Presentations

I present on a number of topics related to leading and learning in the digital age.  Below are some presentations I have given in the past, as well as any available materials:

Social Media in the Classroom

I moderated this NXNE interactive panel, involving Royan Lee, Danika Barker and Brent Smith.

Today’s students are digital learners in a world of ever-available connectivity. Many step into their classrooms every morning with powerful mobile devices peeking out their back pockets. No longer a lonely drudgery, homework turns social as students increasingly connect to learn and collaborate. And yet, schools have been slow to recognize the potential afforded by social media platforms. Are tweeting, texting and Facebook the new dog-eared cahier and time-honoured textbook? What are the challenges faced by educators keen to bring classroom learning into the 21st century? This panel brings together a group of innovative educators to discuss the use of social media and online tools in schools. We discuss the push for change within traditional public school models. Specifically, we will explore how social media and online tools provide learning opportunities that nurture the skills students need – creativity, critical thinking and a global perspective.

Parents as Partners Webcast: Building Learning Networks

This webcast explores the use of twitter for parents and educators to build learning networks.  It begins with the premise that leadership 2.0 is about learning and listening.  The full recording is available here:

Parents as Partners Webcast

Don’t coach from the sidelines – get in the game! (K-12Online Conference, Dec. 2011)

This is a presentation I prepared for the 2012 K-12 Online Conference. It explores the role of play in creating learning environments where creativity, inquiry and critical thinking skills flourish. Leaders play a key role in fostering learning communities. When leaders engage in purposeful play in an open and transparent way, the impact on learning and engagement can be tremendous.

 

Connecting to Lead Learning Communities (Educational Computing Organization of Ontario, Oct. 2011)

This 1 hour presentation looked at developing leadership competencies across all 5 domains of the Ontario Leadership Framework. George Couros co-presented via skype. The following video was prepared to give participants some background information prior to the presentation:

This is a link to the google doc participants built during the presentation.

Twitter for Teachers (Ottawa, May 2011)

A 1 1/2 hour hands-on introduction to twitter for teachers. Participants set up twitter accounts, learned about the basics of twitter (tweet, retweet, hashtags, direct messages and twitter lists) and took first steps in developing a Personal Learning Network (PLN). The following 3 short videos were prepared to help participants set up their accounts prior to the workshop:

Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3: