[DDN] Call for Proposals- K12Online 07 (fwd)

[theteach <theteach@theteachonline.net>]

Don't know if this is of interest

alex

Announcing the second annual "K12 Online" conference for teachers, 
administrators and educators around the world interested in the use of Web 
2.0 tools in classrooms and professional practice! This year's conference 
is scheduled to be held over two weeks, October 15-19 and October 22-26 of 
2007, and will include a preconference keynote during the week of October 
8. This years conference theme is "Playing with Boundaries." A call for 
proposals is below.

OVERVIEW:
There will be four "conference strands"-- two each week. Two presentations will be published in each strand each day, Monday - Friday, so four new presentations will be available each day over the course of the two-weeks. Each presentation will be given in any of a variety of downloadable, web based formats and released via the conference blog (www.k12onlineconference.org) and archived for posterity.

FOUR STRANDS:
Week 1
Strand A: Classroom 2.0

Leveraging the power of free online tools in an open, collaborative and 
transparent atmosphere characterises teaching and learning in the 21st 
century. Teachers and students are contributing to the growing global 
knowledge commons by publishing their work online. By sharing all stages 
of their learning students are beginning to appreciate the value of life 
long learning that inheres in work that is in "perpetual beta." This 
strand will explore how teachers and students are playing with the 
boundaries between instructors, learners and classrooms. Presentations 
will also explore the practical pedagogical uses of online social tools 
(Web 2.0) giving concrete examples of how teachers are using the tools in 
their classes.

Strand B: New Tools

Focusing on free tools, what are the "nuts and bolts" of using specific 
new social media and collaborative tools for learning? This strand 
includes two parts. Basic training is "how to" information on tool use in 
an educational setting, especially for newcomers. Advanced training is for 
teachers interested in new tools for learning, looking for advanced 
technology training, seeking ideas for mashing tools together, and 
interested in web 2.0 assessment tools. As educators and students of all 
ages push the boundaries of learning, what are the specific steps for 
using new tools most effectively? Where "Classroom 2.0" presentations will 
focus on instructional uses and examples of web 2.0 tool use, "New Tools" 
presentations should focus on "nuts and bolts" instructions for using 
tools. Five "basic" and five "advanced" presentations will be included in 
this strand.

Week 2
Strand A: Professional Learning Networks

Research says that professional development is most effective when it aims 
to create professional learning communities - places where teachers learn 
and work together. Using Web 2.0 tools educators can network with others 
around the globe extending traditional boundaries of ongoing, learner 
centered professional development and support. Presentations in this 
strand will include tips, ideas and resources on how to orchestrate your 
own professional development online; concrete examples of how the tools 
that support Professional Learning Environments (PLEs) are being used; how 
to create a supportive, reflective virtual learning community around 
school-based goals, and trends toward teacher directed personal learning 
environments.

Strand B: Obstacles to Opportunities

Boundaries formalized by education in the "industrial age" shouldn't 
hinder educators as they seek to reform and transform their classroom 
practice. Playing with boundaries in the areas of copyright, digital 
discipline and ethics (e.g. cyberbullying), collaborating globally (e.g. 
cultural differences, synchronous communication), resistance to change 
(e.g. administration, teachers, students), school culture (e.g. high 
stakes testing), time (e.g. in curriculum, teacher day), lack of access to 
tools/computers, filtering, parental/district concerns for online safety, 
control (e.g. teacher control of student behavior/learning), solutions for 
IT collaboration and more -- unearthing opportunities from the obstacles 
rooted in those boundaries -- is the focus of presentations in this 
strand.

CALL FOR PROPOSALS:

This call encourages all, experienced and novice, to submit proposals to 
present at this conference via this link. (http://snipurl.com/1lizf) 
Take this opportunity to share your successes, strategies, and tips in 
"playing with boundaries" in one of the four strands as described above.

Deadline for proposal submissions is June 18, 2007. You will be contacted 
no later than June 30, 2007 regarding your status.

Presentations may be delivered in any web-based medium that is 
downloadable (including but not limited to podcasts, screencasts, slide 
shows) and is due one week prior to the date it is published.

Please note that all presentations will be licensed Creative Commons 
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported.

As you draft your proposal, you may wish to consider the presentation 
topics listed below which were suggested in the comments on the K-12 
Online Conference Blog:


  a.. » special needs education
  b.. » Creative Commons
  c.. » Second Life
  d.. » podcasting
  e.. » iPods
  f.. » video games in education
  g.. » specific ideas, tips, mini lessons centered on pedagogical use of web 2.0 tools
  h.. » overcoming institutional inertia and resistance
  i.. » aligning Web 2.0 and other projects to national standards
  j.. » getting your message across
  k.. » how web 2.0 can assist those with disabilities
  l.. » ePortfolios
  m.. » classroom 2.0 activities at the elementary level
  n.. » creating video for TeacherTube and YouTube
  o.. » google docs
  p.. » teacher/peer collaboration

KEYNOTES:

The first presentation in each strand will kick off with a keynote by a 
well known educator who is distinguished and knowledgeable in the context 
of their strand. Keynoters will be announced shortly.

CONVENERS:

This year's conveners are:

Darren Kuropatwa is currently Department Head of Mathematics at Daniel 
Collegiate Institute in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. He is known 
internationally for his ability to weave the use of online social tools 
meaningfully and concretely into his pedagogical practice and for "child 
safe" blogging practices. He has more than 20 years experience in both 
formal and informal education and 13 years experience in team building and 
leadership training. Darren has been facilitating workshops for educators 
in groups of 4 to 300 for the last 10 years. Darren's professional blog is 
called A Difference (http://adifference.blogspot.com). He will convene 
Classroom 2.0.

Sheryl Nusbaum-Beach, a 20-year educator, has been a classroom teacher, 
charter school principal, district administrator, and digital learning 
consultant. She currently serves as an adjunct faculty member teaching 
graduate and undergraduate preservice teachers at The College of William 
and Mary (Virginia, USA), where she is also completing her doctorate in 
educational planning, policy and leadership. In addition, Sheryl is 
co-leading a statewide 21st Century Skills initiative in the state of 
Alabama, funded by a major grant from the Microsoft Partners in Learning 
program. Sheryl blogs at (http://21stcenturylearning.typepad.com/blog/). 
She will convene Preconference Discussions and Personal Learning Networks.

Wesley Fryer is an educator, author, digital storyteller and change agent. 
With respect to school change, he describes himself as a "catalyst for 
creative educational engagement." His blog, "Moving at the Speed of 
Creativity" was selected as the 2006 "Best Learning Theory Blog" by 
eSchoolnews and Discovery Education. He is the Director of Education 
Advocacy (PK-20) for AT&T in the state of Oklahoma. Wes blogs at 
(http://www.speedofcreativity.org). Wes will convene New Tools.

Lani Ritter Hall currently contracts as an instructional designer for 
online professional development for Ohio teachers and online student 
courses with eTech Ohio. She is a National Board Certified Teacher who 
served in many capacities during her 35 years as a classroom and resource 
teacher in Ohio and Canada. Lani blogs at 
(http://possibilitiesabound.blogspot.com). Lani will convene Obstacles to 
Opportunities.

QUESTIONS?

If you have any questions about any part of this, email one of us:

  a.. » Darren Kuropatwa: dkuropatwa {at} gmail {dot} com
  b.. » Sheryl Nusbaum-Beach: snbeach {at} cox {dot} net
  c.. » Lani Ritter Hall: lanihall {at} alltel {dot} net
  d.. » Wesley Fryer: wesfryer {at} pobox {dot} com

Please duplicate this post and distribute it far and wide across the 
blogosphere. Feel free to republish it on your own blog (actually, we'd 
really like people to do that ;-) ) or link back to this post (published 
simultaneously on all our blogs).

Conference Tag: K12online07