Sunday, November 15, 2015

Creating Digitally for NCTE 15

In a world of fast-paced communication and interactions, we need to slow down and reflect upon ways to power up our classroom practices. As awakeners of learning, teachers and leaders are guides to a future ready world. Using collaborative protocols and digital tools, they engage learners in cultures where risk-taking is honored. A variety of resources are available to educators to power up classrooms but it takes time to discover which ones to use. Appropriateness and ease of use are two important considerations when choosing digital tools for passion projects or writing.

In this digital age, students are trying to find their identities, offline and online. Technology allows them to discover and explore their world. Through the use of appropriate digital tools, students notice, wonder, discover, and explore topics of interest. From choice, voice rises leading students to own their learning.

While preparing for the NCTE 15 Roundtable presentation with my team, Debbie Diller, Blanca Duarte, Paul W. Hankins, Trudy Ludwig, Holly Mueller, Margaret Simon, and Terry Thompson, I utilized a variety of digital tools to bring us together. Through digital means, we were able to collaborate with each other from our homes across the United States. 

Digital Team Tools Utilized to Prepare for NCTE 15
  • Google Hangout for collaborative conversations online
  • Google Docs for shared writing
  • Google Slides to prepare our introductory presentation 

Am I personally ready to present at NCTE 15? Since I am not quite there yet, I will dedicate the afternoon to complete my roundtable presentation.

Digital Tools I Am Using to Create my Roundtable Presentation
My sketchnote on writing was a labor of love that I created for a workshop last Monday. I shared it with a group of teachers and would like your feedback as to its merit in the classroom. 


















The experience of designing a NCTE presentation digitally with a team from across the country was an amazing one. Without the advancement of technology, we would not have been able to collaborate online and seamlessly merge individual slides into a group presentation. We are now ready to bring different perspectives on the topic of igniting wonder in students and teachers to NCTE 15 participants. It is our hope that individually and collectively, we will fuel the fires of creativity and independence in classrooms. 

Stay tuned to next week when I be tweeting from NCTE 15 in Minneapolis. I will share the link to our presentation, Igniting Wonder in Students and Teachers: Fueling the Fires of Creativity and Independence in the Classroom

If you are at NCTE 15, please join our session. 


Until we meet again online, please visit Margaret Simon's DigiLit Sunday site to read other posts on digital literacy. 

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