NECC workshop: Building an Educational Portal June 25, 2007
Posted by Debbie Stafford in : NECC2007 , add a commentBuilding an Educational Portal: A Single Stop for Learning Resources presented by Thom Dunks.
I chose this workshop as my first session because one of my goals for the summer and into next school year is to revamp my library web site. Mr. Dunks gave us a tour of his district’s webportal ed1stop. You do need a login to view the portal. Visitors to the session were given a temporary password, which I don’t feel authorized to share here.
While the portal was a district one, the software they use allows teachers and librarians to create pages within the portal. I was interested to see how individual librarians can create within the protal.
They use a software program uportal.com to create this site.
It was an informative session and I left with some ideas as to how to revamp my library page.
Posted by Deb Stafford
NECC 2007 6/25/07 - Media Ctr Playground & More
Posted by lperez in : NECC2007 , add a commentToday, I attended various meetings and events at the NECC Conference. In the morning, I visited the 21st Century Media Center Playground sponsored by the ISTE Media Specialists Special Interest Group (SIGMS). Located in an open space in a main corridor, this area featured vendor presentations in four key Media Center topics: Literacy, Research, Production, and Communication. The playground was often busy and attendees engaged in learning about library-related technologies. According to the new SIGMS Chair, Peggy Milam Creighton, an estimated 500 persons visited the playground. She said, “We didn’t know what to expect and were very pleased with the turnout.”
Later in the morning, I went to the breakout session, “Reinventing Project-based Learning: Your Field Guide to Real-World Projects in the Digital Age.” This well-attended program was provided by Jane Kraus and Suzie Boss. We learned about the ISTE book that they have recently co-authored by the same name. The presenters framed three over-arching concepts: (1) new contexts for learning in a digital age, (2) new contexts for teaching, and (3) reinvigorating problem-based learning to achieve greater results.
In the afternoon, I volunteered at the Second Life & Virtual Worlds Playground. There were approximately six workstations set up where attendees could learn about Second Life and its applications for educators. Attendees were able to ask questions in such topics as creating avatars, navigating Second Life, professional development in Second Life, Multi-User Virtual Environments (MUVEs) and students, and learning about ISTE’s new virtual island. It was great to finally associate some persons’ avatars with the real persons. For me, a highlight was when I met a teacher from Beijing, China, who I has communicated with various times this spring and finally unexpectely met in person today.
In the late afternoon, I attended the SIGMS Business Meeting. It was great to network with other SIGMS members who share a mutual interest in technology applications in the library. We overviewed the SIG’s purposes and goals (http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Membership/SIGs/SIGMS_Media_Specialists_/About_SIGMS/About_ISTE_SIGMS.htm), reviewed the previous year’s accomplishments, and discussed goals for the future.
Posted by Lisa Perez