METC14

I attended the METC14 for the first time as a facilitator.  Wow….It was a wonderful learning opportunity.  The keynote speaker, Kevin Honeycutt, was inspiring and motivating.  He captured the audiences’ attention from the start. 

 

During my facilitator role, I experienced some of the presenters were glad to have you and others were rude and made you feel like you were a distraction. 

 

The first session I facilitated was Distance Learning - Bringing the Outside World into the Classroom.  The speakers provided examples on how you can connect with other classrooms, speakers, etc all around the world.  They also discussed how Education Plus can help you find the resources you need and connect you with them.  One presenter explained Google Hangout.  It is a lot like Skype, but better.  You can connect with up to ten people at a time.  I felt sorry for the presenters because no one could get their sound to work.  You are at a technology conference and can’t get the technology to work….crazy!

 

Are You Ready To Have Your Students Blog? was the second session I facilitated.  The presenter walked the audience through how to set up a blog in your classroom.  His recommendation was to use Kidblog.  He provided the audience with what has worked and suggestions on things he might do differently.

 

My final facilitating session was Motivate Your School with a Morning Broadcast.  This session was awesome!  The presenter shared how she wrote a grant to purchase the equipment needed for broadcasting.  The segments are pre-recorded and she uses iMovie.  The cast made up of fourth grade students were present and each shared their role.  Each student writes their script and must share it with the teacher prior to taping.  The presenter shared a broadcast with the audience.  The students did a fantastic job with the morning broadcast.  This is definitely something I would like to bring to my school.