K12 Online Conference 2010: Free professional development!
What it is: K12 Online Conference is a completely FREE online conference for educators around the world. The conference focuses on innovative ways that web 2.0 tools and technologies can be used to improve learning. The conference is run by volunteers and open to everyone. This year the theme of the conference is “Cultivating the Future”. Yesterday was the kick off to the conference with a pre-conference keynote by Dean Shareski. In the next two weeks (October 18 and October 25), 40 presentations will be posted online for participants to view, download and discuss. Live events happen in the form of “Fireside Chats”, there are three live events this year. The first Fireside Chat is scheduled for October 15 and will be hosted by Dean Shareski. I have attended the k12 Online Conference every year since it started (2006) and each year I am inspired, and fueled with new ideas. I am excited to see so many student voices and presenters this year, there is just nothing like hearing about education from the student perspective! I am also excited to see so many familiar names from my PLN…there just isn’t anyone I would rather learn from!
How to integrate K12 Online Conference 2010 into your classroom: Check out the 2010 Schedule now and choose some sessions that you are most interested in. Commit to viewing 2 or 3 (or if you are OCD like me, all of them!). Take charge of your professional development and be inspired by fellow educators and students. Make it fun and invite a friend to view some sessions with you. Play sessions in the teacher’s lounge during lunch, take over a classroom with a projector and provide snacks, or invite a colleague over for PD and cocktails (for the record, that is the option I would choose!). Don’t keep all of this great learning to yourself! In the past, I have found the student presentations to be inspiring not only for me, but also for my students. Last year there was a presentation about applications called Wizard of Apps or Will they have an app for that or What we are loading (and learning) along the road presented by Joyce Kasman Valenza and students. The presentation was a fun Wizard of Oz type play about different web 2.0 applications that they were using and learning with. My students loved the idea of students putting together a play and teaching teachers. If you are an administrator, be sure to let your staff know about this truly amazing professional development opportunity. The line up of presenters is fantastic! Then, encourage your staff to start building up a PLN (personal learning network) on Twitter. They can start with the k12 Online presenters!
Tips: You can view the archives of past k12 Online Conferences for 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009.
Please leave a comment and share how you are using k12 online conference 2010 in your classroom!