Program Schedule
Thursday, February 22
Workshops from 1-5
Registration Open beginning 12:30
Using Moodle
Marcie Hull, Science Leadership Academy
1-3, Korman 110
Where are we going? And what is new in Ed. Tech.? Course software is not new but the use of course software in a new 1:1 laptop high school in Philadelphia is new. The workshop will detail how SLA intends to use Moodle and explain how the faculty came together online using asynchronous planning tools to plan the school, and as a supplement to face-to-face meetings. This workshop will also detail the current use of Moodle in the high school and what has taken place in the first two months.
Using Blogs and Wikis
Jean-Claude Bradley, Drexel University
1-3, Location, Korman 111
Learn how to incorporate blogs and wikis into your classes. Learn how to set up a blog and a wiki and how to use them effectively in your courses.
Powerpoint: It's not just for lectures anymore!
Michelle Sims, Gwynedd-Mercy College
3-5, Korman 111
Presentation software packages such as PowerPoint have been a staple in both classrooms and boardrooms and have provided effective visual learning aids to lectures and presentations for many years. Effective visual literacy learning strategies include the development and adaptation of higher order thinking skills and problem-based learning. These skills are even more crucial for today's K-12 learner embarking on 21st century workforce requirements. With the newer interactive capabilities in recent versions of PowerPoint, incorporating dynamic active learning into the teaching and learning environment has become extremely easy for everyone to develop from the novice to the 'power user'. This session will focus on and model PowerPoint's visual interactive features, including Trigger effects, Action Buttons, Action Settings, Hot Spots, multimedia, and its effective integration into the Blackboard Course Management System. It will also describe via posters how Gwynedd Mercy College faculty are effectively incorporating these features into classroom instruction to produce exciting collaborative research projects and dynamic, reflective, and active learning venues.
Podcasting
Brian Gall and Russ Pritchard, Philadelphia University
3-5, 110 Korman
Bring your headphones and microphones as we will be utilizing the MP3 sound recording program called Audacity to record a podcast that can be listened to through iTunes, Windows Media Player, WinAmp and even an iPod/MP3 player. We will also explore different technologies on the PC and Macintosh side for creating video and enhanced podcasts. Finally, we will present our iTunes University site and show you how to get started with this new program from Apple Computer.
Friday, February 23
All Sessions will be taking place in 2019 MacAlister
8:30 Registration open
9:00-10:00 Opening Keynote, Chris Lehmann
Chris Lehmann is the founding principal of the Science Leadership Academy, a new inquiry-driven, project-based science and technology high school in Philadelphia. The founding teachers spent seven months planning on and off-line to create curriculum that would take advantage of the progressive pedagogy and 1:1 laptop environment. Now in its first year, The SLA faculty is working to merge progressive, project-oriented pedagogy with 21st Century tools to create a unique opportunity for students in Philadelphia. The school uses moodle and elgg and other open source tools to create its web portal as well as borrowing many of the best teaching practices of the small schools movement, such as longer classes, essential questions and project-based learning to take the greatest advantage of the new technologies. Chris' keynote will focus on the the challenges and successes of making the marriage of those ideals a reality.
10:00-10:15 Break
10:15-11:15 What does it all mean?: Exploring Issues in Multiliteracy
Towards Preparing Educators for Multiliteracy
Tim McGee, Philadelphia University
The teaching of print literacy, traditionally understood as the ability to read and write texts made primarily out of words, was the responsibility of all teachers at the elementary level and the specialty of English, Language Arts, and Composition teachers in middle school, high school, and college. With the advent of digital computers and the multiliteracy demands they create, some teachers at every level find themselves ill-prepared to teach even the decoding of multimedia and multimodal texts, much less their encoding or production. Taking into consideration state standards, teacher education programs, and current theories of multiliteracy and multimodal discourse, this presentation suggests short and long term action plans to help prepare the teachers of today and tomorrow to meet the multiliteracy needs of their students.
What are the digital natives doing before they get to college?
Jean Bennett, Ursinus College
Marc Prensky coined the phrase “Digital Native” in 2001. He theorizes that today’s learners need to be engaged learners or they are enraged learners. What’s a college or professor to do? These digital natives are entering colleges and universities with advanced technology skills and want to engage them. Join Jean for a presentation of student technology produced projects from the K-12 environment and brainstorm ways for technology projects to be incorporated in college classrooms.
11:15-12:00 Blogging, a new way of looking at text literacy
Interactivism: Blogging in Freshman Writing
Laura Blankenship, Bryn Mawr College
See a presentation of results from using blogs in a freshman writing class. In particular, I will discuss the affect that online interaction has on the process of writing and what elements of blogging are most effective.
Leveraging Wikis and Blogs for Teaching and Research in Chemistry
Jean-Claude Bradley
12:00-1:00 Lunch
1:00-2:30 Assessment: What are students learning and how do they learn it
Where is technology most effective: inside or outside of the classroom?
Daniel King, Drexel University
At Drexel University, environmental chemistry is taught to a diverse group of students in a single class. The student population includes both upper level undergraduates and beginning graduate students from a variety of majors. The preparation level of these populations is quite variable, as many of the graduate students have not had a chemistry course in several years. Consequently, a significant amount of time must be spent reviewing fundamental chemical concepts. These general concepts are either incorporated into the lecture material or reviewed in group activities. Two forms of technology were used to improve student learning. In class, personal response systems (or “clickers”) were used to reinforce the lecture material. Outside of class, students use an online discussion board to post questions related to homework problems. The Student Assessment of Learning Gains (SALG) survey was used to help identify which components of the course helped the students learn the material. These results will be compared to end-of-term evaluations and measures of student performance during the term.
Don't Make Me Think! I Just Want to Learn
Mike Zarro, Drexel University
3.2 million people took at least one class online in the fall of 2005. As a student in Drexel University's online Master of Library Science program and a webmaster for 8+ years, I'll share my experiences and observations of eLearning success and areas of improvement. Online education more than just Blackboard - it includes video, podcasts, and online collaborative workspaces.
Assessing Aesthetic Responses
Christine Boyland, Bryn Mawr College
2:30-2:45 Break
2:45-3:45 BOF gatherings and Planning meeting
During this hour, space will be set asside for groups to discuss issue of importance to them. Also during this hour, those interested in helping to plan next year's conference will hold a meeting.
Tables will be set up for the following:
School 2.0 - How Technology Enhances Education -- Theodore King, Eduvo.com
IBM's Services Science, Management, and Engineering initiative--Boris Vishnevsky, IBM
3:45-4:00 Break
4:00-5:00 Podcasting: Using Audio in Education
Podcasting and Web 2.0: Implications for Education
Rodney Murray, Thomas Jefferson University
Podcasting is the fastest growing consumer electronic technology since the DVD. Podcasting involves the recording of audio programs that are then made available for listening from a website or downloading via a "pod catcher" for playback while walking, exercising, or commuting. Like many other consumer technologies (slides, TV, VCR, CD-ROM, WWW), podcasting is fast becoming a hot topic in educational technology. Learn how podcasting is already being used to educate learners of all stripes and how to find relevant podcasts and become a podcaster with only a small investment.
iTunes U Implementation
Brian Gall and Russ Pritchard, Philadelphia University
Philadelphia University has implemented a new hosting solution for its educational audio and video content. Learn how we implemented the iTunes University Podcasting solution to create a collaborative learning and information space for the administration, faculty, students and learning community.
5:00-5:30 Final Remarks