A Norwegian educator visits ISTE 2010 part 2

Day two of the three day conference!

Facts: 5,000 participants from over 78 countries! Started at 8:30 at the Wells Fargo Theater inside the convention center. As usual I was a little late and worried about seating. No worries the theater seats about 5000! The program: Innovation & Excellence: Buzzwords or Global Imperative? Most of all I enjoyed seeing Jean-François Rischard, former VP of the World Bank again. Saw him in Brazil last November (by the way have you read his book?)  Same scary message: a new mindset in the next generation…one rooted in a strong sense of being foremost a global citizen. With the global credit crisis not yet over, society still has more than 20 burning global problems on our hands that must get resolved within the next 20 years. I was impressed by the student on the panel, Shaun Koh, Student, Singapore, fresh and with a clear message: listen to the students, keep your passion and don’t bore students with Power Points!

Next lecture for me was Copyright Clarity: Yes You Can Use Copyrighted Materials for Digital Learning by Renee Hobbs -lot of energy in this presentation. Today, 21st-century educators and learners need to be able to reasonably access and incorporate copyrighted materials into their work. While at this presentation I saw a lot of talk about Alan November on twitter and decided to catch his second lecture. I’m sure glad I did. Digital Learning Farm: Students as Contributors. I really enjoyed it here are some of my notes: First day of school is so important! Self directed teamwork.  Don’t forget the kids.  Don’t grade the podcast. There has to be s major shift in the culture in control. Don’t spend time trying to close access.  Control is an illusion anyway.

I have spent little time in the enormous exhibit hall. I find the lectures so much more interesting. I agree that filling classrooms with interactive white boards is very expensive to say the least. Give these tools to teachers who want to use it. It is not for everyone! Looking forward to my last day tomorrow. This has been such a treat! What about big blue bear wants inside?