

During each of the six breakout sessions throughout the weekend, a large number of conversations will take place. This site will help you organize your plan for the weekend and provide the relevant information for each conversation. After signing in, search through the conversations below and mark the sessions you are interested in to populate your personal schedule on the right (or below if on your mobile phone).

Building the 21st Century School: Adopting a Habit of Innovation

Session 1
Mary Moss, Alisa Berger

The purpose of this session is to share how the NYCiSchool is rethinking time, human capital, curriculum, and culture in order to create a successful 21st century learning model and to help other school leaders think about how they might utilize these levers of change to transform their own schools.

Constructionism from Top to Bottom

Session 1
Gary S. Stager

Incrementalism is the enemy of school improvement. Those concerned with creating productive contexts for learning must be willing to change everything. This presentation addresses the setting, curricular concept and pedagogical practices required to amplify the potential of project-based learning. Constructionism provides authentic non-coercive principles for educating learners of all ages.

Developing Portfolios as Artifacts of Understanding

Session 1
Claudia Loewenstein, Trevor Worcester, Chris Bigenho

Assessment seems to be the word of the day, but how do you assess understanding? We know how to test for knowledge, but how do you capture proficiency? This session explores three general forms of digital portfolios with an emphasis on capturing and archiving artifacts of understanding.

Free-Range Media = Free-Range Learning Innovation

Session 1
Joyce Valenza, Lisa Nielsen, Shannon Miller (Skype), Michelle Luhtala, Michael DeMattia

What happens to learning in a free-range media environment where students are empowered to use the technology they own and access the internet available in the real world? How does it impact the way students and teachers think, create, communicate, and collaborate? Does it foster curiosity? How would we know? Conversation facilitators will encourage participants to exchange ideas on integrating mainstream social media and student-owned devices into teaching and learning as a strategy to promote 21st century teaching and learning.

How to host a TEDx Youthday Event

Session 1
Larry Kahn

Hosting a TEDxYouthday event is a terrific way to bring an experiential, connected, and authentic learning project to your students. In this conversation we will share ideas with colleagues from other schools who either have hosted a TEDx event or wish to learn more about how to host one.

Integrating Math and Science in Your Classroom

Session 1
Rosalind Echols, Matthew VanKouwenberg

This is a workshop to help us create an inquiry driven curriculum that integrates math and science into your classroom. We will examine case studies of projects and then design more projects that will not only satisfy your administrators, but will also get your students engaged in higher order thinking.

Learning Environments: Rethinking K-12 Communication and Collaboration

Session 1
David Bill, Ethan Bodnar

What is the future of our learning environments and what will be the necessary methods of communication and collaboration? This conversation will explore this question by uncovering some essential questions as well as using our collective expertise to identify some strategies that can be implement to improve communication and collaboration in our schools.

Motivating Students with Digital Magic

Session 1
Howie DiBlasi

Create strategies for motivating students to engage in learning using Web 2.0 tools. Enhance the value of your classroom. Explore curriculum pathways; utilize media devices; motivate students with Digital Magic.

Searching for DaVinci

Session 1
Kelly Tenkely, Michelle Baldwin, Anastasis Academy Faculty

True learners are multidimensional; they are passionately curious about the world around them. Leonardo da Vinci was the quintessential example of a Renaissance man. Scientist, inventor, painter, sculptor, architect, cartographer, mathematician- the list goes on. Is your classroom currently set up to foster the da Vinci's of the world?

What If?

Session 1
David Jakes

Changing the language of interaction is a necessary step towards developing a language that can support change and improvement. Together, well focus on the power of What If as a simple way to reframe how an individuals and schools can initiate positive, actionable change.

What's Your Problem?! Designing Curricula for Problem Seeking

Session 1
James Lerman & Jeremy Angoff

Explore three pilot projects focused on developing student problem seeking in elementary, secondary, and university settings. Experience a hands-on exercise for problem seeking, review and discuss various approaches to engaging students in problem seeking, examine tools, and share ideas about the connections of problem solving with leadership, learning, and schools.

#chats and #camps: Examining the Impact of Social Media-Fueled PD on Classroom Practice and Student Learning

Session 2
Jonathan D. Becker, Meredith Stewart, Bud Hunt

If Twitter chats and social media-fueled unconferences are as powerful as many believe, what evidence is there that they are making a difference? Our hope is that, out of this session, a virtual/distributed teacher-research project will develop whereby participants can document impact of these PD practices on teaching and learning.

Amplifying Student Voice

Session 2
Larissa Pahomov, Katie Robbins, SLA Students

Students are already expressing themselves to "the outside world" via a variety of networks and venues. What does this mean for schools? This session will explore how schools can engage with and amplify student voice in a way that is empowering for students and enriching for the learning community.

Controlling Cognitive Load in a Dual-Tasking Society

Session 2
Chris Bigenho

SESSION RESOURCES http://educon24-cognitiveload-dualtasking.wikispaces.com/ This site contains links to collaborative notes from the session as well as links to videos used for research and a link to a pdf of the conversation. You will also find a link to the article that forms the basis for this session. However, you will want to look for this through your school or university library. Explore the basics of cognitive processing and how multi-tasking impacts your ability to recall what you learn. Participants will receive an overview of cognitive process related to learning and memory, test their ability to multitask and discuss implications for teaching/learning and ways to mitigate cognitive over-load in a dual-tasking society.

Empowering Students Through Documentary Filmmaking

Session 2
George Mayo

This conversation will be about the many benefits of creating documentary film with your students. We will also discuss ways to structure a documentary project in order to ensure student success. I will share my own successes and missteps Ive encountered in the last two years creating documentaries with middle school students in my own classroom.

K-12 and Higher Ed: The Best of Both Worlds

Session 2
Youngmoo Kim, Adam Fontecchio

This conversation will focus on models and best practices of engagement and collaboration between K-12 schools and Colleges and Universities. The discussion will begin with descriptions of existing programs, particularly K-12 efforts supported through the National Science Foundation (NSF) to encourage greater participation in STEM in college and beyond.

On Being Resilient

Session 2
Diana Laufenberg

The educational landscape is awash with conversation of new, improved, innovation, creativity, change, adaptation, flexibility... and we want to change the learning environments to match the possibilities for innovation, creativity, change, flexibility and adaptation. We want inquiry and projects but what does that actually look like for the learner and the teacher over time? How do we avoid burnout, apathy, a sense of overwhelm? Join me to discuss strategies for developing resiliency within learning environments.

Permission to Speak? Creating Communities of Advocacy in Education

Session 2
Chad Sansing, Kirsten Olson, Christina Cantrill, Paul Oh

New media and communications tools give teachers non-traditional ways to organize and work for change in their classrooms, schools, divisions, and country. Join Chad Sansing, Kirsten Olson, Christina Cantrill, and Paul Oh for a conversation about creating online spaces of permission for students, parents, and educators to speak and enact the changes they want to see in our shared work of education.

Re-Imagining Your School

Session 2
Samantha Morra

What would your ideal school or education be like? How can you make that vision come alive in your school? Re-imagine school without any limits and then overlay that vision on what your school is like now and how you can make that vision a reality.

Synergy - Questions are the waypoints on the path of wisdom

Session 2
Bo Adams, Jill Gough

Like a tribe around the fire, lets discuss how we implement PBL as an entire course rather than as an input to a class. The conversation starters will describe Synergy an 8th grade community-issues course. Then, through story exchange, we will share a variety of PBL ideas and implementation methods.

The Role of Adventure Education in a Project Based Learning Environment

Session 2
Caitlin Thompson, Jacob Lotkowski

Some of the richest educational experiences can occur beyond the classroom walls. This conversation will focus on ways to expose students to adventure education and the outdoors. Discussion will cover place-based education, service learning, outdoor trips, and challenge courses. Come to share stories and explore new ideas.

Tradition vs Innovation, a Battle of Beliefs

Session 2
Liz Davis and Lisa Thumann

In a world where students are constantly plugged in, how do we find the balance between engaging them on their level and teaching them the face to face skills of real life interaction? In this conversation we will debate the benefits and challenges of a traditional vs an innovative curriculum.

Big ideas and authentic problems: Designing learning experiences with (and without) social media

Session 3
Christina Jenkins, Francesca Fay, Alisa Berger, Mary Moss

The NYC iSchool believes that learning experiences should be grounded in solving real problems. How might educators identify these problems and design curriculum around their investigation? We’ll discuss two courses: The Sixteen Project, an anthropological look at coming of age around the world, and #disastercamp, a design workshop for disaster response.

Building Bridges: Communities of Practice from K-16

Session 3
Tom Woodward, Tim Stahmer, Jeff McClurken, Tim Owens, Martha Burtis

There is a cycle of blame and recrimination between Higher Ed and K-12, yet rarely do we come together to talk about the trajectory of learning across these two worlds. This session will develop practical ideas about how to develop these conversations in our own schools and communities.

Collaborating with New Media Literacies

Session 3
Karen Blumberg, Don Buckley

Henry Jenkins has defined new media literacy skills for our participatory culture. In the 21st Century school, students/parents/teachers/administrators need to embrace these skills and harness their ability to enhance communication, motivation, understanding, and accountability.

Cultivating an Authentic Voice in the Online Environment

Session 3
Laura DeSena

Writing is practice in self-discovery and self-expression, even as the writer engages in dialogue with external sources and peers. The context is an e-environment: infinite resources that overwhelm. The challenge: guide students in establishing voice/vision: I/the subjective eye. We will explore free writing as an essential stage of authentic writing,

How do we ask the right questions?

Session 3
Zac Chase

This session will look at inquiry as a tool for professional development as well as classroom instruction. Participants will participate in group discussions, share resources and have the option of enrolling in a collaborative study group that continues the conversation after EduCon.

Learning in Public

Session 3
Alec Couros, Dean Shareski

Social media tools such as Youtube have dramatically changed the learning landscape for young people and adults. Many people are now sharing their learning online, inspiring others to do the same, resulting in the creation of vibrant peer-learning communities. Lets talk about the implications of this movement. What is the value of learning in public, what is the difference between learning and sharing, and how can schools embraces these new affordances?

Question IT: Are We Mad?!

Session 3
Peter Skillen, Brenda Sherry

Time to bust some myths! Many one-liners and simplistic claims are made, like "Kids don't need to memorize anything. They can just Google it!" Or, Its not about the tool. Its about the learning. We think such claims may be dangerous and misleading. Lets chat and deeply explore some myths.

The Rise of the Introvert

Session 3
Tony Baldasaro

Traditional school systems do not always support the needs of introverts. This session will begin to address the needs of introverts in today's classrooms.

What Happens When the Kids Run the Building: School Culture and Progressive Discipline in an Inquiry School

Session 3
Chris Lehmann / Pia Martin

(or... "What had happen was...") What is the worst consequence of empowering the kids? You have empowered kids. School culture, discipline, school rules and where you are willing to eat lunch are all on the table for conversation when inquiry and the ethic of care permeate everything you do. Come for a conversation - complete with case studies - about how everything "else" changes when you create a progressive climate.

You Can't Buy Change

Session 3
Sylvia Martinez, Jon Orech

1-to-1 initiatives, mobile devices, and IWBs are all the rage, but arent these just digital solutions for an analog classroom? In this conversation, we will discuss how teachers can transform learning experiences which increase achievement, creativity, and empathy. We will explore "flipped" classrooms, writing for authentic audience replacing completion with creation,and promoting peer reliance among others.

Across the Great Divide: Creating Collaborative Civics-Based Partnerships

Session 4
Kevin Egan

Civic engagement and experiential learning offer unique opportunities for high schools and universities to create partnerships that benefit students at all levels. Using the 2012 election as a springboard, well explore possibilities to develop programs that take learning out of the classroom and into the streets, polling places, and beyond.

Architecture Participating in Education

Session 4
Jim Richardson, Wyck Knox

This conversation with leading practitioners in school design will explore how shifts in educational agendas are transforming the design of learning spaces. 21st century education often takes place in spaces shaped by 19th century practice - how can todays educators help shape innovative spaces that facilitate modern teaching and learning?

Coaching a Winning Team: What are the best ways to get in the trenches & stimulate a culture of learning and collaboration within our schools?

Session 4
Jeff Richardson, Suzan Brandt

We’ll discuss the coach as a catalyst for change, advocate for teacher/student learning & a builder of a climate of sharing & collaboration. We’ll explore various structures, strategies and ideas that help coaches become necessary instructional leaders. Who's responsible for starting the conversation of change? Where do admins fit & what’s their role? We will follow these threads with the goal of developing some new ideas that will increase student learning. This conversation isn’t meant for just coaches. Anyone who’s wants to be an instructional leader should join us.

From Thinking to Becoming: Being a Risk-Taking Educator

Session 4
Philip Cummings, Wendy Eiteljorg, Hadley Ferguson

Risk-taking for educators can feel just that, risky. What pushes us as educators and what holds us back? Through visible thinking strategies, we will spark dialogue about classroom risk-taking, encourage teacher reflection, and share ways to break out of our comfort zones.

Hacking School: the EduCon 2.4 Hackjam

Session 4
Chad Sansing, Meenoo Rami

Are you ready to hack school? Join us for a fully interactive session that explores the possibilities for transforming schools through renewed coperation and agency amongst educators and students.

How do we engineer punctuated equilibrium?

Session 4
Darren Kuropatwa, Andy McKiel

Growth isn't well behaved; it doesn't follow a line on an increasing curve. Growth happens in fits and starts (and stops) and spurts. How do you plan for systemic growth across an entire school division knowing that it's going to happen in fits and starts and spurts?

Lessons About Space from K-6 and Implications for Secondary Schools

Session 4
Jeremy Brueck

Environments have a profound effect on what children think, do and feel as knowledge seekers and learners. Join a conversation about what the shift from classroom to learning space might mean for young learners. Well share lessons learned from K-6 educators and discuss their implications on schools serving 7-12 students.

Let's Talk About Change

Session 4
Rob Mancabelli

There's widespread excitement about building new kinds of 21st Century Schools, but how do you get from here to there? Join a conversation about technology, learning and change. Share in a conversation about how to initiate and sustain the change process at your school in lasting and successful ways.

Storytelling with Google

Session 4
Dan Barcay

Join Google Lead Software Engineer Daniel Barcay for a discussion of how we can use Google Earth and other Google Tools as powerful storytelling devices. The session will include examples to start the conversation with participants brainstorming ways to leverage the tools in unconventional ways to allow students to unlock their stories.

Teaching Critical Thinking and Writing Online

Session 4
Ted Bongiovanni, Lisa Springer, Evan Friss

We seek to connect with other educators who are teaching writing at a distance or using eReaders. What worked in your classes? How did you collaborate across time and space? What are the best methods for working with digital texts in high schools?

A Future Leader

Session 5
Rashaun Williams

Join SLA students, led by Rashaun Williams (SLA Class of 2012) work through the question - How do classrooms successfully develop active citizens applying school to life?

Finding their Voice in a World Language Classroom

Session 5
Jamie Britto, Valencia Siff

ACTFLs Oral Proficiency standards have been in place for over 25 years yet the constraints of the traditional classroom, materials, and assessments have made it difficult or impossible for teachers to help students cultivate these skills. This session will discuss ways both big and small to overcome those challenges.

Innovation: Elementary Edition

Session 5
Lyn Hilt

Let's rethink the typical elementary school learning environment. Given the freedom to design more innovative learning environment(s) for our youngest learners, what non-negotiable elements would be included? How can we strike a balance between authentic, relevant learning and an emphasis on foundational skills in literacy, mathematics, and social sciences?

PBL is Easier With Friends

Session 5
Chris Fancher

To create meaningful PBL units it helps to enlist friends and colleagues. If they are not in your area of expertise they bring a fresh perspective. We will discuss creating a PBL unit while brainstorming with a topic and standards given to us from one of the participants.

PLCs: Developing a Shared Vision

Session 5
Tim Best, Stephanie Dunda, Rosalind Echols, Gamal Sherif, Matthew VanKouwenberg

After several years of science department meetings that focused primarily on logistical issues, we decided to move towards using our common time for growth and reflection. Please join the conversation and help us further our understanding of how colleague-to-colleague feedback can be used as an effective professional development tool.

Reimagining Community

Session 5
Teresa DeFlitch

Explore changing definitions of community and the implications for education. How can schools partner with their communities in ways that reflect local needs and the future of learning? How may we rethink teaching community preK to 12 to help prepare students for these new understandings?

Teachers as innovators and social entrepreneurs

Session 5
Sam Reed, Timothy Boyle, Anissa Weinraub, Michele Mckeone, Rashaun Williams

This provocative panel explores the needs and capacities of educators to create laboratories of pedagogical innovation that exist outside of District Structure and hacks up of the concept of entrepreneurship in education. Join this conversation and harness your own innovative and creative powers.

Visualizing Functions with Geometer's Sketchpad

Session 5
Erin Garvey, Scott Steketee

Students often find functions and related concepts confusing. Our usual examples, numeric functions, don't lend themselves to continuous manipulation of variables or to graphical representations other than x-y graphs. See how students use Sketchpad 5 to create their own geometric functions, allowing them to vary the variables kinesthetically and generate pictures of function behavior. Students will report on actual classroom use. Ready-to-use activities will be provided.

What does it take to be a technologically savvy teacher in 2012

Session 5
Sean Nash

In 2007, a virtual colleague asked whether it was okay to be a technologically illiterate teacher? NETS-T provides one standardized, big-picture perspective. At the other end of the spectrum, the Edu-Twittersphere offers up a litany of tools on a nightly basis. Join this session to debate the competencies connecting the two.

What Should Every Citizen Know?

Session 5
Dan Callahan

Are we providing a proper education for students today in order to create an informed citizenry? Participants will discuss state standards, the Common Core, and the rise of individualized education and try figure out how they help or hurt one of the most essential missions of schools.

Getting Students to Do the Work: An Iterative Approach to Self-Guided Inquiry

Session 6
Derrick H. Pitts, Jesus Jimenez-Lara, Alex Johnson, Tyler Morales, Allen Yang, Matthew N VanKouwenberg

Students at SLA wanted to make astronomy more accessible to everyone, including those who don't have telescopes. Working with Derrick Pitts, Chief Astronomer for the Franklin Institute, they are bringing streamed images of the sun to the world. Join them as they tell their tale of inquiry driven constructivism.

Home & School Meeting 2.0

Session 6
Joe Mazza

*** CANCELLED *** Utilizing free online tools, this school provides a live video feed and discussion forum to allow for more family engagement opportunities during monthly meetings.

Learning to Learn through Business Creation

Session 6
Christian Kunkel, Matt Sherman

As an entrepreneur, you must actively and deliberately seek the skills, knowledge and resources needed to succeed. You must be a fast and effective learner. In this group, we will discuss the core tenants of the entrepreneurial process as a learning strategy and how to integrate them into any classroom and across subjects.

Math 2.0 and the Wanna do Curriculum

Session 6
Ihor Charischak

With todays push for college, students are forced to follow the Algebra-Geometry-Algebra II Royal Road to Calculus with most coming up empty about what math is all about. Web 2.0 offers the possibility of a new paradigm where students actually want to do the math. Add your ideas at this discussion.

Switching Learning Spaces

Session 6
Michael Wacker & Glenn Moses

In this sharing of best practices conversation come join a discussion about how a shift in the learning environment for educational professionals can have large impacts on instructional design and the shape of the classroom.

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