It’s been a beautiful weekend here in Ontario, but I really haven’t left the house all weekend. Why? I’ve been attending and presenting at the Reform Symposium: an amazing global conference that I’m so glad that I could be involved in. This is the third Reform Symposium, and while I’ve attended all three, this was the first time that I’ve been a moderator and presenter at this online symposium. I can’t thank Shelly Terrell enough for giving me this incredible opportunity. Thanks Shelly! A special thank you too for the team of people that organized this huge global conference. I know that many of you did not sleep all weekend, and the words, “thank you,” do not even seem like enough right now.
I just finished my own presentation a few minutes ago on Using Web 2.0 Tools In The Primary Classroom. I was amazed when the numbers in the room went up to almost 80 participants. Even more incredibly, there were people from all over the world attending the session: from those in Australia and Israel to those around the corner in Hamilton. Wow! These are all passionate educators and administrators that really want to do everything they can for children. These are people that inspire me every single day on Twitter, and these are people that I’m so glad I can connect with online and/or in person. Thanks to everyone that attended today, and thanks for all of your support in the Elluminate session itself and on Twitter afterwards.
Click on the image above to see the slides from my presentation today. Here’s a link to a recording of the presentation.
An educator that I love following on Twitter, @thenerdyteacher, has created a fantastic hashtag called #SchoolDidAGoodThing. I think that the Reform Symposium is full of great examples of “school doing a good thing,” and I’m so glad that I spent this beautiful weekend being involved in such great professional development!
I know that so many of us were involved in the Reform Symposium, so what are some highlights of the weekend for you? I hope that we can all share here what we learned and did as part of this outstanding conference!
Aviva
Aviva,
Thank you for all that you share with us. Your #rscon3 session was incredible and inspiring. I am always amazed when I hear about all that you and your 1st and 2nd graders are doing. You inspire me to set my classroom bar higher each time I hear you present. When the recorded sessions are finally ready, I will be sharing yours out within my district as a glowing example of what is possible.
Wow Paula! Thank you! I cannot imagine a bigger compliment … and from someone I admire so much. Thank you for inspiring me and for being such an important part of my PLN. I’m so glad that you could join in today!
Aviva
Congratulations! You had done an excellent work! I was there and can see how enthusiastic people was 🙂 Thanks for sharing all those wonderful resources, too.
Regards from México 🙂
Aviva,
You are an inspiration to me and a model for my colleagues! Thank you for sharing your presentation on your blog, as I was unable to attend, and for proving that social media can and should be used with younger students. Have you inspired the teachers in your school to do the same? How did you do that?
Sincerely,
Theresa Allen
Thanks for coming Angela! I’m so glad that you enjoyed the presentation and found the resources helpful too.
Aviva
Thanks for the comment, Theresa! I’m so glad that you enjoyed the presentation that you saw on my blog. It’s amazing teachers from my school and from Twitter that inspire me to do so much of what I do!
And yes, many teachers at my school are starting to use these tools too. Most of the students at the school are blogging now and many are open blogs as well. Students have started asking for this. I’ve also run some after-school and PD Day inservices on how to set up blogs, and the teachers have come and set them up. Some teachers have joined Twitter as well. I constantly share resources with the teachers that I get from my Twitter PLN, and I guess that this has helped inspired some to join in the conversation. It takes time, but it’s worth it!
Hope this helps! Thanks for your comment!
Aviva
Aviva,
You were amazing at #RSCON3! I was so impressed and inspired by all that you do with your students. I agree with Paula, that you set the bar high and provided a great roadmap for newbies like myself. Thank you for sharing your experiences!
Hugs,
Elle
@Elle_Gifted
Elle, thanks for such a lovely comment! I’m so glad that you could make it to my presentation, and I’m thrilled that I got to make it to yours. You were great!
Thank you for all of your support!
Aviva