NMSA08 Conference Blog

Extra Special Sessions

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 11:04:00 GMT

Over the next couple of weeks, I would like to talk about some extra special sessions that will happen at the conference. You probably know about the keynotes and featured sessions altready (they are on our website and in our registration brochure that was mailed out a couple of weeks ago. However, we have many special sessions that are not listed as keynotes or featured sessions. I would like to bring your attention to a few of them.

First, since technology is our overarching theme and we have been talking about technology quite a bit, on Friday October 31, the architects who are designing our 21st Century Classroom are putting together quite a panel discussion. Panelists will include:

Linda Wagner, AIA, Bennett Wagner & Grody Architects

Anne-Claude Pharamond, AIA, LEED AP, Bennett Wagner & Grody Architects (Anne is the project manager on the 21st Century Classroom)

Kate Clark – recently retired principal of Ocoee Middle School (FL), which is a technology demonstration school for the state of Florida

The group is going to add a student voice to the panel and the panel will focus on the idea of designing imaginative and effective learning spaces for the 21st century.

The panel is scheduled for 10:00 AM on Friday October 31- and it should be a good one.

All Conference Sessions are now Online

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 20:09:00 GMT

I just wanted to give a heads up to all readers of this blog that all the sessions, times, and descriptions for the NMSA annual conference in Denver are now live on our Web site. You can access them through the Web site or go directly there with this link http://www.nmsa.org/annual/ConcurrentSessions/
tabid/1492/Default.aspx

The Navigators

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 12:59:00 GMT

I remember studying the famous navigator/explorers in school. The accounts of the brave but sometimes misdirected sailors impressed me to the point that those accounts have stayed with me. In small vessels and with primitive instruments, these navigators greatly expanded the known world.

I have also lived through the entire history of NASA and the events of modern-day navigators. These brave explorers helped greatly expand the known universe. But these navigators were (and are) highly trained specialists with the most modern of vessels and instrumentation. And, for the first time, space navigation morphed from the physical to the virtual. Modern navigators can map the surface of the outer planets, follow the progress of our first extra-solar system travelers, and listen for communications from alien civilizations- without ever leaving their chairs on terra firma!

I have also heard space called “the final frontier,” but I understand that term is a misnomer. With the advances in technology and the power of virtual navigation, a better term would be “the latest frontier.” As long as humans are on the earth, there will be new frontiers to explore.

Imagine what space exploration would be like if anyone could do it. Enthusiastic entrepreneurs, in crafts large and small, taking off from anywhere in the world to follow their dreams into space. The results would probably be disastrous.

But, in our latest frontier, we have that scenario playing itself out. People of all ages, nationalities, and training in all manner of craft are trying to navigate their way deeper and deeper into this frontier. This latest frontier is the world wide web (aka the internet) and anyone with internet access (whether via computer, cell phone, PDA, or other means) can instantaneously begin their exploration. No certification or training is required.

In an attempt to protect our children (and possibly themselves from bad publicity and lawsuits) many school districts place tremendous restrictions and filters on the use of the internet. The truth of the matter is that our children our going to interact on the internet in many instances without many filters.

As Thomas Friedman says in the audio 3.0 version of The World is Flat, “learning how to sift through it [information on the internet] and separate the noise, the filth, and the lies from the facts, the wisdom, and the real sources of knowledge becomes more important than ever.”

Whether a person is 7 or 70, the internet makes everything seem equally credible to the uninitiated. Friedman continues “the challenge for the next generation of parents and educators will not be the dissemination of information but to change the way people differentiate between information and wisdom.”

Teaching navigation skills for the internet (and for whatever becomes the “latest frontier”) is a tremendous challenge, but also a tremendous responsibility, for us as educators. We know that every day our students are going to leave our schools and venture forth on the world wide web in ways that are not allowed inside our schools. We miss some immense teaching and learning opportunities if we don’t seize the chance to help make them informed and able navigators on this wonderful (and at the same time scary) frontier. The internet can be as dangerous as the uncharted seas and as perilous as outer space.

In our opening general session, Alan November will help expand our thinking as we together consider the challenges and successes of the use of technology. To jump start your thinking, please visit Alan’s website http://novemberlearning.com/index.php?
option=com_content&task=category§ionid=5&id=27&Itemid=93 and see all the information literacy resources. Sections V and VI are particularly revealing to most educators.

We cannot stick our heads in the sand. If we are going to teach navigation skills to our children and students, we cannot be among the uninitiated in relationship to this latest frontier or any to come. We must help our young people develop their own internal filters and not rely on external filters that will not be omnipresent.

LOW AIRFARE ALERT

Sun, 03 Aug 2008 12:41:00 GMT

I am not sure if you will read this in time to take advantage of it or if this applies to the airport you fly out of, but I just got my airline ticket for the annual conference and it cost me $128!! I got the fare on www.nwa.com which is Northwest Airlines. In all the trips I have made to Denver in the past 8 years, this is by far the lowest I have ever gotten.

I encourage each of you to check now for the airfare for you. These prices, especially in this day and age, will not last long!

More Digital Disconnect

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 12:49:00 GMT

I am traveling between Alan November's Building Learning Communities Conference in Boston and NMSA's Institute for Middle Level Leadership in Charleston, SC. One of the presenters at blc08 mentioned a report from the Department of Commerce. I am reading the latest copy of the Journal and, in an article by Mary Ann Wolf, the Executive Director of the State Educational Technology Directors Association, that report is mentioned.

In this DoC report, education is ranked 55th out of 55 industries in use of technology!

As Mary Ann said in her article, "The use of technology in education will only be maximized when it is applied toward practical solutions such as individualizing instruction, engaging students, and providing access to rigorous and dynamic academic content."

So true when we think about teaching and learning in the middle grades!

A Digital Disconnect?

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 17:36:00 GMT

With technology heavily on my mind, two studies I read about recently seem to indicate that what should be going on in schools to most effectively prepare our students for their futures may not be happening.

In "State of Digital Content in America's Classrooms, 2007-2008" it notes that just 9 percent of teachers report spending more than half their instructional time using digital technology while 16 percent report never using technology at all! And, according to the survey, middle school teachers report that most often the use of technology is using computers for Internet-based research, word processing software, and multimedia presentations.

The Speak Up 2007 survey sponsored by Project Tomorrow notes the following disconnect: While 66% of school principals think their schools are doing a good job preparing their students for future jobs, only 23% of advanced tech students in those school think so.

We have much to do in the area of technology infusion in our teaching and learning. And the middle school is a key place to help bridge that digital divide and, in doing so, help keep students engaged and on track for success in middle school, high school, and beyond.

You will be able to help yourself and your school be in a much better position to facilitate the bridging of this divide with information you will get at this year's NMSA conference.

21st Century Classroom

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 15:37:00 GMT

Back in January, I was telling you about NMSA's focus on technology for this year's conference in Denver. Since that time, our staff has been very busy working on those technology features and I have some big news. You readers of this blog are going to be the first to get the news.

We had heard about a California company that could maybe help us build an actual physical classroom in the exhibit hall. After much time and pursuit, it seems that they are no longer in business. As of last week, we were beginning to think this was going to be a "pipe and drape" affair. On Tuesday,we made contact with Don Grody of Bennett, Wagner, and Grody (www.bwgarchitects.com) of Denver. After a short conversation, he toldus that their organization would be very interested in helping make our vision a reality and they would do any needed drawings and act as "project manager" to coordinate vendors and construction firms. He said they have done work for 20 school districts in the Denver area and have worked with 25 construction firms. As a matter of fact, he thought the largest of the construction companies would be especially interested in the project and that he was going to talk with them immediately and have them contact us.

Four hours later, Doug Johnson of Adolfson and Peterson Construction (www.a-p.com) in Aurora, CO,called. He said he had spoken with Don and that his company would be very interested in doing the construction work on the classroom. If you go to their Web site, you will find a lot of interesting stuff. They are the American Institute of Architects' Contractor of the Year, one of the top ten school construction companies in the country, and are very well known for their "green" construction. They have also logged over 1,600,000 consecutive man hours without a lost time injury.

Students and teachers from Aurora Public Schools are going to be staffing our 21st Century Classroom on Thursday and students and teachers from the Douglas County School District are going to staff the classroom on Friday.We are still seeking a district to provide tech savvy students and teachers on Saturday. If you have suggestions, please send them along.

We also have many technology sponsors who are going to help ensure that this classroom is fitted with a rich array of technologies. These companies include Promethean, Tandberg, ePals, CDWG—and more are coming on board as we move forward.

The Classroom of the 21st Century is going to be a highlight of the conference and will be a place where you can immerse yourself in technology in action.

The Exhibit Hall

Tue, 27 May 2008 18:33:00 GMT

Having taught for 28 years, I am a teacher at heart. Whenever I attend a conference, the exhibit hall is one of the first places I go. Up and down the aisles, looking for what each booth is giving away. I can go back for substance later. Lots of giveaways in the exhibit hall—and we teachers love freebies!

The exhibit hall at the NMSA annual conference is a special place. And this year it is going to be more special than ever. There will be companies from all over—with information, materials, and products that run the educational gamut. There will be companies and sponsors who have never been at NMSA before. And there will also be features that you have never experienced at NMSA before.

One of those features is an interactive classroom in the exhibit hall. This classroom will feature technologies of all kinds and will be staffed with teachers and students from the Denver area. You will be able to go into the classroom, watch an array of technologies in action, and learn from students who are utilizing these technologies every day! NMSA is really excited about this addition to our fine exhibit hall. We will be publishing more details on this interactive classroom in the near future.

But the technology will not be limited to the exhibit hall . . . stay tuned.

Technology Infusion

Wed, 07 May 2008 13:50:00 GMT

On our most recent site visit to Denver, we were privileged to visit two school districts who are doing great things with educational technology. I am struggling with wording as technology, technology integration, educational technology, etc, could all be misnomers. Maybe Ivan Duran's term of technology infusion is my favorite right now. Ivan, by the way, is the education technology director for Aurora Public Schools (one of the districts we visited in April.) What we mean when we talk about the proper use of technology is, of course, not technology for technology's sake. It is rather using technolgy to facilitate and enhance learning. Once we establish what the students should know and be able to do, how do we best utilize technology to facilitate that learning in the best possible manner? So, technology is infused into the curriculum across the board and in all classrooms. It may look and act differently in different classrooms, but the bottom line is using technology to most effectively facilitate learning.

As we know that we are preparing students for jobs that are not yet created (and jobs that we cannot even imagine,) we are preparing them for a world of technology not yet created (and not yet imagined.) We must make most effective use of all technologies available and especially those that the students are using every day. As educators, we must also stay in tune with new technologies and begin to imagine the possibilities. Nothing in education is static, but especially in terms of technology the landscape is kinetic. Actively kinetic.

At the conference this year, you will experience technology infusion. From start to finish—and everywhere you go. Now, I am not going to give away all the details upfront—part of the reason for this blog is to help entice folks to want to come to the conference. But, lots of details will be revealed as we wind down to the time of the conference.

Stay tuned.

The climate in Colorado

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 19:22:00 GMT

A lot of talk about climate always comes up when we plan our annual conference. NMSA has been very fortunate in the past several years to have experienced an excellent climate at each of our conference sites. Now, of course, the talk has turned to Denver. What will the climate in Denver be like?

Well, I have experienced the climate first-hand and I can tell you that it is pretty fine. Last June, Dwight Jones was named Commissioner of Education for Colorado. Dwight has been an educator for over 20 years and part of that time was spent as a middle school principal.

NMSA had the opportunity to meet with Dwight last fall and it was obvious that he and his staff have the very best interest of the students, families/caregivers, and educators of Colorado at heart. He also truly understands the challenges of young adolescence. Middle level educators will find a true supporter in Dwight Jones.

Dwight has actually assigned two of his staff to work with the local planning committee in helping facilitate the conference. This is a sign of true commitment to the conference. As a matter of fact, Dwight has agreed to bring greetings during the Friday morning general session at the conference.

The climate in Denver is fine!