On Friday I presented at the Georgia Educational Technology Conference (GaETC) with Lorraine Schmertzing. I could only go for the day, but I enjoyed the presentations I attended:
Nancy Howell presented “Creating an Online Professional Development Program: A Wealth of Options.” Based on the title, I was expecting more of a tools-oriented session, showcasing different options in delivering online professional development. Instead, the session focused on developing a Blackboard (or other CMS) course, in which teachers will learn how to develop courses in Blackboard (should we call this a metacourse?). Although it wasn’t what I expected, I did walk away with a few tips for course development that I will use in the courses I teach:
- Have the teachers build a course in the process of learning how, to help them practice the skills and retain the information.
- Have clearly defined objectives for each week in the course calendar, so that the students know what it is that they’re supposed to be getting out of the course material.
After this, Lorraine and I presented “Keeping up with the Kids: Teching Tips for Using Free Internet Tools.” Of course, Lorraine did an excellent job, as always. We had a packed house, and the feedback from the audience was truly thoughtful. They also suggested several websites that we should look at (and I sure hope Lorraine took notes!)
After that was Patrick Crispen’s “Keeping Up with the Googlebots: What’s New at Google.” I’ll be honest. The first thing that struck me was the loud disco music. I couldn’t stop laughing, because it seemed so out of place, and yet such a great way to draw people in. Anyway, despite the power going out several times, Patrick did an amazing job. Us librarian types get skeptical and jaded sometimes, thinking that we’ve already heard everything that Google has to offer. But of course, I was proven wrong. I was introduced to Google’s Recipe Search,click to call (still being tested), and SearchMash.com. Check out the presentation!
Altogether it was a pleasent expereince, and I even saw some folks from my past. I’m just sorry I couldn’t afford to go for the whole thing.
