TiE2016

We often think the more complex a solution is the greater its impact, but many times it is the simpler concepts that are truly innovative and more likely to have greater value. Stories connect students to subject matter much more than information alone. Digital Storytelling is a simple solution that helps students learn more standards-based concepts and skills than many other activities. Because it is hands-on, creative and project-oriented, students retain more of what they are learning. In this workshop, we will review the concept of Stories, Digital Storytelling and How to Tell a Better Story. We will touch on how it relates to 21st century Skills, the Common Core and other standards at all grade levels.

Together as a group, we will create a digital story using 30hands Storyteller for iPad. We will use images, photos, drawings, a video clip, and a touch of Stop Motion video to bring our story to life. For those who bring an iPad and want to create on their own, you can break off individually or in small groups to create a competing story. 

Like what you heard in the keynote address? Join Antero for a follow-up discussion!

When creating an online class content, teachers must remember that for learners, the online experience is not a duplicate of the classroom. A successful online class should rely on presenting teaching materials in a well-organized and contextual manner that is easy for students to interact with. Effectively using visuals and multimedia can add a sense of engagement and fun. The Massachusetts Virtual Academy at Greenfield, MAVA, the first 100% on-line public school in the state, will present how teachers deliver their curriculum in a general education, interventionist, and Special Education online classroom.

We plan on bringing 3 teachers to discuss how they take their learning objectives, break down the content and by following the school's Live Lesson Expected Practices teach their subject to their online learners. We will demonstrate the use of BlackBoard Elluninate, the synchronous platform MAVA uses to deliver content.

Girls remain underrepresented in many STEM fields; the gender gap is greatest in computer science. Educational research can help us to understand how to create learning opportunities that will help girls connect with the STEM fields, including computer science. Recently, a special research edition of the Girls Connect Robotics Workshop (see description below) was held in Holyoke at the Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center. A UMass Learning Technologies faculty member, in collaboration with the organizers of Girls Connect, developed this event to investigate girl’s collaborative learning activities while engaged with robotics. In this way, Girls Connect provided the setting for a unique collaboration among students, teachers, STEM outreach practitioners, informal educators, and education researchers.

The research undertaken at this event seeks to understand how girls work collaboratively to solve robotics problems. This research can inform the development of curricula and teaching approaches geared towards girls, potentially interesting girls in the field of computer science. In this session, the research/practice team will share some of the results from the research, as well as discuss the experience and value of local collaboration in building knowledge and expertise to broaden participation in computing and to help girls connect with the STEM fields.

Session objectives (achieved through presentations and discussion):
• Learn about the Girls Connect workshop model, its impact and results
• Understand initial findings about girls’ collaborative problem solving activities
• Discuss the value of collaboration for research/practice teams
• Hear and respond to lessons learned by the research/practice team
• Network with education professionals interested in STEM learning and local learning technology initiatives

Girls Connect is a daylong event that brings together middle-school aged girls to work together in teams, each with an adult “coach” to introduce them to robotics using the platform of FIRST LEGO League (FLL). The girls build and program LEGO Mindstorms robots to carry out challenges on a playing field that integrates a STEM theme related to real-world solutions (e.g. food safety, climate change). Girls Connect focuses on teamwork, exploration, problem solving, and connecting technology to daily life. The all-girl space supports hands-on engagement by every participant. The day is designed to introduce teams and their coaches to FIRST LEGO League, an international robotics competition program for middle-school students, and encourage them to form teams to engage in a longer experience with robotics. 

The STEM Game Design Project at the William E. Norris Elementary School taps into students’ interest and motivation around video games, and fuses that passion with elements of writing and science.

The collaborative project between two English Language Arts co-teachers and their science teacher colleague involves students learning about game design theory and then developing and publishing video games with a science theme via Gamestar Mechanic. Student video games are published into an authentic community of other young gamers from around the world, and students use iterative design practice to revise and improve projects.

This session will provide an overview of teacher planning and student work, showcasing the connections between game design theory and the writing process as well as engineering design and Connected Learning principles.

Back by popular demand! Come explore broader ways of thinking about digital citizenship that include social engagement, empowerment, critical thinking, social-emotional literacy, and social justice! (Re)Thinking digital citizenship requires putting young people at the center of our conversation, policy, and practice. Participants will reflect on ways to center students’ in their #digcit practice.

Eduporium views the acquisition and evolution of technology skills as a necessary literacy for those living and working in the 21st century. However, the endless possibilities of virtual reality created by modern technology could be addictive and oftentimes tend to replace the real world. In order to bring students back to reality learning how to inventively alter it, Eduporium specifically selects technologies that enhance the 21st century skills commonly referred to as "The 4 C's:" Creativity, Critical Thinking, Collaboration and Communication. We have designed a system of technology that progresses from one “C” to another in correlation with age-appropriate learning objectives. The tech that we have selected serves as the ultimate learning tool as it can be easily intertwined among all school subjects, supporting and enriching them, while helping kids of all ages learn and fine tune technology concepts by applying tech to learning.

Our system includes three progressive bundles of personally selected technology that focus on enhancing learning through creativity, critical thinking and collaboration. Our “Cool Tech Petting Zoos” are broken down into three levels featuring corresponding tech products for Pre-K–4, 5–8 and 9–12, emphasizing hands-on experience, STEAM education and project-based learning, respectively. In our workshops, we describe the fundamental principles of our system, how it is structured and progresses from one focus area to the next and how its contents develop the advancement of 21st century skills. We also share our practices by presenting the Tech Petting Zoos to students and teachers and leave time for the audience’s hands-on experience and experimentation with the samples from every bundle!

Our profession is experiencing a redefinition of the traditional classroom power dynamic. This transition period, while stressful and difficult, provides us the opportunity to take a hard look at what we can do to better prepare our students for THEIR future. We’ve identified three key component pairs for learning communities to internalize in order to support connected educators and connected students. Attendees will participate in activities and discussion that will illustrate the principles of lateral learning and bottom up learning with a goal of showing practical ways to be successful in a connected educational environment.

In this hands on workshop participants will create an interactive Jeopardy style web game using Flippity, a web based tool that integrates with Google Drive. This integration with Google Drive allows students an opportunity to work collaboratively and asynchronously. Using the project file, a Google spreadsheet template, users can add text, YouTube videos, and images. Once published, multiple players can access individual copies of the game to play on their own or in group settings. Flippity offers other tools that will be demonstrated, including a flash card generator.

Participants will learn how to provide students with audio feedback using the Kaizena-Mini Google Docs Add-On. By the end of this interactive session - for which participants are asked to bring a tablet or laptop - teachers will understand how to use a built-in or USB microphone to record audio feedback on student work, which they may access through Kaizena's Google Docs add-on.

In addition to leaving instructor feedback, participants will come away with strategies for facilitating peer-to-peer audio feedback, allowing students to develop speaking and listening skills as they also learn how to constructively critique and respond to one another's work.         

Explore a cutting-edge, multimedia engineering curriculum called Through My Window that includes a YA STEM novel, companion interactive website, and engaging offline enrichment activities. This collaborative curriculum, which appeals to both girls and boys, highlights the ways engineers help society. It can be used in both formal and informal educational settings. Participants will leave with new ideas about how to broaden students' perceptions about engineering beyond “men in hard hats”; innovative tools that appeal to the desire and ability of children to interact with engineering in an idea-centered learning environment; and substantial “ready-to-implement” resources.