Have U been to a TeachMeet or iPadMeet?

Last Saturday, Elkanah House hosted its third TeachMeet, as well as its second iPadMeet. The response and attendance to both meets were extremely rewarding. Forty six dedicated people interested in sharing, presenting and soaking in ways to use ICT in the classroom joined the TeachMeet. During second session, fifty four participants, passionate about using the iPad as a classroom device, attended the iPadMeet.

The events were run one after the other to allow participants to enjoy both meets or collaborate with others during the short break between events.

  

Here is what happened at the Meets?

The meet kicked off with a “welcome housekeeping” presentation, which can be viewed here for those who are not sure how a TeachMeet event is run.

Essentially, on signup one would choose one of the following options:

• Keen Bean – a presenter who shares an idea, lesson, a tool in a timeslot of 3-5 minutes – presenters receive a gift of jelly beans
• Enthusiastic Lurker – just there to soak up the environment and enjoy the day!

Di de Villiers from Somerset House seemed to have managed to get a reserved seat! She has attended every Meet we have had so far and always sits on the couch in the same spot…so I decided to reserve it for her!

      

Keen Beans shared a huge range of resources and the number of presenters doubled since the last meet! A huge thank you to Nicole Masureik of Pinelands High as well as Mnr Maree of Bishops who were unable to attend but contributed by sending a virtual presentation for me to share with the audience. So if you are unable to attend a meet…you are always able to contribute and share with others…video yourself or a presentation and send to me.

Well done to those who presented on the day – more information about these presentations, as well as photographs, videos and resources can be found on the TeachMeet wiki – http://elkteachmeet.pbworks.com – continue reading this post to see what was presented!

1. Carolynn Bruton [ex Springfield] – presented twice, once on Organising you iPad and iPhone and then Transferring your Pics between Devices.
   Organising iPad TeachMeet.pdf; Transferring pics.pdf
2. Fiona Beal [SchoolNet] presented on Google Forms – So Easy to Use – http://schoolnetsa.blogspot.co; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzgaUOW6GIs; Google Forms – so easy to use.pptx
3. Jenny Martin [Somerset House] on Using Triptico in the Primary School Maths Class Word Magnets.pptx; http://www.triptico.co.uk
4. Karen Stadler [Elkanah House] took us on a wonderful tour through Epic Citadel during the iPadMeet– KStadler_epic.pps – visit Karen’s blog at http://karenstadler.wordpress.com or ipad wiki: http://just-ipadding-along.posterous.com
5. Nicole Masureik [Pinelands] – presented on Using Screencast-o-matic
   www.screencast-o-matic.com. This video demonstrated the recording of on screen annotations in PowerPoint for Teacher Professional Development.
   Screencasting.mp4
6. Mnr Maree [Bishops] – took audience through Using Tumblr in the Afrikaans Classroom
   http://bishopsafrikaans.tumblr.com
   tumblr in afrikaans.mp4
7. Siobhan Louw [Somersert House] – presented her Term Long ICT Project – Planning a Virtual International Holiday
   S Louw TeachMeetFeb2012.pptx
8. Siobhan Louw [Somersert House] – Shared an App called Boxee during the iPadMeet session
   S Louw boxee.ppsx
9. Cheryl Douglas [Bishops] – presented on Using OneNote to produce Biology Notes on the Endocrine System
   Endocrine system.one
10. Fiona Beal – [SchoolNet] – showed us How to make a Protopage
    How to make a protopage.pptx
11. Louise Leigh [Herzlia] – shared her Integrated ICT Tasks in Mathematics  – Google Docs Grade 9 Data Handling Research Project
    The Environment – Research Topic and Introduction; Design of a Survey/Questionnaire, Administering a Survey, Organizing Data by making tally tables, Double bar graph, calculating averages, writing a report on results and report features of graphs, writing a conclusion with informed opinion and findings, a Bibliography, and finally to present. ICT Integrated Tasks.pptx; ycling Herzlia 2009-2012.pdf;9-Recycling Double Bar Graph 2012.xlsx; 9-Graph Project 2012.pdf
12. Peter Schutte [Wynberg Girls] – presented on using Edmodo in the Maths Class
    Edmodo_Teacher_Training_Presentation.pptx; Edmodo__a_student_quick_start_guide.pdf; UsesforEdmodoAllgradelevels.pdf
13. Gilmour Gordon [Elkanah House] – shared his Music with Audacity, Movies with Sound project with the audience
    [email teachmeet@elkanah.co.za for access to dropbox folder if you would like to view / download this presentation due to size limitations 
14. Alan Goldberg [Digicape] – presented on iBook format / Author, Popplet Lite,and the use of a science iPad app and gadget during the iPadMeet.
15. Jak Tangkuampien [Elkanah House] presented on Marking with the iPad. 

Without the above Keen Beans as well as the Enthusiastic Lurkers the 2 hour session would not be possible.

I encourage everyone to continue sharing and collaborating amongst each other, to visit the wiki, interact with others and mail teachmeet@elkanah.co.za should you have something to share at the next meet.

A special thank you to:

Christiaan Vlok – Elkanah student for video footage and photos
Arthur Preston – Elkanah House Senior Primary Principal for twitter backchannel
Karen Stadler – Elkanah House ICT Integrator for the twitter backchannel
Gareth Davies – Business of Teaching – for the donation of magazine prizes
Bongi Damane – Elkanah staff member for organising the refreshments
Fiona Beal – SchoolNet for her continued support and encouragement

Continue the collaboration on twitter : #elkteachmeet and #SAipaded

Photographs of our Meets

HOPE TO SEE YOU SOON @ AN ELKANAH TEACHMEET OR IPADMEET!

TeachMeets in other parts of the world!

Ireland joins TeachMeets – visit the wiki on http://tmbelfast.wikispaces.com/)

Australia is having a huge one this Friday evening where they are trying to beat a world record for TeachMeets

Check out the ustream here: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/sydney-teachmeet

This Saturday, a big virtual International Teachmeet with 32 presenters from 20 countries (Fiona Beal of SchoolNet is one of the volunteers…go Fiona!) was held.
Visit http://teachmeetinternational.wikispaces.com/

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/btrplayer.swf Do you listen to blogtalkradio? Lots of great discussions happening here!

 

Discuss All Things iPAD @ the iPADMeet

Schools are investigating the implementation of iPADs into the classroom to engage and extend learning.  Teachers are also a buzz about purchasing a tablet for personal & education use.

Elkanah House is running an iPadMeet forum for Principals, Teachers, ICT Heads and Coordinators to pool considerations, resources, and knowledge about device implementation in a school environment.

We are all on the same discovery path and hope to implement such devices using a seamless approach into our schools.  But often, these pilot projects are not successful due to a number of essential factors which could make or break victory! With constant discussions and support around these issues we hope to be better informed.

Some of the topics we aim to cover during our iPADMeet @ Elkanah House are:

•      Ownership of devices [staff + students / parents]
•      Is the iPad the “way 2 go”
•      Purchasing of Apps – “are we App dependent”
•      iTunes – without learning the hard way!
•      Training of staff
•      Infrastructure and Support
•      Using Cloud or school server – storing of
•      Social Media policies – do we need to control this or manage this?
•      Wireless – solutions, cost
•      Pilot projects – tracking and managing
•      iPad curriculum – wiki for success for use by all schools?
•      ePub distribution to student iPads [resources, portal options]

So, hurry and book your spot at the iPADMeet.

•      Follow us on Twitter : #SAipaded  OR
•      Contact: Linda via email at teachmeet@elkanah.co.za OR
•      Visit http://teachmeet-southafrica.wikispaces.com to sign up!

Don’t forget to bring your iPAD [or any other device] with you.  If you are keen on using ICT to support teaching and learning, then you should join us from 11h00 to 13h00 for our TeachMeet @ Elkanah, just before the iPADMeet.

VIEW OUR FLIPPABLE INVITES! http://snack.to/oixIAJ

Our scrumptious Schoolyard Market @ Elkanah is happening on the same day as the TeachMeet & iPADMeet! You do not want to miss this…see our website for details.

 

Collaborate @ TeachMeets

Elkanah House is hosting another two TeachMeets. Come and join us as a Keen Bean – all you need to share is a 3 minute idea, project or classroom experience using ICT. It is the perfect environment to learn from each other and share resources in a relaxed atmosphere with the bonus opportunity to meet new friends.  Such fun was had by all during the first TeachMeet @ Elkanah and we would love to have many more teachers experiencing this with us.

If you prefer to “check out the situation” the first time, you are welcome as an Enthusiastic Lurker. Lots of discussions are held before; during and after the TeachMeet … so don’t miss out! All it takes is 2 hours of your time on a Saturday afternoon once in a blue moon :-).

Sign up by visiting http://teachmeet-southafrica.wikispaces.com OR
Send an email to Linda at teachmeet@elkanah.co.za
Follow us on twitter at #elkteachmeet

Our next TeachMeet date is set for the 26^th NOVEMBER 2011 @ 11h00 [see advert below] 

 

If you are too busy with the exam period, please book for the next TeachMeet set for the 25^th FEBRUARY 2012 @ 11h00 [see advert above]

 LOOKING FORWARD TO MEETING YOU!

 

TeachMeets @ Elkanah – U don’t wanna miss this…

Elkanah House held its very first TeachMeet on Saturday, 29^th October. The meet was held in the Library Resource Centre from 12h00 till 14h00 at our High School.

You might be thinking “What is a TeachMeet?” TeachMeets are a very popular form of professional development for teachers. Teachers’ sign up to either participate as a Keen Bean by presenting a successful lesson, resource, or idea [the list is endless] that they have experienced using ICT in the classroom or as an Enthusiastic Lurker [for those who wish to “check out” the situation and participate in discussions or simply learn from others].

Presenters are encouraged to prepare a 3 minute presentation or idea to share at the TeachMeet. These are collected via a Dropbox shared folder the week before the meet. All the resources are shared with attendees after the TeachMeet. The organisers of the TeachMeet will keep to the time limits!

Twenty two teachers from different schools, within the Cape Town area, attended the TeachMeet @ Elkanah. The meet opened with attendees spending some time mingling at the SchoolYard Market Tea Venue. This was a great way to relax and get to know each other before moving to the Library Resource Centre. Everyone then moved to the TeachMeet venue where the meet was officially opened by Linda Foulkes [@folklind]. Karen Stadler [@ICT_Integrator] very professionally handled the Twitter backchannel for the meet. Our twitter hashtag is #elkteachmeet.

Visit the following link for more information or to sign up for the next TeachMeet [February 2012]
http://teachmeet-southafrica.wikispaces.com or email teachmeet@elkanah.co.za

Third Term and Four Term 2011 volumes of the Business of Teaching [South African Education Quarterly Magazine] was donated to all participants of TeachMeet by the editor, Gareth Davies. If you are not already following @teachingbiz on Twitter, don’t delay…do it today!

Presenters shared the Use of wiki’s in a girls’ junior school: Club activity; Screencasting using Screenr and Jing; Book Reports with SpeakingImage, Popplet and Prezi; Global Classroom Project; Using Flipsnack; Amelia the Pigeon with Google Earth, Paint Powerpoint, Word [Google Docs], Myth Animations.

The day ended with very positive discussions around wifi, ipads, tools and more. It was suggested that we also host an IPADMeet. A very successful day!

Since the meet on Saturday I have had contact from teachers who are accessing the resources from the Saturday TeachMeet and preparing to apply these to meet the needs in the classroom. Do our children know what special dedicated teachers we have out there? Visit the following blog post of Lisa Gair [@ICT_Educator] who is so inspired by the meet http://icteducator.blogspot.com/ and shares her resource on how to use Flipsnack to make beautiful flipping books.

Watch the links above and follow #elkteachmeet for the next TeachMeet @ Elkanah and as Fiona Beal [@fibeal] said….

Here is a brief look at the some of the photos from the TeachMeet

 

Let the TeachMeets begin!

It is the night before the first TeachMeet @ Elkanah House. Running through my checklist to make sure i have not forgotten anything…check, check, check. It has only been two weeks since I decided the date for the TeachMeet and sent out the invites via twitter on #elkteachmeet and email. A Facebook event was also posted. The response has been absolutely wonderful and i am really happy with the total number attending tomorrow….22.

So, why all this talk about TeachMeets, you might ask? TeachMeets are un-conferences where teachers get to share ideas of using ICT in the classroom. This is done in a informal way…teachers sign up to present an idea in the form of a Video, PowerPoint, Prezi, HandOut. They are limited to three minutes each. Questions and discussions are encouraged after the presentations whereby teachers get the chance to build on ideas or offer new ones.

Teachers sign up as a Keen Bean – those that are confident or want to take the plunge and present, or as Enthusiastic Lurkers …those teachers who are not yet confident to present an idea but willing to share in discussion. It is a wonderful opportunity for teachers to collaborate and walk away with a few more contacts and resources to investigate.

I would like to thank Fiona Beal for her support with the in’s and out’s whilst getting to grips with TeachMeets and also for the numerous late night Skype sessions and emails between the two of us.

For information on TeachMeets, visit the following link: or email Linda at teachmeet@elkanah.co.za

Watch this space for an update on how our first TeachMeet went! Till tomorrow….