Website of the Week: GCFLearnFree.org – has a ton of free videos with simple explanations and even a quiz at the end. I’ve link to the topics page.

Opening Session Keynote Dr. Thomas G. Sticht – this was an amazing keynote address. I’ll post links to Dr. Sticht’s work. He began by discussing Cora Wilson Stewart and her “Moonlight Schools” of Kentucky. Forever burned into the memories of the attendees will be the line from Cora’s Country Life Readers, “…a lazy, shiftless family lives here.”

Preparing Students for Our Technological Society by Dr. Willard R. “Bill” Daggett – I’ll be receiving both PowerPoints via email from Bill’s staff, and I’ll link to them here once that occurs. Here are my notes:

• “Our schools are not failing – the problem is that the world outside our schools is changing rapidly…
• Wolfram Alpha will pass by Google within 5 years, as it can answer entire questions instead of using keywords and headers.” (Sidenote: I did several Wolfram Alpha searches, and had issues with all of them. One was regarding Sanford, Maine. Questions regarding “How to solve a proportion” and “What is Moore’s Law of Technology” were not properly answered. I’m thinking they need time to evolve.)
• Then discussed computer watches (nanotechnology). SPOT technology (Smart Personal Object Technology – projection keyboard and projector).
• Moore’s Law of Technology was discussed – we need to move forward in Adult Education QUICKLY to keep up.
• “LEARN to DO” is an outdated concept. Today’s kids DO to LEARN. They start at the front of the brain (pre-frontal cortex), and use trial and error to make something work.
• WE NEED MASSIVE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR ADULT EDUCATORS.
• We are outgrown/surpassed by other countries, such as China and India. The kids in those countries go 270 days a year to school compared to our 180 days.
• Adult Ed has to become as big and robust as the K-12 system – and we have to push online instruction.
• The world has passed us by… somebody has to reeducate the adults of America – Adult Ed is more cost-effective – we have to step up and change.
• $104B in stimulus money was given to K-12.  What changes occurred in the K-12 system for that much money having been spent? Formula funding feeds the beast (old system). We need tougher standards. Tougher tests. Teachers evaluated.
• 19th Annual Model Schools Conference in Nashville this coming June.
• We need to invite the kids’ technology into the classrooms.
• Must teach reading in the content areas.
• Bill shared with us the story of his two youngest children. I’ll add more about this later.

Developing 21st Century Literacy in Students – Breakout Session with Bill Daggett:

• We must teach reading in the content areas. This is shocking for SCAE – no, I’m kidding – we’ve been doing it for years.
• We are not teaching reading in the upper grades! Our graduates are not prepared for the real world.
• EVERYBODY is going to need adult education.
• Kids need to be college and CAREER-READY.
• Blue-collar jobs require high levels of reading than middle to upper level jobs – mostly due to the technology.
• We need to put together an Adult Ed program to teach K-12 teachers how to teach reading in the content areas.
• Our kids need to be able to apply real-world knowledge in predictable and unpredictable situations.
• Literacy is NOT a skill you teach in ISOLATION.
• We need RIGOR and RELEVANCE in our content. Relevance makes rigor possible for most students.
• Find out what your students like, and teach with it. I am proud to say that we do that every day at Sanford Community Adult Education. That’s a homeschooling model if I ever heard one.
• Gold Seal Lessons – best lessons from the best teachers – Quadrant D lessons.

Tim Peterman and the Carolina Forest Elementary School Steel Drum Band entertained us this afternoon – here is a very brief video of them from YouTube.

Sure-Shot Recipe for Tech Integration Training – Mentoring with a Big Dose of PLC! – presented by me – here’s the link to check out what’s going on with MARTI in Maine!

Establishing a School’s Social Web Presence: Tools, Techniques and Challenges, presented by Dr. Joe Winslow, Dr. Corey Lee, Dr. Jeremy Dickerson of Coastal Carolina University.

Three options for the front door of your web presence: templatemonster.com, dreamtemplate.com, squarespace.com (Sidenote: HTML5 – most current standard of HTML available)

What is social media? Social media is disintermediated conversation – take out the middle man and establish a community of user-generated content. If you don’t have a social media strategy, your users will converse without you ELSEWHERE. User generated content should be carefully monitored. Establish ground rules, and have moderators. The active moderators become role models, and breaches of netiquette will be policed by the other members.

Your social media strategy? Integrate your social media platform with your website.

• Know your audience – students don’t to talk to you online; they are on MySpace
• Identify the outcomes – do you want to lower the amount of question calls?
• Choose the right platform – Vimeo? Teachertube?
• Analyze the conversation
• Listen and evolve – consumer oriented model (example: TripAdvisor has become a change agent)
• Build your brand
• Check out edmodo – it conflicts with my presentation so I can’t attend – but I’ll get some info and link to it….

Common Tools:

• WordPress, Blogger, Blogspot…
• Facebook
• Twitter
• YouTube

(Microsoft Photo Story 3 – insert session name and presenter) – very excited to check out this free software that allows the user to create a digital storybook for young kids. On a mac right now, so I’ll check it out when I get home tomorrow.

GAIN – assessment testing

Kuder Digital Portfolios

6pm, Friday 4/1 – Had connection issues off and on today, so I have to transcribe some notes on other sessions and products…