Day 3 and 4 actually amazing. It was structured so that we were able to attend some longer, indepth sessions about a specific program and there were about 5 from which to choose each time. Then there were also several…I think 4 or 5…10 minutes sessions where you were just introduced to a program and if you were interested, you could ask the presenter more later or explore yourself. There were also some very interesting presenters both in the sessions and then as speakers to the whole group–Glogster man (which is how I will refer to him, but he is the man that created Glogster which Traci us in one of the longer sessions), Hall Davidson, Adam and his crew from Wikispaces were my favorites.I loved this set up because for many programs, I just want to see what they do, but would learn more on my own through using the software. But in some cases, like the Google Earth Presentation by Hall Davidson (who is really amazing in the breadth of his knowledge and enthusiasm), there were SO many things to explore and so many applications in the classroom, that the longer sessions were needed. I was also fortunate enough to be in the Google Earth session where Adam Controy (spelling?) volunteered to show some of his work with his students and it was amazing! If you ever have questions about how Google Earth works or how to use it in the classroom, ask Adam…he is in Pennsylvania. I am so excited to get that into my classroom.Another session which I enjoyed was Geocaching. If you haven’t ever done it, you have to try it…of course you have to buy a GPS unit, which isn’t cheap, but what a riot! So our instructor Heather was amazing and set up some caches for us to find and practice our newfound skills. What great fun! Not only was it fun, but I think the kids would really enjoy something like that, but how to get them out and about and how to tie it neatly into my curriculum will be a few challenges I have to overcome! There were ideas about them using them in a field and finding random letters or words and then having to create a word or sentence, but I am not sure how that would work or what it would look like exactly yet, so I have some work to do on that! And at the end some people came in and showed us an app for the iphone for an active spelling game for kids (or adults) that looked like tons of fun, but I can’t really get iphones for all my students….Anyway, it was extremely informative and also tons of fun. It was active, interactive and entertaining! Most of all it was extremely educational for me and I left with so much new knowledge as well as an enthusiasm for integrating all these new tools into my classroom. Woo Hoo!
Here is my list of resources gathered at DENNI 09…Thought you might want access
Jingproject.com—captures video from anywhere
Xtimeline timelines
Timetoast timelines
Blabberize
Gizmoz
Bubbleply
Befunky.com
Kerpoof
Morpheus
Xtra normal
Prezi—do this presentation trying it out?
Vuvox instead of ppt.
Imagespopsci.com
Incompetech.com—royalty free music
Findsounds.com
I have to play with to figure out or for more information before presenting to staff…
Flattening classrooms, expanding minds
Snaps pro
Magicpen
Monkeymail
Snagit
Camstudio
Picnik or something
Oddcast.com
Things I want to follow up on (wow this sentence ends in 2 prepositions! And I teach Engilish!)
Peter Reynolds—someone Hall follows
Cuentories—Spanish English reading atoz stuff
Voice thread
Hall’s blog
Comics.com—use a comic to get them to do a storyboard to practice
Lights camera education—a guide to storytelling and writing process and such. Has downloadable content and storyboard and help guide
why
synthesize information
integrates visual, auditory and kinesthetic learning
needed
point of view
dramatic question
emotional content
gift of your voice
Power of the soundtrack
economy
pacing
Can use lights camera action stuff to show how it can be done…
Glogster—Link to Traci’s webpage
Wikispaces—usd259sandbox.wikispaces.com (Erin’s)
Google Earth
Day 2 was a complete blast. The way this conference was organized, we went on our adventure first. This was amazing, because it allowed us all to bond, get to know each other as people before we worked together. It established trust and built strong relationships. It was impressive how quickly we bonded.We took a trolley car into San Francisco and toured around, stopping periodically for photos. The trolley driver was very droll and kept us entertained with much history and a slew of random and personal facts. We ate lunch at Boudin’s bakery which was very tasty and then we were left to our own devices to wander around the city. We shopped a bit and just took in the sights and the different people to watch. Very entertaining.To get home, we hopped aboard that trolley again and returned for a delightful dinner.Dinner was followed by a presentation by Claudia of Second Life. She was interesting, as she explained Second Life. There were some that were truly impressed to meet her and listen to her discuss her program. Again, the value in this day for me was the networking and all of the people that I met and the discussions that were held. These relationships made the subsequent days that much better! I appreciate all the work and coordination that went into that very valuable day!
Arrived at a beautiful spot–ocean right outside and hills and cliffs abound. Spent a couple hours on the beach before everything began, which was marvelous. It wasn’t too hot or too cold. The wind counteracted the strong sun–I know you are thinking San Francisco’s coast–strong sun? But it is true! It was relaxing and peaceful. Ahhh.At 3 pm we all met and did some silly activities to break the ice and get to know the new format of the website. If you don’t know already, the website was updated and they made some super cool improvements. Then we broke for dinner, which was ok. I am awfully spoiled, as I lived with a chef for 17 years.The only real complaint I have is where we have to sleep. We are staying at old army barracks. We are all in a dorm kind of thing sleeping on plastic covered mattresses in bunk beds. Some people snore awfully loud. I can’t sleep very well like that and might turn into a huge B by the end of the week! Hee hee! The end of the night was spent by a select few consuming beverages in a far away cabin. We played a name game and, let me tell you, I remember EVERY one of their names! =] Now that is networking!