Monday, June 29, 2015

3 Great Things About The SHIFT Symposium 2015


Recently, I spent two days learning at the SHIFT Symposium in Humboldt County. This was a high energy and fun symposium focused on helping all of us keep up with the shifting sands of education. In this third year of the symposium, started by +Colby Smart, his team continues to put on a 'CUE' level event that provides our northern California educators with high quality professional learning within driving distance.

In the beautiful, new Sequoia conference center, Humboldt County Office of Education hosted 200 educators for two packed days of connecting and learning that featured over 40 sessions and awesome Keynotes. Here 3 great things about the SHIFT Symposium 2015.

1.  Wifi
I presented four different sessions over the two days and the wifi worked perfectly in all of them. Each of my sessions required participants to go online and create, contribute and connect, so wifi was critical. It worked great, the whole time, something that larger conferences often struggle with even today. With our basic needs being met, we were able to get the most out of the conference.

2.  App Gallery
The #Eduawesome Stacy Young put together and App Gallery for the Symposium that provided quick links and QR codes to all apps being used during the two days. Participants could pre-download apps for sessions they wanted to attend or access them later for sessions they couldn't get to during the event. Check it out: SHIFT 2015 APPS Gallery

3.  Connecting
Starting with keynote presenter +Sabba Quidwai, being a connected educator was a focus. She reminded us that the role of the teacher has SHIFTed from 'answerer' to 'facilitator of inquiry'. The old ways of teaching are no longer relevant or helpful to our students.



Twitter was the social media platform of choice and we connected before, during and after the symposium using the hashtag #humshift. As I was presenting most of the time, the hashtag allowed me to learn and connect with the other sessions and presenters. I discovered a new member of my PLN @MrKindergarten who is doing awesome things with a 3D printer and kindergartners.

Thank you to all of the amazing educators I learned with at SHIFT 2015, see you next year!

Friday, June 5, 2015

4 Reasons To Use Google Classroom Next Year


Learn how to use Google Classroom as a tool to improve student learning. Join me, +Joshua Harris and +Dawn Kasperson for a 30 min discussion about why you should use Google Classroom next year.