The Richness of Digital Learning

Yesterday, the world of learning was treated to a free day of professional development in the comfort of our homes. Educators from around the globe, joined Chris Lehman with his team of energetic presenters and a proactive tech crew to experience what was expected to be a day of constant live, digital learning. We were not disappointed! The only setback on my end was the connectivity issue which prevented me from watching live broadcasts in the afternoon.

Since it is #NationalPoetryMonth and we were asked to reflect on the day's learning and send it back to #TheEdCollabGathering, I am going to synthesize my notes into a poetic format.

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In Saturday's morning hours, a sleepy me fell out of bed

joining a band of connected educators who much like me 

were pj-clad and eating learning for breakfast and lunch. 

We, the wonderologists, poetry lovers, owners of learning,

gathered knowledge, hanging on every word, scribbling it in 

our notebooks frenetically. When our heads, spinning with thoughts,

were full, we sought the companionship of online friends and tweeted out 

savory bites of captured thoughts for online channels to digest throughout  

the day. Digital learning was a rich, collaborative experience filled with joy.

©CVarsalona, 2016 

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Bite-sized Take-aways for Teachers-As-Learners (quotes from presenters):

Opening Session: The Curiosity-Driven Classroom: From Identity to Inquiry

Presenters: Harvey Daniels and Sara Ahmed

• Invest in our kids. Harvey Daniels
• We teach kids, not curriculum and need to activate students' curiosity.
• Are we modeling our own curiosity for our students? Sara Ahmed
• Establish a climate of inquiry where students become wonderologists.
• See kids as nouns, not only adjectives.
• Let students learn about their own world & reach out to invest in their world.
• Be careful about the narrative you are sharing with kids.

Session 1:Poetry Love

Presenters: JoEllen McCarthy, Janet Wong, Amy Ludwig VanDerwater, Alan Katz, Kim Doele

• Poetry is a way to take what you're passionate about and share it. Push poetry into the content areas. We need to encourage science as a pathway. Janet Wong
• Teaching does not have to be lonely. Use mentor text. JoEllen McCarthy
• Students have to know that writers don't find themselves instantly inspired. "Inspiration is something we decide to be, not something that happens magically. "Amy Ludwig VanDerwater
• Poetry is a way to have a conversation with your heart. Kim Doele
• #poetrylove Padlet Resources gathered by JoEllen McCarthy

Session 6: Amplify! Digital Pedagogy for Today and Tomorrow

Presenters: Kristin Ziemke and Katie Muhtaris

• Shift narrative from teacher to student-use Padlet walls.
• Speak, share your thinking via digital means and read it, love it, think it, share it. Kristin Ziemke
• We must have thoughtful, intention use of technology.
• Use images to inspire thinking.
• Go slow to go fast.
• Tech amplifies reflection.Kristin Ziemke
• Resources offered:http://padlet.com/KZiemke/Create2Learn (created by @Jeanne Halderson, @kristinziemke, and dgoble2001)

Session 7: Teaching Students to Elaborate and Add Details

Presenters: Rozlyn Linder and Chris Howard Linder

• Test drive the craft moves. (check out the various craft moves, such as Sweet and Sour moves at https://gathering.theeducatorcollaborative.com/session-two/workshop-7/.

Session 11: Maximizing Deep Thinking and Reflection through Independent Reading and Read-Aloud

Presenters: Dr. Mary Howard and Linda Hoyt

• Deep, reflective thinking is drive with passion. Dr. Mary Howard
• Have a soft start (10-15 minutes of reading at the start of class) and a smooth close. Dr. Mary Howard
• Our actions must mirror our own intents and beliefs. Dr. Mary Howard
• Power Conditions that lead to deep reading: Inspiration, Demonstration, Exploration  Dr. Mary Howard
• Read-aloud and independent reading have a place in our schools everyday, no matter the grade level. Linda Hoyt

There were so many other presentations that I did not see or that I could not receive due to connectivity issues (there was a power outage in the Northeast) so those I will access at another time at https://gathering.theeducatorcollaborative.com/agenda-at-a-glance/. The closing by Maggie B. Roberts and Kate Roberts was spotty so I need to spend more time with that wonderful talk. 

Today is DigiLit Sunday and Margaret Simon asked the community of bloggers to write a reflection on The Ed Collaborative Gathering, so this blog is being sent out to both #DigitLit Sunday and #TheEd CollabGathering.