November 19, 2015

 Whole Class Instruction with Limited Technology     Register Here

Location // Room 310 Ball Hall, University of Memphis     
Time & Date // 4:30 - 6:00 pm  November  19, 2015
Presenter // Carmen Weaver, EdD, Assistant Professor,  University of Memphis
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So, you want to use technology, but you you have limited access to hardware or bandwidth. If you have one computer and a projector or a Smart phone, you are in luck! Join us as we learn about tools you can use for whole class activities with just one device. ​
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Dr. Weaver is an assistant professor in the Instructional Design and Technology program.  In her role as a faculty member, Dr. Weaver teaches face-to-face and online courses in technology integration for PK-12 education to graduate and undergraduate education majors. She also supervises the technology integration clinical experience for all undergraduate education majors. Dr. Weaver's research interests include professional development for technology integration in education and technology use in informal learning environments. She also has experience in the mentoring of early career educators via online communities of practice through her work as project manager of the University of Memphis Teachers Learning in Networked Communities (TLINC) project and is a past recipient of the University's Distinguished Teaching Award.

The Amazing Race - Google Style                  Register Here

Location // Room 320 Ball Hall, University of Memphis     
Time & Date // 4:30 - 6:00 pm  November  19, 2015
Presenter // Wanda Terral, Instructional Technology Specialist, Lakeland Schools System

Gain hands­-on experience with lesser known features of various tech tools & Google Apps (Search, Calendar, Maps, Chrome, Forms, Docs, Slides, Drawing, Books, and more) through completing a series of tasks with your team. This is NOT a "sit-and-get" session. Bring whatever tech you have, and your friends, and be ready to participate. Actual prizes will be given to the members of the winning team! You will be shocked how much you will learn in this one session.
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Twenty­-one year educator Wanda Terral is the Instructional Technology Specialist for the Lakeland School System (TN). A former band director, Wanda's constantly seeking information relating to techniques practices related to the use of tech to empower students and educators. A Google Certified Innovator & Trainer, she shares resources on Google+, Twitter, & her blog. She's currently pursuing an EdD in IDT at the U of Memphis.

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October 22, 2015

Beyond PowerPoint: Discover the Prezi                     

Location // Room 310 Ball Hall, University of Memphis     
Time & Date // 4:30 - 6:00 pm October 22, 2015
Presenter // Raina Burditt,  University of Memphis​

Prezi is a free, Flash-based application that lets you break away from the slide-by-slide approach of most presentations. Instead, it allows you to create non-linear presentations where you can zoom in and out of a visual map containing words, links, audio, images, videos, etc. It allows students to see the “big picture” and then zoom in on the details. You can design a prescribed path or let the presentation be free form, allowing you or your students to move in any direction. These presentations are stored online so that you can link to them from your website, or you can export them to your computer and present without an internet connection. You or your students can also invite collaborators to work on a prezi in a group setting. Bring your laptop to this workshop so that you can see what all the hype is about and start making your very own Prezis!
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Raina Burditt currently teaches 7th grade English at St. George's Independent School. She has presented at numerous conferences including: AMLE Annual Conference, Lausanne Learning Institute, Midsouth Technology Conference, T.A.I.S. Biannual Conference, and Memphis Teach Meet.

Communication Beyond the Classroom           

The presentation will include a demonstration of three different tools, Google, Edmodo, and Class Dojo, that can be used by teachers, students, and parents to stay connected.   Each method has its own pros and cons. We will be discussing the best time to use each option based on age/grade as well as other characteristics that may be specific to your classroom.
You are welcomed to bring your own device, or use what we have in our studio.  You may bring a laptop, tablet, or smart phone.  All of these methods that I am using are supported on those platforms.

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September Workshops

Online diagramming tools for the classroom, Google Drive and beyond   

Location // Room 310 Ball Hall, University of Memphis     
Time & Date // 4:30 - 6:00 pm September 24, 2015
Presenters // Suha Tamim, EdD, IDT Faculty, University of Memphis

Critical thinking, collaboration, communication, and creativity are desired skills for 21st century learning. These skills are further enhanced with the incorporation of the visual element.  In the respect, online diagramming tools are a great resource to use in the classroom to help students acquire these 21st century skills, using the visual modality of learning. Online diagramming tools assist students in mapping their thinking process, using higher order thinking, encouraging creativity, and giving them an easy outlet for sharing and collaboration.

In this session, we will explore several freely available online diagramming tools that can be used in the classroom.  We will then focus on those that can be integrated in Google Drive, such as Lucidchart.  It will be a hands-on session where we will learn how to access the tools, create diagrams, export, share, and use other functions that are part of the tools.

 
Dr. Suha Tamim is a Clinical Assistant Professor, in the Instruction and Teacher Education, the College of Education, University of South Carolina. She is also a part-time faculty member in the Instructional Design and Technology program at the University of Memphis. She worked as a consultant on research and education initiatives for the International Outreach Program at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and education consultant at Crew Training International, and as instructor and health educator at the Department of Health Behavior and Education at the American University of Beirut.

Polling the Classroom: 4 Free Polling Tools to Keep Students Engaged   

Location // Room 320 Ball Hall, University of Memphis     
Time & Date // 4:30 - 6:00 pm September 24, 2015
Presenters // Jennifer Townes, Graduate Teaching Assistant,  IDT

After you’ve introduced your class to the concept of derivatives, how can you be sure your students understood the topic? How can you increase student-to-student interaction? So many teachers feel like they only get feedback from the most outgoing students. They wonder what the quieter students are thinking and how much of the lesson the class really understands.

Great educators know that teaching is not a one-way street. Getting students involved and engaged is key to helping lessons stick. Technology that builds engagement can help students learn better.
Come  learn how to incorporate  interactive tools into your  teaching to keep my students engaged and interested. We will explore four different online polling software.  The best part....They are all FREE! 


Jennifer Townes is an Instructional Design and Technology doctoral student.  She has a background in K-8 education.  Jennifer taught for Metro Nashville Public Schools for 10 years before moving into adult education.  As an elementary and middle grade school teacher, Ms. Townes often used technology to help enhance the learning experience.  She became interested in integrating technology into the learning experience after earning her master's degree in educational technology.  Ms. Townes is currently a Graduate Teaching Assistant  for the Instructional Design & Technology (IDT) department where she works on various projects.