I have never been to an iT Summit conference; therefore I didn't know what to expect when I entered the Radisson Hotel in
Saskatoon, being a part of the E-Journalism team. Morning came early and we had been busily working through the day. I had the opportunity to listen in to a keynote speaker, Dean Shareski, who spoke with Kathy Cassidy, Clarence Fisher and Darren Kuropatwa. Each teacher talked about the way they have integrated technology into their classrooms and how it has benefitted their students. Some technology they have used in the classroom was iPods, laptops, smart boards, scanners and projectors. The students used their resources to download information, both written and vocal, off the internet. The speakers invited us into their classrooms through a power point and shared interesting stories. Although a teacher’s life is hectic, Cassidy, Fisher and Kuropatwa have managed to work technology into their everyday learning and move away from the traditional classroom. For example, Cassidy has brought smart boards and Nintendo DS into her math classes to get the students involved and explore problem solving.
It was interesting to hear about all the technology in the classroom and how it was easily integrated into the curriculum. The idea of the students blogging their reactions, answers and their understandings of what they are learning, was an interesting concept. Blogging encourages the students to help each other learn and in many cases, boost their self esteem. In one part of the presentation, we got to hear actual students from Kuopatwas’ classroom and how the use of technology has benefitted them.
The conference was an interesting, educational experience, and I am happy to have sat in on it. I look forward to watching more keynote speakers and hope that this conference reaches many and knowledge and awareness is shared.
