June 2015

Welcome to the June edition of the ECIS Technology/Innovation/Design Committee blog. We’ve finally made it to summer, and I hope that this has been a productive year for all of you.

This month, Committee members Sarah Woods and Kim House contribute articles on conference presenting and integrating technology into the PYP. Both are timely pieces, as many of us are considering submitting session proposals for the ECIS November Conference (see announcement below), and those working with PYP programs are also working on pre-planning for next year.

On behalf of the Committee, I would like to wish all of you a safe and enjoyable summer and best wishes wherever you may find yourself this year. I also want to take this opportunity to thank all of the Committee members–Warren, Paula, Sarah, Kim, and Seth–for their support and contributions this year.

Alan Preis
@apreis
On behalf of the ECIS Technology/Innovation/Design Interest Group.


Presenting at Conferences
Sarah Woods
International School of Amsterdam

Risk-taking is a character trait we’re encouraging in the classroom. It’s in the IB learner profile and a key point when we talk about mindset. We want our students to be free to try new things and not worry so much if it doesn’t turn out how they’d hoped. We believe that learning comes from a place of getting out of our comfort zones and trying something new – after all, if we already know it, what’s to learn?

So why is it that so many teachers freeze up at the idea of presenting at a conference? Is it the pressure of peer judgement? Do we think we have nothing of value to talk about? Are we just afraid of public speaking? Is it just one more thing to do in an already busy schedule? As teachers, we should be lining up for the opportunity to embody this character trait that we believe to be so fundamental to our students’ learning process.

I did my first workshop at the ECIT IT conference in Frankfurt several years ago. I was really passionate about Prezi at the time and the thought of getting to spend a weekend at a conference with interesting people by far outweighed my fear of showing people how to use Prezi – how hard can it be, I thought. Imagine my shock and dismay when I found out the committee liked my idea so much, I’d be presenting twice!

But I put aside my worries and went and discovered it was really fun. The best part was when I turned up to do the second workshop and several people who had come to the first session arrived for the second because they had so much fun, they wanted to keep going on their Prezis! Since then, I have led too many workshops to count both at ECIS and Google Summits. This year I went an insane step forward and did a talk at TEDx Amsterdam Ed, which was definitely a challenge but most importantly, it shows how far a nervous and inexperienced presenter can come in a few short years.

So how do we wrap our heads around taking on this challenge? Let’s start by breaking down the fears.

Is peer judgement as bad as you think? No. I’ll admit, presenting at one’s own school can be quite daunting, but when you’re at a conference, everyone is there to learn and attendees are very keen and supportive. I’ve had some real fiasco presentations where the equipment doesn’t work or once a raging case of the Tanzania trots that had me ducking out of the session every ten minutes – believe me, I was shocked as anyone to read the positive feedback on that one! There can be negative feedback, too, but it’s usually phrased constructively and I take the negatives as ways to improve my work, not a black mark on my character.

Do you *really* have nothing of value to offer? You might think that you don’t do anything ground-breaking in your classroom, but isn’t your experience worth something? Don’t you have routines that are unique to you? Wouldn’t a new teacher benefit from your mishaps and how you’ve solved them? I used to think a session on Gmail was a silly topic, until I had a chance to work with a room full of folks who were flummoxed by labels and filters. You’d be surprised how many people attend conferences wishing there were someone there offering a workshop on the basics. There’s also the added bonus of your opportunity to learn from your attendees. I once did a session on Google scripting (I’m not a programmer; it was for non-programmers) and a couple of programmers turned up! I was worried for a minute and then I realised, why not pull them in as experts? They enjoyed sharing their knowledge and all of us learned from the experience. A presenter isn’t a sage-on-the-stage, they’re a facilitator of learning – something we do every day in the classroom.

Are you really afraid of public speaking? Well, you might be and I’d agree, getting up on a stage in front of 500 people is a real challenge. But a workshop at a conference isn’t usually anything like that. It’s most often about 20 keen and eager teachers in a room, absolutely excited to learn what you have to teach them. You’re in front of 20 students every day! You can do this!

Does it really take that much time out of your busy schedule? This is a personality thing. I’m definitely more of a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants kind of gal, so my workshops are most often just a couple of guiding slides. If I put more time into it than that, I find myself edging towards that sage-on-the-stage thing we all try to avoid. Think of a conference presentation as a workshop. Think about the DO. What could you have teachers DO for an hour that they could take back to their classroom and USE? If you’re someone who needs to put the time in and have all your ducks in a row, remember, your topic is something you already KNOW. Take a lesson plan you already have and turn that into a workshop. You’d be surprised how many conference attendees are excited to have a chance to engage instead of listening to yet another lecture.

Getting out of our comfort zones is as important for teachers as it is for our students. Presenting at a conference is a great way to build your learning community and to keep your teaching fresh. If you’re at all inspired, ECIS is taking applications for presentations at the fall conference in Barcelona, AppsEvents is always running a conference on Google somewhere on the planet and if you’re a middle school teacher, you can submit a proposal to speak at ELMLE in January!


Flexible Scheduling for EdTech

TID Committee Member Kimberley House (Bavarian International School) recently published an article on Flexible Scheduling for EdTech the IB SharingPYP Blog. Here are direct links to Part 1 and Part 2.

ECIS November Conference – Call for Proposals Now Online

The November conference is scheduled for November 17 – 21 in Barcelona, Spain. Information is available on the ECIS website. The deadline for submitting a session proposal is July 2.

Tech Cafe at ECIS November Conference

ECIS are looking for volunteers to manage the Tech Cafe at the November conference to assist conference delegates with technology. Volunteers will earn 150 Euros for each shift, but still have to register for the conference (the registration fee is not waived). If you or anyone you know are interested in helping out for one or more two-hour shifts, please contact Ioana Crisan at ioanacrisan@ecis.org.


Professional Development

Flat Connections Updates

‘The Global Educator’
A 2-day Workshop in Philadelphia, June 25-26, 2015

Join Julie Lindsay and other globally minded educators for a 2-day event that provides educators and education leaders the skills and resources to connect their learning and take it from local to global. With a focus on the use of technology (mobile devices, cloud computing, Web 2.0, and more) it is ideal for schools implementing BYOD and moving into cloud-based apps. It is also perfect for schools talking about how to implement global awareness and competency as well as global digital citizenship and cross-school collaboration across the curriculum.

Read more about this workshop opportunity: https://www.smore.com/8q9mu-the-global-educator
This event is just before the ISTE conference – so plan to arrive in PA a couple of days earlier and join in!

Learn more about ‘flat learning’  and global collaboration in the curriculum via the Flat Connections website http://flatconnections.com

Contact Julie Lindsay for customised approached to global learning. julie@flatconnections.com


Mediterranean Center for Innovation in Education

The Mediterranean Center for Innovation in Education has open registrations for a variety of upcoming events:

iPad Academies — these two-day, intensive hands-on workshops focus on the use of the iPad to create powerful learning experiences. Join us in Rome (June 5-6) or Thessaloniki, Greece (June 19-20) — more information and registration information available at http://www.medcie.org/?page_id=1073.

Interested in becoming a certified Google Educator? Enroll in one of our upcoming Google Educator Certification Workshops to master the skills, concepts and process of becoming a certified Google Educator and, if desired, a fully-fledged Google Education Trainer. Our next workshop is available im Barcelona, Spain from June 29 – July 1, 2015. For additional information about this workshops and registration information, visit http://www.medcie.org/google.

Online Courses — Registration is open for four online Google courses that will have sections over the summer as well as into the Fall. All online courses are a blend of rich resources, self-paced activities, interactive discussions, and live teaching and learning activities. Online courses open for registration are:

Google Certification Cohort
10 weeks, beginning June 29, 2015
10 weeks, beginning September 14, 2015
10 weeks, beginning January 11, 2016

Google Apps for Leaders
5 weeks, beginning June 29, 2015
5 weeks, beginning August 17, 2015
5 weeks, beginning September 21, 2015
5 weeks, beginning January 18, 2016

Designing Learning with Google Classroom
3 weeks, beginning June 29, 2015
3 weeks, beginning August 17, 2015
3 weeks, beginning September 21, 2015
3 weeks, beginning January 18, 2016

Google Apps for the School Business Office
6 weeks, beginning June 8, 2015
6 weeks, beginning September 7, 2015
6 weeks, beginning January 18, 2016
Additional information and registration information available at: http://www.medcie.org/online

Summer Institutes – registration is still open for two of our summer institutes, to be held in the fantastic beach-side setting of Marbella, Spain.
Leadership in the Connected School: Build Your Personal and Professional Toolkit (July 6-7)
Best Practices in K-12 Mathematics: In-Depth Explorations of Math Instructional Cycles, On-Going Assessment for Learning, and Growth Mindset for Teaching and Learning (July 9-10)

Innovation by Design: Using Design Thinking to Create, Support & Lead 22nd Century Learning Communities
In this two-day learning “retreat,” teachers and leaders from schools will have the opportunity to dive deeply into the process of design thinking and apply it to authentic school contexts that are aspiring to a 22nd century model of learning. The two-day face-to-face experience will have an optional blended learning cohort option that will extend the learning and collaboration throughout the year. Upcoming opportunities include Florence, Italy (June 22-23) and Washington, D.C. (July 30-31). Additional information available at http://www.medcie.org/?page_id=1084.


European Google for Education Summit – September 2015

Join educators from around Europe for the 4th European Google for Education Summit!  Sept 26 and 27th, if interested in presenting connect and submit a proposal: http://european.appsevents.com/request-for-speakers. A wonderful opportunity to share, learn and engage with colleagues working and teaching with the Google Apps for Education suite of tools.


Learning2Europe – April 2016

ASM is excited to announce that it will be the host for the FIRST European site for the ‘Learning 2’ Educator’s Conference. The conference will be in April 2016.

The internationally acclaimed Learning 2 Educator’s Conference originated in 2007 and has grown as a technology-centered conference for educators in Asia. It is considered to be one of the leading annual education technology conferences in the Asia region. Now, they are expanding globally.

Previous conferences have been held in at the

  • Concordia International School, Shanghai
  • Shanghai Community International School, Shanghai
  • Western Academy of Beijing, Beijing, China, UWCSEA, Singapore
  • New International School Thailand, Bangkok, Thailand
  • International Community School, Addis Ababa

In 2015, the International School of Manila and the International School of Johannesburg will be hosts.

More information will be coming soon! For now bookmark: http://learning2europe.org/ and follow #learning2.

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