Hey All,

Today’s Daytime will cover a few different topics including Professional Development, Social Media, Digital Tools and more on kids and technology.  Plus, I’ll be giving something away for free, read on for details.  Before I jump into these topics, here are this week’s Daytime sessions:

Cherokee Campus: Tuesday – Day 3 from 10:30 – 11:30

Willow Grove Campus: Thursday – Day 5 from 1:00 – 2:00

I’ll begin with a few humorous cartoons to keep you all interested…knowing that it’s only going to get better from here!  As I mentioned in last week’s post, we have to figure out ways to best utilize the amazing technology we haver here at SCH, because as we all know, the kids love these tools and can do some really great work with them.

On to the PD discussion, or at least what I hope becomes a discussion, feel free to use the comments field below the blog.  Daytime has seen an exponential growth in followers this year as a result of the merger…we’ve doubled our contingent, the total is up to…..well, you know the joke by now.  If not, you’ll have to continue to read the blog regularly, or you’ll be left behind….get with it people.  Back from my digression..I’ve been thinking a lot about professional development lately, as I think PD is key for all of us to progress in our respective professions.  But a common theme that I continue to hear is that there isn’t enough time either during the day due to hectic class schedules, or even at night or on the weekends because of busy family lives.  But there are alternatives, check out Alan November’s blog post on what he calls the “Pro-D Flip“.

Here it is in a nut-shell (but you’ll want to read the article to get a better understanding of this approach)

The old  PD: 

Sign up -> Go to session -> Take (paper) notes -> File notes away (with intentions to go back to them) -> Repeat.

The new  PD:

Follow links on Twitter -> Dig deeper then blog my ideas -> Seek related Pro-D opportunities -> Connect to other participants -> Share as I learn -> Consolidate ideas and blog again -> Follow links on Twitter…

Similar to this new approach to PD, I recently read an article by Michelle R. Davis from Education Week that discusses a similar PD model where educators use various social media outlets for quick feedback and open ended discussions, check it out:

Social Media Feeds Freewheeling Professional Development

Furthermore, I’ve been considering various techniques to address PD here at SCH that will allow us to share tools, resources, content and more with one another.  We have some great resources here at SCH, and we should be tapping into each other’s knowledge!  This video from Edutopia demonstrates how teachers in the Vail School District in southern Arizona collaborate online and in school via a wiki setup for teachers to share content & resources.  For us, I think Haiku is a great place to start an online collaborative environment such as this.  Jenn Vermillion said that there are a few departments that have setup online Haiku spaces for sharing, please join the conversation and comment below the blog if you have such a space setup and would like to share with others.

Finally….the moment you’ve all been waiting for!!!!!!  I’m going to be giving out free………………………………………………………………………………………..tech advice, WOHOOOOO!!! If you show up at Daytime!!!  LOL, just making sure you’re still awake.  Anyway, on to the Digital Tools section.

New Digital Tools that I’ve found helpful, hopefully you will too:

Just Beam It– A simple way to share files, drag & drop files into a browser or simply select a file on your computer to share.  The tool generates a link for any number of users, once the recipient clicks on the link the file is downloaded.  Great way to share files without having to create an account.  Here’s a quick Lifehacker write up on Just Beam It.

A Web Whiteboard– Use your computer, iPad or Smart Phone as a whiteboard to collaborate and share.  All you need is the device and a Web connection.

See you at Daytime!