I spent from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. (minus an hour’s lunch break) yesterday in a computer lab at the grand Institute for Advanced Learning and Research, participating in one of the Summer Educators’ Development Institute (SEDI) workshops. It was without a doubt the most interesting workshop I’ve ever been a part of, and I earned recertification points for it, too! (5.5 points down, 174.5 to go…)

Virginia Tech professor Dr. John Wenrich started off the workshop, “Teaching in a Web 2.0 World,” by taking each participant’s digital picture and having us sign a sheet with our names and email addresses. He then showed us a thought-provoking video set in a college classroom; from their seats in the huge auditorium, students held up placards with statistical results from a survey. (If I can find it, I’ll post a link…) If I remember correctly, the video was made as part of a college course.

We were asked to tell the rest of the group a little about where and what we teach and how much experience we have had with Web 2.0. More than a few had never even heard the term, but I’m sure after yesterday, they have a pretty good understanding. Throughout the day, Dr. Wenrich discussed Internet safety, social networking, Wikis, blogs, Google applications, and more using videos, screenshots, PowerPoint presentations, and a lot of hands-on activities along the way.

One of the most fun parts of the day was registering for and exploring the social networking site Facebook. (You can see my Facebook at left!) I had seen my students’ pages several times and had heard many discussions of how it worked, but I’d never been myself. We found the “friends” that were our fellow workshoppers and joined Wenrich’s Web 2.0 group. I got to see several faces (I didn’t recognize anymore) from my high school years, too.

Another activity was on using Google Docs, which I’ve already decided to use with my English students this fall — probably in a collaborative story, which we usually do with paper and pen. I know my students will absolutely love it, and we’ll be able to use it as a peer-editing activity, also. (The rubrics are already forming in my mind! :P)

Dr. Wenrich had already set up the framework of a form for us to fill in with our contact information. He invited us to collaborate in a document by email with the addresses we’d given him at the start of the day, and we had to click on a link in the email to gain access to his document. Unfortunately, there was some difficulty with the emails (including mine!) not making it to many of our inboxes, which would be something to consider when using the application in the classroom. It would be a good idea to make sure that everyone was able to log into the document before actually beginning the collaboration.

I was able to type in the address manually, and since I’d given him my Gmail address, my access was granted immediately. The application looks very much like any other word-processing program, with the standard menus at the top of the screen. I typed my contact information in one set of blank fields, and within seconds, the projector screens at the front of the lab refreshed to reflect my changes. Very cool, indeed.

Another fun activity was creating a movie using our digital pictures at JibJab. There are tons of movies to choose from, but I picked the same Charleston one that Dr. Wenrich used to show us. (I love flappers and zoot suits. :P) You can upload your own pictures and crop them (I used the one he took at the beginning of the day for mine), but you can also choose headshots of famous people like Barack Obama, Britney Spears, or George W. Bush (whom I chose to dance with me :P). I’ll try to do one next week and post it here… FUN!

I was fortunate to sit next to two very sweet fellow educators, Jennifer and Sydney. I’d known Sydney years ago when she used to come see my old band, the Flaming Blue Iguanas, play. They invited me to Arby’s for lunch (with our discount card from SEDI), and I’m glad I accepted. I hope to keep in touch with them — on Facebook, perhaps?

I’ve signed up for two more workshops: one is on United Streaming, and the other is about writing educational grants. (I even talked Mr. Hawke into accompanying me to the latter, since he’s not working that day!) I hope that both are as entertaining and informative as this one!!

On the home front, I’m still not totally unpacked and settled, but we’re loving the country as I knew we would. But in the morning, we’re off to Blowing Rock, North Carolina, for a magical family weekend at Tweetsie Railroad and Grandfather Mountain. Au revoir. :)

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