Tag: CUE

Posted in Edublogs

Professional Learning and Conferences

Posted on by Mrs. Ruiz

conference-2705706_1920EduBlogsClub Prompt #25:

Prompt: Write a post about conferences and professional learning.

Here are some possible topics to help get you started:

  • Write a list of the top conferences you want to attend before you retire.
  • Have you presented at an academic conference? If so, write about your presentation and share with everyone!
  • Write about the most inspiring speaker you’ve seen at a conference, and tell about how it impacted your approach to education.
  • Write a post discussing tips for getting the most out of conferences.
  • Write a post about what conferences need to do to continue to be a positive force in education.

I love professional learning and conferences! I love them so much I decided to make one of them an annual thing and turn it into a family trip. 🙂

I am sure I am not alone in saying that my district doesn’t pay for a whole lot of conferences. I can see how something like that gets expensive real quick, but conferences are really a valuable learning experience. I have a passion for edtech and so that usually drives my conference interest, as well as academic innovation.

CUE logo

The first conference I used to go to on the regular was CUE (Computer Using Educators). It is a great edtech conference held in Palm Springs, CA in March of every year and is only about a 45 minute drive away. Many educators consider it a warm up to ISTE in June, and I would have to say that is a fair assessment. On the whole it is a great conference and I recommend it.

ISTE logo

ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) is my new regular conference now. It is a massive edtech experience. I have been aware of the annual ISTE conference for years but I first attended in Philadelphia 3 years ago, and attended again this past June in San Antonio. Next year it will be in Chicago. I have been telling my husband that I want he and our 12 year old son to accompany me to make it a family trip and I am excited that this time we will finally be doing that. So ISTE will officially be a family summer trip so I can get my edtech fix, and my son can see the United States. Win-win right?

sxswedu logo

SXSWEDU is one I only just became aware of about a year or two ago and I have yet to attend. It is held in early March each year in Austin, TX. I am interested in it because it showcases academic innovation and not just edtech. We need so much innovation in education right now! I am hoping to attend next March.

What are some of your favorite conferences? Share with me in the comments below. 🙂

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Posted in Educational Technology

New Apps!

Posted on by Mrs. Ruiz

Just before Spring Break I went to the CUE conference (CUE = Computer Using Educators). I have been to this conference before, but had taken some time off. I was so glad to be back. At CUE you learn a lot about what other teachers and schools are doing with technology in their classrooms.

Part of my time at CUE experience was spent in an iPad Academy, where we learned about some great apps to use with students. I introduced the class to two of those today.

TellegamiOne of the apps I shared was Tellegami. It has free and paid ($4.99) versions. The paid version gets you the full app with a few more backgrounds to choose from. Tellegami is a fun way to share stories and messages. Essentially the user customizes an avatar, selects a background (or uses one of their own) and can record their own voice or use one of the voices included in the app. I am having the class share their Spring Break stories this way and will share some of them when they are done. I encouraged the class to try this app at home if they have a tablet. Tellegami works on both Apple and Android tablets.

Word CloudsThe other app I shared was Word Clouds (Apple only, though if you search “Word Cloud” in the Google Play store, the first app that comes up is very much like Word Clouds). With Word Clouds, students can make word art out of their writing. I will be having students type their stories into Word Cloud and creating word art to display in the classroom. I will share some of their work here as well as soon as they are done. Word Cloud is a free app.

The class was VERY excited to try these new apps and I did encourage them to try them at home if possible, as well as to email me what they create. As a reminder my email is ruizmy@fusd.net.

Enjoy!