FETC Conference Summary and Analysis
After reviewing two videos from the FETC Conference on YouTube, I felt empowered to start making changes within my teaching and learning. Below you will find the two videos that were analyzed, along with summaries and ways in which the ideas or tools can be implemented in my school or classroom.
Let Them Be Heard: Giving Our Students A Voice
Summary
This session was presented by Shannon McClintock Miller, a former teacher from Van Meter, Iowa. The length of this video was 35 minutes. Shannon began the presentation with one question and that was, "How do you want to learn, and what is important to you?" She and another student put that question out via Twitter to get a response from children around the world, and their responses were so powerful. Students replied with the following: let us have a voice, let us create, let us have experiences, let us teach, let us have access, and let us have choices. Throughout her session, she shared stories of students she had taught and how they were empowered to have a voice through experiences, resources, and connections. In her district, students were collaborating with other schools to teach new technology, blogging, skyping, creating portfolios and news channels, virtual book studies, coding, teaching others around the world with various programs and resources, teaching parents, teachers, and peers, allowing students to have more choices, and giving students access to all of these tools and also giving students access to others throughout the world. Because of these opportunities through technology, students were making a difference and embracing their education.Implementation
In order to implement technology in my classroom or school to the extent that Shannon did in her district, I would need to educate myself with programs and resources. Staff professional development could be designed in breakout sessions to learn how to implement these programs so that students can have more of a voice through experiences, resources, and connections. I could also use my PLN to reach out to other educators for ideas on how to implement various resources and programs depending on units/topics being taught. PLNs would also be a great resource to connect my students with other students, teachers, authors, and companies for learning opportunities or showcasing work.
Three Ways Google Tools Can Save Teachers Time
Summary
This session was developed to save teachers time in the classroom because often we are always reinventing the wheel. The presenter shared three time-savers that will allow teachers to be on their game so that they are there for the kids and not constantly feeling hurried and checking and making sure plans are in place. The three time-savers he discussed in this 41-minute video were:
- filetype: ppt and filetype: pdf search within Google
- check for understanding using Google Forms
- notetaking using Google Docs
The first time-saver is to use filetype: ppt or filetype: pdf in a google search to look for powerpoints or presentations so that teachers do not have to reinvent the wheel. When you type those certain codes along with the topic being searched, teachers will be able to look through various powerpoints or PDFs on the specific topic searched and use that in their lesson.
Checking for understanding using Google Forms is the second time-saver mentioned in this session. Asking students if they understand what was being taught is a question that most students do not want to answer, especially if they do not understand. What we see happen often is teachers ask if students understand, the students don't respond, the teacher moves on, then an assessment is given, and most of the students score poorly due to information being misunderstood. Google Forms is a great way to check in with students anonymously. In the video, he called this a confidence check. All it required was three questions, and only one of those questions is required. The first question is a scale question from one to ten and this one is required. This is a quick gauge for a teacher of student understanding. The second question is for the student to put their name. This question is not required, but if a student wants to have a private discussion with the teacher without others knowing, the student(s) can put their name on the form. The third question is for additional comments and this one is also not required. What a great way to check in with the students so teachers know if they can continue moving on or if they need to take a step back and reteach.
The final time-saver is notetaking on Google Docs. One question teachers often ask themselves is why do kids do so poorly when taking notes? When students are taking notes, especially younger students, they are more focused on their spelling. When they focus so much on spelling, they lose out on instruction. Once they are back on track, they catch something else important and write that down, which takes some time, and again, they lose out on more instruction trying to get those major points down. One strategy teachers can use is to create a Google Doc, label it the topic that is being introduced, and share it with the entire class. The teacher then selects a primary notetaker and a secondary notetaker. The rest of the class listens while the other two students take notes for the class. Ten minutes before the class ends, the class dissects the notes and add important information that might have been missed (teacher guided). In the end, all of the students have the same notes to study from for the unit or topic, and a review of the concepts/skills was done as a class. The primary and secondary roles switch every time there are notes to be taken for class. Another great strategy to teach notetaking skills and review concepts/skills taught in class.
Implementation
This strategy could easily be implemented with teachers with a quick how-to session during professional development, PLC time, or a quick after school meeting. Beings all of our teachers are familiar with Google Docs, showing them how to set up a document and share with all students through Google Classroom would be quick, along with the directions on how to set up student notetakers and review the notes as a whole group toward the end of the class period. If this strategy is difficult for younger grades or it just wasn't a good fit in a teacher's classroom, PLNs would help me to reach out to educators for more strategies for notetaking.
Final Thoughts
As teachers, we have the power to lead the change. Our students have the ability to make a huge difference in our world. Through technology resources, experiences, and connections, students can have a voice and truly embrace their education to lead the way.
References
FETC - Future of Education Technology Conference. “Three Ways Google Tools Can Save Teachers Time.” YouTube, YouTube,
8 Feb. 2015, www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMZQr8kT4zs&index=37&list=PLIgAnl6l23ewfWL_oHYRFSBqwZ9ITfQqf&t=0s.
FETC - Future of Education Technology Conference. “Let Them Be Heard: Giving Our Students A Voice!” YouTube, YouTube, 9 Feb. 2015, www.youtube.com/watch?v=DV2QI9jd-dw&list=PLIgAnl6l23ewfWL_oHYRFSBqwZ9ITfQqf&t=0s&index=34.
Kari Mueller
Special Education Teacher and Teacher Leader
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