My brother and I had the amazing opportunity to do the pre-conference keynote at the Alberta Technology Leaders in Education this past weekend. We would really like to thank everyone for their great hospitality and I look forward to connecting with these educators after the conference. As we talked about continuous learning throughout the conference, I feel that it is only right that I shared what I took away from this conference.
Dean Shareski’s Keynote
It was great to actually sit down and talk with Dean throughout the conference, but I really enjoyed having the opportunity to listen to his keynote. Dean talked about what we need to keep in education and what we need to throw away. His discussion about getting rid of the idea that the teacher is the sole expert in the classroom is so important to the shift that is taking place in our world, and the shift that needs to happen in our classrooms. It is essential that we allow our students to have more direction in their own learning and give them the opportunity to share their expertise with others. We also have the ability to connect with people all over the world and bring their expertise in for free, along with connecting with other students and teachers in classrooms. This is something that HAS to happen in our classrooms sooner rather than later. This also lends over to Dean’s other point that we need to give up our need as educators to control everything. Learning SHOULD be messy and that means we have to let go sometimes as educators.
Dean also talked about the great stuff that is also happening in our schools that we need to ensure we keep. The one point that really resonated with me was the importance of keeping the joy in our schools. Although Dean shared some great points, the following video said it all:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0FPZolbYns[/youtube]
Sharing
As I have embraced this culture of sharing, you could feel that from the conference, this notion was becoming contagious. I had the opportunity to sit in a meeting with a group of educational leaders who trying to figure out the best way to share. I am excited that this talk is happening as this is essential to moving education forward. Going back to Dean, if you have not seen the below keynote, you should take the time to watch it.
Next Year
I asked this question today on Twitter:
“Question for #atle10 ? What are you going to take away from this conference and implement in your practice?”
I am hoping that after this conference, I will be able to connect and see what others are learning so we can all learn together.
Thanks for the great conference and I am already looking forward to 2011!
