I had the real pleasure to participate in TEDxUBC on October 23rd. TEDx events are part of a large and growing TED movement devoted to “Ideas Worth Spreading”.
The TEDxUBC team describes their events as:
TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. Our event is called TEDxUBC, where x=independently organized TED event. At our TEDxUBC event, TEDTalks video, passionate, live speakers and entertainers, will combine to spark deep discussion and connection in an amazing small group of 100 leaders, innovators, stakeholders and change agents.
I loved the experience for a number of reasons:
– the format forces presenters to be concise
– the discussions between presentations are valued
– there is a great mix of people from a variety of professions
– the presentations live on through the web
– it is all about ideas
Thanks to the organizers of the TEDxUBC event, it was one of the best PD experiences of my career. Special kudos to Bret Conkin – a great leader!
The videos of the presentations are being posted to YouTube (search via TEDxUBC tag) on a fairly regular basis. Lots of great discussion starters.
I had previously posted my script here, but here is my talk on personalized learning:
Awesome presentation Chris (great to see a Riverside student included!). I will use this with my staff to show what can be done NOW!!!
Thanks Todd. It was also the time of my life. It was great to be involved in such an innovative project – and attending the Olympics wasn’t too bad either!
Fantastic Chris!
Your slide at the 12 and a half minute mark (almost) says it all! The real head-nodding for me came about a minutes after that when you said, “It was hard! As a teacher, I think sometimes we say that technology is going to make teaching easier. It’s not. It’s going to make it different.”
Different, empowering, engaging and current… and the best part… it can be done now!
It’s not easy, but that can be said for many things worth doing in life.
Thanks Dave. I appreciate your kind words. It was an absolutely amazing experience. I do get frustrated when some still sell technology in schools as an answer for overworked educators. Hopefully technology streamlines much of the business of our jobs, but also, I don’t think teachers want their jobs to be easier – that is not what they say. We want our jobs to be current, exciting, engaging and purposeful.
We didn’t sign up for easy!
Fantastic presentation and message, Chris!
Thanks for watching and for the kind words.
Keep sharing the message, Chris, I think you are a wonderful example for other senior managers in other districts as you effectively use your blog, twitter and your speaking voice to exert influence on your expanding audience.
You are right, we are on the cusp of some major changes. Step one is to define with students, teachers, parents and Ministry officials exactly what these 21st century skills and knowledges are so that we can then target ‘best practice’ pedagogy and effective tech infusion.
These are exciting times in education which calls for a new kind of Board Office leadership, just like you are providing.
Cheers.
Thanks Dave. You were a mentor of mine as I became a secondary school principal in Coquitlam- I have always appreciated your student-focussed view of the world. Thanks for taking the time to comment and connect. It has been wonderful through a variety of digital tools to stay connected over the last three years since I left Coquiltam.
I am absolutely committed to redefining the Board Office.
[…] century learning isn’t something on it’s way here… it’s something we can do NOW! Chris has been a frequent commenter on my blog, always saying things that challenge my […]
Thanks Dave for including me among your nominations for the Edublog Awards. I appreciate the great comments you add to extend the conversations and your blog is a must read.
Hi Chris,
Great presentation. I really appreciated the emphasis you gave by stating that good writing still really matters. I think that a lot of people are quick to turn away from tech and argue that students aren’t writing when they use shortcuts such as lol, gr8, etc. But that’s just another form of writing, and one that doesn’t have a place in a final presentation of a project such as yours. How incredible, by the way.
I also like how you pointed out that the students who were most successful were the ones who were able to use tech effectively AND communicate well. Can you imagine, if we started using tech in this way with our youngest students and gave elementary kids real audiences, how incredibly talented they’d be by secondary school? Gives me shivers 🙂
Also, I’m watching my clock and am realizing that I’m likely not going to be able to comment on your “buy local” post. But I read your tweet about “what is it about Coquitlam teachers and blogging?” and thought it was interesting that I had a similar question about your local teachers/admin blogging. What is it about male teachers and blogging and tech? Of course, not that there’s anything wrong with male teachers blogging, but where are the women? I know there are women out there doing great things in tech ed and in admin support tech in schools and 21C learning. So maybe we’re at a tipping point? That’s pretty exciting!
Congrats on the nomination.
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