OTEN Conference

This is a reflection of going to the OTEN Conference.  The keynote speaker was very engaging.  As he talked, I could see the passion he had for the students.  His big focus was innovation in the classroom through technology grants.  I was pleased to find out that teachers can receive $2000 in grants for any type of technology.  I was most interested in what teachers are using the ipad nanno’s for.  Nanno’s are helping student’s reading fluency.  They are able to hear their voice and then practice and correct errors.  It also allows students to look up words, find out what they mean and how to pronounce them.  Students are able to work on math projects together-guess, check, and refine.  They are able to put books on ipads so now younger siblings are getting exposed to books.  I think one of my favorite things is how it is helping non-readers become good readers who are not afraid to read aloud.

     Next, I went to a work session called “Infusing the three R’s”.  It reminded me of a PowerPoint but much more open ended and expressive.  It allows you to present information using Bloom’s Taxonomy.  It is up to you how you want to display information.  You can do it in a bubble format and then have all the bubbles connect.  If you click on a category it can take you to another page full of information on that topic. 

    She also talked about doing pre-tests to see where students are at so that you can have a better understanding of where to teach your students.  Students can have their own clicker through their phone and answer questions throughout the lesson.  She also talked about using Dropbox to save all information virtually.  This was the first time I have heard of this and now I think I am going to be using this tool often.

     The last session I went to was on podcasting in the elementary classroom.  The teacher used her computer to download the student’s work and made a class website to show the students and their families.  The student would read their information into the podcast that had a velkin recorder (which the teacher said was a key feature you need).  Her third graders did a research report on endangered animals and each student recorded their own report about a specific animal.   It’s a great tool for students to learn how to use technology.  The teacher was also able to record the students as well.  I thought this seemed doable and a great way to engage a class in all the subjects.  She should use her class’s projects and I was impressed with the engagement and knowledge the students were able to have.

     I felt very lucky that I was able to go to the OTEN Conference.  I now have a lot of information that I can take when I have my own classroom.
 ( Here is my Yodio)