ISTE Webinars
As part of my JHU-ISTE administration program, I am completing an internship with ISTE’s webinar department. My task for the next couple weeks is to research potential topics for next year’s webinars. Once we establish the topics, I will then explore potential speakers. Sounds a bit familiar, I know.
While this certainly won’t prove as exciting a topic as that, I do think this is a good opportunity for you to voice your opinion on what ISTE should pursue next year. If you look over this year’s offerings, you can get a sense for what topics have been a focus of late.
I certainly have some thoughts on potential topics. I think a session on school law and teaching practices would be a fascinating topic. I also believe a general session on social media’s role in learning would be of equal interest. I’d be interested in hearing about how Linux could be used to save costs and increase student access. And I’d love to hear how to develop online learning experiences that break from the traditional mold of old educational practices simply being replanted in the online soil. I’d also love to hear about specific instructional/learning design for students living in a connected world.
I could go on, but I’d prefer this to be research I conduct collectively. I’d like to know what topics you’d like to hear about. I will take these suggestions and present them to the webinar project manager for ISTE. She has agreed to consider the possibility of all requests.
I’d also like to gather any other feedback you might have about the ISTE webinar series. What has value? What needs changing? This part is me going off script, but I’d still like to know. Because I’m curious.
While I can’t promise you a grand voting experience that everyone will be talking about for the next six months, I can promise that your input will be valued and considered for future webinars.
So, what do you got?
8 Comments, Comment or Ping
John Strange
The importance of blogging and commenting on blogs
Comments4Kids
Jan 22nd, 2010
Colin Matheson
Mobile Learning-iPod touch labs, cell phones in the class, etc
Using social media in the classroom-commercial/whole world (FB, MySpace, Twitter) vs open source/walled garden (Elgg, Moodle, Mahara
Moodle-Make the switch and save money on your LMS and online gradebooks (or get an LMS and online gradebook going)
Jan 22nd, 2010
Barbara
Here are a few of my hot topics
Tools for administrators to lighten the load and make your job easier
More on Open Source- Especially Why Open Office as a viable and effective alternative for schools
Creative Commons
Pedagogy and integration of tech across curriculum.. notice one for science lets address each area and both elementary and HS and Higher ed
Moving computers out of the lab into the classroom
Jan 22nd, 2010
Scott Schwister
This veers into snake-swallowing-own-tail territory, I know, but how about a critical analysis of the efficacy of crowdsourcing, how personal and professional politics and other considerations influence, weight, or skew outcomes?
Okay, that was only semi-serious.
Seriously, I second your vote for something on school cyberlaw. That might dovetail, both thematically and pragmatically, with social media use, if one were so inclined.
And I really want someone to connect the dots between data visualization as an emerging field/trend and student data, data-driven decisionmaking, RTTT emphasis on “closing the data gap,” etc. Can you wave your magic webinar wand and make that happen?
Jan 22nd, 2010
Chad Lehman
I think the topics discussed above are great – as were previous topics. However, I’ve never attended any because I feel the cost is very high. In a lot of cases, the same topics can be found online for free, but ISTE charges around $50 for a one hour session. Ben, can you do something about that?
Jan 22nd, 2010
Kat Goodale
How about some info on how gender affects the use of technology? What are the differences in how boys and girls become engaged in technology and how can we use those differences to keep girls engaged through to post-secondary education?
Jan 22nd, 2010
Debbie Brooks
NML, New Media Literacies, Check out the Ning from MIT, lots of video, challenges and resources on the NML’s.
Feb 8th, 2010
Gary Stager, Ph.D.
Computing would be a swell topic for ISTE.
Mar 7th, 2010
Reply to “ISTE Webinars”