Make: Education Forum, online
9/25/21, 12:00pm – 12:30pm
Experiences As A Maker Educator (Before, During, And After COVID) with Tracy Rudzitis
Scratch Day @ TC, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York City
12/14/19, 9:00am – 1:00pm
Get Funky with Funkey, Scratch, and Cardboard musical instruments
The Funkey board is a microcontroller – just like MakeyMakey – that allows you to use every-day objects and materials such as aluminum foil, playdough, and bananas to interact with your Scratch projects. We’ll construct cardboard shapes, add conductive elements, connect them to a Funkey board, and program different instruments, sounds, and notes using Scratch to play music and form a band!
*****
STEMteachersNYC, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York City
11/15/19, 10:00am – 1:00pm
Circuits, Coding And Engineering Design For Grades 3-6 co-presented with Tracy Rudzitis
In this workshop, explore a range of hands-on tools for exploring electricity, circuit design and coding for grades 3 – 6. Work with littleBits experts and educators who have experience using affordable classroom kits to inspire creative engineering design challenges that align to the NGSS. Throughout the workshop, participants will learn how to use littleBits, a 21st-century STEM/STEAM hardware tool, to create circuits and learn how to create engineering design projects using the littleBits Invention Cycle to draft original lesson plans. The activities will touch on required NYC science standards such as, electricity travels in a closed circuit (4.1e), and some materials transfer energy better than others (heat and electricity) (4.1c). Teachers of all backgrounds and levels are welcome!
*****
Scratch Day @ TC, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York City
12/1/18, 9:00am – 1:00pm
Scratch, Cardboard, and FunkeyFunkey Musical Instruments
FunkeyFunkey is a microcontroller board – just like Makey Makey – that allows you to use every-day objects and materials such as aluminum foil, playdough, and bananas to interact with your Scratch projects. We’ll construct cardboard shapes, add conductive elements, connect them to FunkeyFunkey, and program different instruments, sounds, and notes using Scratch to play music and form a band! Audience: People of all ages (children under 8 years old should bring a parent or older sibling to help out) no prior Scratch experience is needed.
*****
Co-host #EdmodoChat with Lucy Gray (@elemenous)
June 17, 2018
Q1: What education topics would you like to learn more about this summer? Do you have any professional learning goals set for yourself?
Q2: Does your school or district provide any opportunities for professional development over the summer?
Q3: What informal professional learning opportunities will you engage in this summer?
Q4: What are some books and periodicals related to your work that you are planning on reading this summer?
Q5: If you lead professional development over the summer, what will your events or activities look like?
Q6: What would your dream summer PD scenario look like?
Q7: Will you be at #ISTE18 or #notatiste this year? How will you be making the most of this leading #edtech conference even if you are not attending in person?
Q8: Have you attended #edmodocon previously? What have you enjoyed about this event in the past? What are you looking forward to with EdmodoCon on August 7th?
*****
Future of Education Technology Conference, Orlando, FL
1/23/18, 10:30am – 12:30pm
Developing a Social Media Plan for Your School
In this hands-on workshop, experienced social media mavens and educators will guide you through interactive experiences to help you discover best practices in social media usage. You will develop social media strategies and a plan for improving school communications and community engagement. Plus, you’ll take away a comprehensive set of skills to make the most of social media as you seek to continuously improve your schools and/or districts. Explore how you can leverage a core set of digital tools and enhancements to boost personal productivity, professional learning, and school and district communications. You will leave with tips and tricks from experts, and ideas for engaging your school community in creative ways.
*****
Scratch Day, The Computer School, New York City
12/2/17, 9:00am – 1:00pm
Scratch, Cardboard, and FunkeyFunkey Musical Instruments
FunkeyFunkey is a microcontroller board – just like Makey Makey – that allows you to use every-day objects and materials such as aluminum foil, playdough, and bananas to interact with your Scratch projects. We’ll construct cardboard shapes, add conductive elements, connect them to FunkeyFunkey, and program different instruments, sounds, and notes using Scratch to play music and form a band! Audience: People of all ages (children under 8 years old should bring a parent or older sibling to help out) no prior Scratch experience is needed.
*****
Co-host #InfyXRoads
November 13, 2017
Q1: What are the benefits of teaching CS with physical computing and robotics?
Q2: What tools and resources do you recommend and for which grade levels?
Q3: Do boys and girls react differently to certain tools and resources?
Q4: How do we ensure access to such tools and resources reach all students?
Q5: How can we incorporate making, physical computing and robotics into an Hour of Code?
*****
EdTech Summit Africa, South Africa
7/25/17 – 8/6/17
Take Control of your Professional Development: Use Social Media for 24/7 Access to Learning
Discover, discuss, and experience a variety of models to actively take control of your professional development. Participation in Twitter chats, unconferences, Facebook and LinkedIn groups, Google+ communities, webinars, online courses, professional learning networks, Edcamps, and other spaces both physical and virtual are just a few of the ways to propel and sustain your personal growth. Joining a participatory culture of learners will allow you to learn, share, and network on your own time, anytime.
*****
iEARN (International Education and Resource Network) Annual Conference and Youth Summit, Marrakech, Morocco
7/17-22/17
Making a Splash in Your Community with Social Media, collaboration with Lucy Gray
School leaders will see how to leverage a core set of digital tools to boost personal productivity, professional learning and school and district communications. Learn tips and tricks from experts and come away from this hands-on experience with ideas for engaging your school community in creative ways.
*****
ISTE International Society of Technology Education 2017 Annual Conference, San Antonio, TX
6/24/17, 12:30pm – 3:30pm
Make a Splash With Social Media in Your School or District, co-presented with Lucy Gray
School leaders will see how to leverage a core set of digital tools to boost personal productivity, professional learning and school and district communications. Learn tips and tricks from experts and come away from this hands-on experience with ideas for engaging your school community in creative ways.
*****
NYIT SpeedTECH Conference, Manhattan, Old Westbury, Online
5/6/17
I was invited by Melda N. Yildiz to give a short keynote at this event. Each term, NYIT students, alumni, and faculty showcase their innovative and transformative projects. I told Melda I’d speak about Edcamp and the power of choice, agency, and community.
*****
Global Leadership Summit, New York City
4/24/17
Innovation in Global Education, co-presented with Karen Kirsch Page, Keith Krueger, and Kevin Smith
Educators are leveraging technology in innovative and engaging ways to connect students to the world with the intention of fostering global competencies. Many ed tech entrepreneurs see technology as a vehicle for solving complex problems related to educational access. This panel will examine the role of ed tech from a variety of perspectives in promoting learning, equity, and global citizenship around the world. Learn about innovative programs and approaches so that we can encourage more teachers and students to experience globally connected teaching and learning.
*****
NAIS National Association of Independent Schools 2016 Annual Conference, Baltimore, MD
3/2/17, 11:15am – 12:15pm
Aligning Professional Development With Your School’s Mission with Liz Davis and Kim Sivick
This session tells how to balance the interests of your faculty with the mission of your school while getting the biggest bang for your professional development buck. You will discover ways to leverage the experts in your own building; find sources of outside experts and nontraditional “unconferences”; and take advantage of teacher coaching, action research, professional learning networks, online groups, and more. Throughout, the emphasis will be on prioritizing professional growth plans based on the mission, vision, and goals of your school.
*****
New York State Association of Independent Schools (NYSAIS) Professional Learning, New York City
2/7/17
Speaking to Listen in the Age of Emojis with Diana Potts and Mike Ritzius
In this session attendees will be participating in a conversation that dissects the skill of listening. In an age of communicating through emoticons, memes and alone togetherness connectivity has failed to live up to its potential of creating strong community of practice that co-creates regularly. This sessions is about digging deep into biases, being honest about one’s triggers, world views and perspectives of empathy. The need for this discussion is rooted in the relationship between being aware of our own place of knowing and how to participate in effective, productive conversations. We will talk about how to design conversations by harnessing the knowledge of those already in the space. This session is built at the intersection of several practices including The Art of Hosting, Theory U and the books Tell Me So I Can Hear You and Thanks for the Feedback. Most importantly, it will be driven by the connections the attendees contribute. This session is not structured by bullet points, rather designed to flex to the needs and curiosities of the participants.
*****
Educon 2.9, Philadelphia, PA
1/27-28/17
Speaking to Listen in the Age of Emojis with Diana Potts and Mike Ritzius
In this session attendees will be participating in a conversation that dissects the skill of listening. In an age of communicating through emoticons, memes and alone togetherness connectivity has failed to live up to its potential of creating strong community of practice that co-creates regularly. This sessions is about digging deep into biases, being honest about one’s triggers, world views and perspectives of empathy. The need for this discussion is rooted in the relationship between being aware of our own place of knowing and how to participate in effective, productive conversations. We will talk about how to design conversations by harnessing the knowledge of those already in the space. This session is built at the intersection of several practices including The Art of Hosting, Theory U and the books Tell Me So I Can Hear You and Thanks for the Feedback. Most importantly, it will be driven by the connections the attendees contribute. This session is not structured by bullet points, rather designed to flex to the needs and curiosities of the participants.
*****
Scratch Day, The Computer School, New York City
12/3/16, 9:00am – 1:00pm
Scratch, Cardboard, and FunkeyFunkey Musical Instruments
FunkeyFunkey is a microcontroller board – just like Makey Makey – that allows you to use every-day objects and materials such as aluminum foil, playdough, and bananas to interact with your Scratch projects. We’ll construct cardboard shapes, add conductive elements, connect them to FunkeyFunkey, and program different instruments, sounds, and notes using Scratch to play music and form a band! Audience: People of all ages (children under 8 years old should bring a parent or older sibling to help out) no prior Scratch experience is needed.
*****
Global Education Conference 2016, online
11/13-16/13
EdTech Summit Africa, Keynote co-presented with Karen Kirsch Page and Kevin Baloyi
EdTech Summit is an innovative technology conference shared with educators across Africa free of charge. We support teachers and learners with technology tools and training to aid in the acquisition of 21st century skills, methodologies and instructional strategies. Focused on meaningful solutions for learning, we bring together local and global presenters whose combined voice is strong in partnership. Our presentation will discuss the following aspects of a ‘travel’ conference featuring a model that has been iterated by team member presenters over the past 4 years with the idea in mind that it has the potential to be successful in any education environment, formal or informal, worldwide.
*****
EdTech Summit Africa, South Africa, Swaziland, Ghana
7/6/16 – 8/3/16
How to Begin Organizing Teaching Resources, Social Media and Digital Materials using a Digital Portfolio Strategy
Curation is a 21st Century skill, so let’s learn how to gather evidence of your professional endeavors and classroom projects in a digital portfolio. You’ll learn tips to get started: What to gather? Where to put it? What can be done for free? How to organize? What settings to use? How to link or embed artifacts? How to connect with others? In this workshop you will see how teachers use Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, Google+ and others for their own learning. By the end of the session you will have started and/or increased your digital footprint and created your very own digital portfolio approach.
*****
ISTE International Society of Technology Education 2016 Annual Conference, Philadelphia, PA
6/29/15, 2:30pm – 3:30pm
Bits of Music, Lots of STEAM, co-presented with Music Teacher Emily Sticco from The School at Columbia University
In this integrated music, art, technology, and engineering project, students build cardboard instruments, choose musical chords, compose new music or use existing digital notes/sounds, design conductive circuits, attach Makey-Makey boards, program their instruments in Scratch, and jam with each other while filming a music video. Voila!
*****
Teach21 Professional Development Institute, New York City
6/20/16, 9:00am – 11:30am
Introduction to Sewable Circuits
Let us explore the A in STEAM by designing sewable (and wearable) circuits! By adding the Arts to traditional STEM goals, (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics), we can embrace design, creativity, and integration. Let’s discuss interdisciplinary possibilities while creating a light-up wristband using a coin cell battery, conductive thread, and LEDs.
6/20/16, 12:00pm – 3:00pm
Cardboard, MakeyMakey, and Scratch Instruments
By adding the Arts to traditional STEM goals, (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics), we can embrace design, creativity, and integration and discuss interdisciplinary possibilities. Let us embrace STEAM by crafting cardboard instruments with conductive elements, programming notes and sounds in Scratch, and using the MakeyMakey to provide interactivity while discussing other project ideas and opportunities.
6/20/16, 9:00am – 11:30am
Our Portfolios, Ourselves: Crafting a Digital Portfolio of Your Work as an Educator
Curation is a 21st Century skill, so let’s show how to gather archival evidence of your professional endeavors and classroom projects in a digital portfolio. You’ll learn tips to get started: What to gather? Where to put it? How much will this cost? How to organize it? What settings to use? How to link or embed artifacts? How to connect with others?
*****
NAIS National Association of Independent Schools 2016 Annual Conference, San Francisco, CA
2/25/16, 8:00 – 9:00am
Ahead of The Curve: Growing a Culture of Innovation at Your School, co-presented with Liz Davis and Kim Sivick
Do you have people on your faculty doing amazing things? Are you an early adopter who sometimes feels out of place and alone among your colleagues? In this session, administrators will learn how to support the leaders among their faculty and engender a culture of risk taking in their schools. Innovative teachers will be inspired to continue to take risks and try new things, and learn where to go inside and outside their classrooms for support.
*****
Future of Education Technology Conference, Orlando, FL
1/15/16, 11:00am – 12:00pm
License to Cull: Art History, Media Literacy, Ethics and Photoshop
This integrated unit examines fine art and the fine print. Students learn about ownership, copyright, licensing, media literacy, fair use, Creative Commons, Wikimedia and Photoshop.
*****
Scratch Day, The Town School, New York City
12/13/15, 9:00am – 1:00pm
Cardboard Jam Band with MakeyMakey and Scratch
*****
Scratch Day, Ramaz School, New York City
11/15/15, 9:00am – 1:00pm
Cardboard Jam Band with MakeyMakey and Scratch
MakeyMakey is an invention kit that allows you to use every-day objects and materials, such as aluminum foil, play dough and bananas, to interact with your Scratch projects. Let’s construct cardboard shapes, add conductive elements, connect them to MakeyMakey, and program different instruments, sounds, and notes using Scratch to play music and form a band!
*****
Teacher Tuesday at the littleBits Pop-Up Store, New York City
10/27/15, 6:30pm – 8:30pm
Integrating @littleBits into the Classroom
The workshop will led by Karen Blumberg and will focused on best practices of using littleBits in the classroom in ways that empower student learning.
*****
Teach21 Professional Development Institute, New York City
10/25/14, 9:00am – 11:30am
3D Designing and Printing (Grades 2-8) co-presented with Catherine Klein
Let’s talk about the basics of a variety of design thinking protocols and explore how to create 3D designs using Tinkercad, 123D Design, and other tools. These 3D files can be exported to a 3D printer while discussing possible integrated project ideas in Math, Science, Art, Social Studies across Upper Elementary and Middle School grades. You’ll leave the workshop with more confidence about the 3D design landscape and how to build a network of teachers interested in designing and making.
10/25/14, 12:30pm – 3:00pm
Our Portfolios, Ourselves: Crafting a Digital Portfolio of Your Work as an Educator
Curation is a 21st Century skill, so let’s show how to gather archival evidence of your professional endeavors and classroom projects in a digital portfolio. You’ll learn tips to get started: What to gather? Where to put it? How much will this cost? How to organize it? What settings to use? How to link or embed artifacts? How to connect with others?
*****
Tech & Learning Live @ New York, Tarrytown, NY
10/23/2015
Keynote Speaker
Tech & Learning is bringing Tech & Learning Live back to New York on Friday, October 23 . This year’s program is all about professional development for tech lead learners—those edtech leaders who bridge the gaps between classroom and administration, curriculum and technology, school and home. This full day of workshops and discussions is specifically designed to “train the trainers” with shared best practices, workshops, and discussions that attendees can take back to their districts and put into action. This is your chance to network with others who care deeply about the future of education.
*****
ISTE International Society of Technology Education 2015 Annual Conference, Philadelphia, PA
6/29/15, 2:30pm – 3:30pm
License to Cull: Art History, Media Literacy, Ethics and Photoshop, co-presented with Art Teachers Yoshiko Maruiwa and Katelin O’Hare at The School at Columbia University
This integrated unit examines fine art and the fine print. Students learn about ownership, copyright, licensing, media literacy, fair use, Creative Commons, Wikimedia and Photoshop.
Maker Playground, organized by Vinnie Vrotny and Kim Sivick
7/1/15 9:00am – 1:00pm
Come find out how schools are integrating “making” into their schools. You will have an opportunity to make, design, program and play while exploring makerspaces and learning how to foster innovation and creativity in all curricula, from STEM to the arts to humanities.
*****
Spring Blog Festival 2015, online
3/21/15, 11:00am – 12:00pm
Our Blogs, Ourselves
Curation is a 21st Century skill, and Karen has been curating her digital presence for years. She will share how and why she gathers archival evidence of her professional endeavors and classroom projects in a digital portfolio and offer some tips to get started.
*****
Librarian PD Event and Luncheon, The Centre for International Education, United World College of South East Asia, Singapore
3/14/15, 12:30pm – 3:00pm
Katie Day and Barb Reid hosted an afternoon of learning with three conversation-sessions: one focused on Information Literacy, one on Literature/Literacy, and one on Digital Literacy. Kim Beeman from Shrewsbury Int’l School in Bangkok (who just hosted the Librarians’ Knowledge Sharing Workshop that we UWC librarians and Jo from GESS attended) is coming to Singapore for the March 14th TeachUp. Also visiting will be Karen Blumberg, the Tech Integrator at the laboratory school at Columbia Univ. in NYC. So we have asked the two of them to lead the Digital Literacy conversation.
*****
TeachUp Mini Conference, The Centre for International Education, United World College of South East Asia, Singapore
3/14/15, 8:30am – 12:00pm
DIY PD Resources, co-presented with Kim Beeman
Kim Beeman and I presented a variety of models to actively take control of your professional development via Twitter chats, unconferences, webinars, PLNs, digital spaces, and Google Hangouts. These are just a few of the ways to propel and sustain your personal growth and join a vast online/offline participatory culture of learners. We invite teachers, curriculum developers, and administrators to come and personalize their learning at this workshop.
*****
Librarians’ Knowledge Sharing Workshop, Shrewsbury International School, Bangkok, Thailand
2/6/15 – 2/7/15
11:00am New Media Literacies
2:00pm DIY Professional Development
*****
Scratch Day, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York City
12/6/14, 1:00pm – 3:00pm
Snap! is a snap if you know Scratch
Snap! is an enhanced version of Scratch that allows you to do everything you can do in Scratch while allowing for more advanced programming. If you already know Scratch, it will be easy to navigate the online Snap! environment. If you’ve never used Scratch, no worries! Come and do a few introductory projects! Audience: people of all ages; no prior Scratch experience is needed.
*****
Teach21 Professional Development Institute, New York City
10/25/14, 9:00am – 11:30am
3D Designing and Printing (Grades 2-8)
Let’s talk about the basics of a variety of design thinking protocols and explore how to create 3D designs using Tinkercad, Sketchup, and other tools. These 3D files can be exported to a Makerbot Replicator 2 printer while discussing possible integrated project ideas in Math, Science, Art, Social Studies across Upper Elementary and Middle School grades. You’ll leave the workshop with more confidence about the 3D design landscape and how to build a network of teachers interested in designing and making.
10/25/14, 12:30pm – 3:00pm
Our Portfolios, Ourselves: Crafting a Digital Portfolio of Your Work as an Educator
Curation is a 21st Century skill, so let’s show how to gather archival evidence of your professional endeavors and classroom projects in a digital portfolio. You’ll learn tips to get started: What to gather? Where to put it? How much will this cost? How to organize it? What settings to use? How to link or embed artifacts? How to connect with others?
******
PAIS Pennsylvania Association of Independent Schools Biennial Conference, Newton Square, PA
10/10/14, 10:00 – 11:00am
DIY Learning and Professional Development Opportunities
Karen Blumberg will discuss various ways to actively take control of your professional development. Active participation in Twitter chats, unconferences, webinars, professional learning networks, Google Hangouts, Edcamps, and other spaces both physical and virtual can lead to the ultimate goal of propelling and sustaining your and your faculty’s personal growth and supporting a participatory culture of learners.
*****
Methods of Stem Education, taught by Eliza Bobek
9/29/14 7:30 – 8:30pm, 9:00 – 10:00pm
I was a guest speaker for Eliza Bobek’s class on STEM/STEAM in my daily routine. I touched upon building a PLN, gathering PD resources, and a few recent STEAM projects at The School at Columbia University.
Slides here: http://www.slideshare.net/KarenBlumberg/929-elizabobekclass
*****
ISTE International Society of Technology Education 2014 Annual Conference, Atlanta, GA
6/30/14, 4:00 – 6:00pm
Connecting the curricular dots: Integration across disciplines, co-presented with the 6th Grade Teaching Team at The School at Columbia University
The 6th grade team of teachers have intentionally carved out time in our schedules to meet, share ideas, and develop integrated projects that provide a cross-disciplinary approach to teaching. Curricular units are designed to facilitate students’ abilities to connect learning using each discipline as a lens to that topic. English, Math, Social Studies, Art, Music, Spanish, Wellness, and Technology are no longer seen as autonomous classes with proprietary curricula. Rather, our project-based units stir together common threads from each discipline into a rich and dynamic study of Medieval Mecca, the Italian Renaissance, and pre-colonial Tenochtitlan.
*****
Teach21 Professional Development Institute, New York City
6/16/14, 9:00am – 3:00pm
3D Designing and Printing (Grades 2-8)
Let’s talk about the basics of a variety of design thinking protocols and explore how to create 3D designs using Tinkercad, Sketchup, and other tools. These 3D files can be exported to a Makerbot Replicator 2 printer while discussing possible integrated project ideas in Math, Science, Art, Social Studies across Upper Elementary and Middle School grades. You’ll leave the workshop with more confidence about the 3D design landscape and how to build a network of teachers interested in designing and making.
6/17/14, 9:00am – 11:30am
DIY Learning and Professional Development Opportunities
Discover and experience a variety of models to actively take control of your professional development. Twitter chats, unconferences, webinars, PLNs, digital spaces, and Google Hangouts are just a few of the ways to propel and sustain your (and your faculty’s) personal growth and develop a participatory culture of learners. We invite teachers, curriculum developers, and administrators to come and personalize their learning at this workshop.
6/18/14, 9:00am – 11:30am
Our Portfolios, Ourselves: Crafting a Digital Portfolio of Your Work as an Educator
Curation is a 21st Century skill, so let’s show how to gather archival evidence of your professional endeavors and classroom projects in a digital portfolio. You’ll learn tips to get started: What to gather? Where to put it? How much will this cost? How to organize it? What settings to use? How to link or embed artifacts? How to connect with others?
*****
Methods of Stem Education, online
6/10/14 9:00-10:00
I was a guest speaker for Eliza Bobek’s class on STEM/STEAM in my daily routine. I touched upon building a PLN, gathering PD resources, and a few recent STEAM projects at The School at Columbia University.
Slides here: http://www.slideshare.net/KarenBlumberg/my-presentation-to-eliza-bobeks-class
*****
Spring Blog Festival 2014, online
3/14/14, 4:00 – 5:00pm
Our Blogs, Ourselves
Curation is a 21st Century skill, and Karen has been curating her digital presence for years. She will share how and why she gathers archival evidence of her professional endeavors and classroom projects in a digital portfolio and offer some tips to get started.
*****
NAIS National Association of Independent Schools 2014 Annual Conference, Orlando, FL
2/26/14, 1:00 – 4:00pm
Learn Outside the Box: A World of Professional Development Opportunities, co-presented with Kim Sivick, Hadley Ferguson, Liz Davis
Learn outside the box! Discover and experience a variety of models to actively take control of your professional development. Twitter chats, unconferences, webinars, PLNs, digital spaces, and Google hangouts are just a few of the ways to propel and sustain your faculty’s personal growth and develop a participatory culture of learners.
2/28/14 1:30 – 2:30pm
Learn Outside the Box: A World of Professional Development Opportunities with Kim Sivick, Hadley Ferguson, and Don Buckley
Learn outside the box! Discover and experience a variety of models to actively take control of your professional development. Twitter chats, unconferences, webinars, PLNs, digital spaces, and Google hangouts are just a few of the ways to propel and sustain your faculty’s personal growth and develop a participatory culture of learners.
*****
Bryn Mawr Club of New York City, New York City
2/20/14, 6:00 – 8:00pm EST
Industry Panel: Technology Employment in NYC
All types of companies need technology and systems support, and opportunities in “TECH” continue to proliferate and offer new options to those seeking work. Come and hear from four BMC alumnae from different companies and industry segments. We will be discussing what the trends are and new options that are developing in this area of work. If you have considered working in a technology company or in a company with tech as part of operations then this is a great program for you to attend!
*****
Connecting Online Conference 2014
2/9/14, 2:00 – 3:00pm EST
Crafting your Digital Character
Examples of classroom projects that reinforce new media literacies, encourage awareness about the “public, permanent, and traceable” nature of an online presence, and offer opportunities to collaborate academically, respectfully, and responsibly online.
*****
Educon 2.6, Philadelphia, PA
1/25/14 3:00 – 4:30pm EST
Read this! Watch this! Do this! with Lucy Gray and Don Buckley
Questions for discussion: Can online learning be a carbon copy of offline learning? Should it be? How can MOOCs work in a K-12 environment?or can they? How can MOOCs be used for faculty professional development (Conference 2.0)? Does the online environment work for specific content types? How much asynchronous vs. synchronous does one need in an online environment? What are ways to be collaborative in an online environment? How do you bring the outside in? When do you bring the outside in? How can you assess online learning experiences? What is the future of online education?
*****
Global Education Conference 2013, online
11/20/13
Keynote, co-presented with Rekha Puri of LINEglobal
Click to watch the video here: https://sas.elluminate.com/site/external/playback/artifact?psid=2013-11-20.0901.D.10682231B20FD04CDDC89D77B2B4D8.vcr&aid=63587
*****
Online School For Girls Professional Development Course
10/3/13 – 10/31/13
Intentional Curriculum Design and Design Thinking, co-taught with Don Buckley
We “tweak” our courses all the time – a changed lesson here, a changed assessment there. But, have we ever stepped back and asked questions about the course design: “Why do we cover each of the topics in our course?” & “What are our primary learning objectives and are they accomplished?” What if courses were designed more intentionally and incorporated current approaches such as “design thinking”? This course will encourage faculty to wrestle with these key questions and critically look at their current curriculum.
*****
Online School For Girls Professional Development Course
7/20/13 – 8/17/13
Intentional Curriculum Design and Design Thinking, co-taught with Don Buckley
We “tweak” our courses all the time – a changed lesson here, a changed assessment there. But, have we ever stepped back and asked questions about the course design: “Why do we cover each of the topics in our course?” & “What are our primary learning objectives and are they accomplished?” What if courses were designed more intentionally and incorporated current approaches such as “design thinking”? This course will encourage faculty to wrestle with these key questions and critically look at their current curriculum.
*****
Teach21: The Institute for 21st Century Teachers, New York City
6/18/13, 9:00am to 3:00pm
Collaborating with New Media in the 21st Century Classroom
The School at Columbia University has built a Web 2.0 “walled garden” in which students learn to contribute to online culture building. Besides our Google Apps for Education, we have an internal social network, photo repository, video repository, and wiki. As we provide this mediascape for students and teachers, we also question the impact of new media tools in the 21st century classroom: How are our students using these tools? How are we teaching our students to use these tools appropriately? How are we evaluating effectiveness of these tools? Participants will explore and discuss a variety of interdisciplinary projects that integrate new media literacies and spend time working together to build their own curricular units.
*****
NY/NJ Google Apps Summit, Union, NJ
3/14/13, 10:00 – 11:00am
Redefining Collaboration with Google Apps
Google Apps for Education provides tools that enable a community of teachers and students to collaborate differently. With shared Calendar, Presentations, Documents, Sites (and with the advantage of Google Drive), a school’s population can communicate paperlessly, plan dynamically, and work productively and efficiently. We’ll discuss a few examples of how Google Apps enhances our 21st Century classrooms.
*****
Educon 2.5 , Philadelphia, PA
1/27/13, 10:30 – 12:00pm
Digital Fabrication in K-12, co-presented with Jaymes Dec and Don Buckley
Let’s have a conversation about digital fabrication in schools. FabLabs and Makerspaces are putting the means of production (3D printers, laser cutters, milling machines, etc) into our student’s hands. Let’s talk about the benefits, challenges, and best practices of teaching kids to use machines that can make things!
1/27/13, 12:30 – 2:00pm
Design Thinking in Schools, co-presented with Don Buckley
Over the years, our community of students, teachers, and administrators have each had experience working on a few long-term projects. Students redesigned a desk, a chair, and a locker. Faculty and administrators examined our school culture and sought to innovate how we integrate homework, recess, lunch, discipline, and grading. By working together and following the same principles, our population embraced a common language as they worked towards a common goal: define, research, ideate, prototype, implement.
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Education Now 2012 Tele-Symposium
10/29/12 Day 1
Listen to my conversation with Ken Christian here.
Ken Christian convened a panel of educators, social scientists, visionaries, and thought leaders to “raise the level of conversation about education during an election season wherein the topic seems to have disappeared from the national radar.” With each participant, Ken recorded 45- to 60-minute telephone conversations to talk about the current state and new trends of education. As per Ken’s words: “The Tele-Symposium interviews are conversations—honest-to-goodness, freewheeling, thoughtful conversations that pull no punches and provide frameworks and practical, implementable suggestions and action steps.” He described our talk this way: Karen Blumberg shows teachers how to go beyond using computers merely as search tools, and move to training students to be good, savvy online citizens who use social media effectively and leave on online presence that is skilled, dignified, thoughtful and effective.
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Teach21: The Institute for 21st Century Teachers, New York City
6/18/12, 10:00 – 12:30pm
Collaborating with New Media in the 21st Century Classroom
We will look at different 21st century communication tools and demonstrate how they play out in the classroom and in the school of the future. The School at Columbia has built a web 2.0 “safe playground” in which students, starting in 3rd grade, learn to contribute to online culture building. By providing this mediascape for students, we grapple with a number of questions: How are our students using these tools? How are we teaching our students to use these tools appropriately? By asking these questions, we reflect on the impact of new media tools in the 21st century classroom.
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Connecting Online Conference 2012
2/5/12, 8:00 – 9:00pm
Collaborating with New Media Literacies
In the school of the future, teachers plan together to design units and projects that integrate multiple subject areas and technologies. Students work collaboratively and independently using a variety of 21st Century tools to embrace new literacies and enhance communication, motivation, understanding, and accountability. There are national/international standards for new media use and technology integration put out by ISTE, NCTE, and other organizations that can be used as guides. School communities perpetually innovate and use available resources academically, responsibly, and respectfully. Still, we need to constantly grapple with the following questions: How are students using new media? How are teachers modeling how to use these tools appropriately? How are we preparing our digital natives to be digital citizens?
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Educon 2.4, Philadelphia, PA
1/28/12, 3:00 – 4:30pm
Collaborating with New Media Literacies, co-presented with Don Buckley
In the school of the future, teachers plan together to design units and projects that integrate multiple subject areas and technologies. Students work collaboratively and independently using a variety of 21st Century tools to embrace new literacies and enhance communication, motivation, understanding, and accountability. There are national/international standards for new media use and technology integration put out by ISTE, NCTE, and other organizations that can be used as guides. School communities perpetually innovate and use available resources academically, responsibly, and respectfully. Still, we need to constantly grapple with the following questions: How are students using new media? How are teachers modeling how to use these tools appropriately? How are we preparing our digital natives to be digital citizens?
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PNAIS Fall Educators Conference, Redmond, WA
10/14/2011, 1:00 – 2:15pm
Collaborating with New Media and New Literacies
In the school of the future, teachers plan together to design units and projects that integrate multiple subject areas and technologies. Students work collaboratively and independently using a variety of 21st Century tools to embrace new literacies and enhance communication, motivation, understanding, and accountability. School communities perpetually innovate and use available resources academically, responsibly, and respectfully. Still, we need to constantly grapple with the following questions: How are students using new media? How are teachers modeling how to use these tools appropriately? How are we preparing our digital natives to be digital citizens?
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EdCampNYC, New York City
10/1/11 2:00 – 3:00pm
Cool Stuff We Do at The School at Columbia University
An overview of our New Media Server and some examples of collaborative, integrated, mulit-disciplinary, multi-media projects.
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140edu Conference, New York City
8/3/11 (Day Two) 3:30 – 3:45pm
Educators Taking Control of their Own Professional Development, co-presented with Ann Leaness (@aleaness) and Meenoo Rami (@mrami2)
Panel discussion facilitated by Shelly S Terrell (@ShellTerrell)
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TEDxPhiladelphiaED, New York City
6/25/11, 1:00 – 7:00pm
Presented ways to use Livescribe.com and the Echo Smartpen (all attendees at the event were gifted a pen!)
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Friends Seminary, New York City
6/22/11, 9:00 – 3:00pm
Collaborating with GoogleApps
Full day workshop with faculty to show them how to use GoogleApps to increase productivity, collaboration, organization.
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Teach21: The Institute for 21st Century Teachers, New York City
6/21/11, 10:00 – 12:30pm
Collaborating with New Media in the 21st Century Classroom
We will look at different 21st century communication tools and demonstrate how they play out in the classroom and in the school of the future. The School at Columbia has built a web 2.0 “safe playground” in which students, starting in 3rd grade, learn to contribute to online culture building. By providing this mediascape for students, we grapple with a number of questions: How are our students using these tools? How are we teaching our students to use these tools appropriately? By asking these questions, we reflect on the impact of new media tools in the 21st century classroom.
6/23/2011, 10:00am – 12:30pm
Social Networking and Literacy
In our integrated Language Arts classroom, students work collaboratively and independently using Google Apps, iMovie, and Garageband to enhance their learning experience and share with their classmates. This workshop is about using new media in the Middle School Language Arts classroom to increase motivation, understanding, and accountability. One example is our in-house Independent Reading Site (powered by Google Apps). Students populate the site with an ever-increasing selection of book reviews. These reviews can be in the form of text, video, or drawings. In essence, our middle school students are social networking about literature. We are excited to share other examples of how we are using New Media in the Language Arts classroom.
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EdCampPhilly, Philadelphia, PA
5/21/11, 10:00 – 11:00am
Getting EducaTED: Teaching with Ideas Worth Spreading
This session is about how to incorporate TED Talks into the classroom. Last week, I used a Hans Rosling talk to initiate a conversation about Data Visualization. In the past I’ve shown videos about teaching students design-thinking, green schools, recycling, 3D-printing of human organs, and many more. Let’s share the how, why, what to share with students and faculty.
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NAIS National Association of Independent Schools, 2011 Annual Conference, Washington, DC
2/24/11, 8:00 – 9:00am
Static Systems/Dynamic Ideas: Managing Tradition and Innovation in Our Schools, co-presented with Jason Ramsden, Linda Vasu
Carol Dweck’s research revealed that a growth mindset is a critical ingredient in student motivation and achievement. How, then, do we shift the dominant leadership paradigm in our schools to implement a growth mindset through the use of small changes that have lasting effects? Join us as we lead a discussion on managing tradition and innovation in our schools.
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Connecting Online Conference 2011
2/5/11, 6:00 – 7:00pm
This presentation is about using new media in the Middle School Language Arts classroom to increase motivation, understanding, and accountability. The public nature of this new media increases student motivation (to read, to publish, to comment, to connect) and accountability (Am I reading regularly? Am I understanding what I read? Am I contributing to the discussion?) One example of how this is done is our in-house Independent Reading Site (powered by Google Apps). Students populate the site with an ever-increasing selection of book reviews; These reviews can be in the form of text, video, or drawings. Another example is how we create Book Groups on our in-house Elgg social network. Students communicate with each other in and out of school to document key quotes, vocabulary terms, and ongoing discussions about the book. In essence, our middle school students are social networking around literature.
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Educon 2.3, Philadelphia, PA
1/29/11, 12:30 – 2:00pm
Crafting Character, co-presented with Meredith Stewart
Social media sites and social networking tools/devices are increasingly brought into the classroom as means for completing collaborative projects. Students are expected to use technology academically, respectfully, and responsibly, yet outside of school, their personal use of technology often demonstrates a lack of the same amount of thoughtfulness. Considering the public, permanent, and traceable nature of digital footprints, how do we as educators reinforce using technology appropriately outside of the classroom? Students need to recognize that their communications and actions contribute to their character. In an age where everyone uses Google (including high school counselors, college admissions, and employers), it is more important than ever to initiate conversations with students about how their immediate online choices have potentially permanent ramifications. This presentation will help guide those necessary discussions.
1/30/11, 12:30 – 2:00pm
Grassroots Professional Development, co-presented with Basil Kolani
Every teacher in every school needs professional development, but not everyone has the resources available to make it happen. The good news is that you don’t need massive resources to pull off great PD. This session will describe several ideas for delivering homegrown professional development within your school and collaborating with others.
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K12 Online Conference 2010
10/26/10, 12:00pm
License to Cull with Creative Commons and yolink
You can watch/hear my 20 minute presentation here: License to Cull with Creative Commons and yolink
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CRSTE The Capital Region Society for Technology in Education Global Symposium 2010
10/19/10, 9:00pm
Google Apps in the Classroom
You can hear my hour-long presentation here by opening the archived Elluminate session.
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TSETC Tri-State Educational Technology Conference 2010, New Milfod, NJ
10/2/10, 2:15pm – 3:00pm
Grassroots Professional Development, co-presented with Basil Kolani
Every teacher needs professional development, but not everyone has the resources available for it. The good news: You don’t need massive resources for great PD.
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ISTE International Society of Technology Education, 2010 Annual Conference, Denver, CO
6/30/10, 8:30am – 9:30am
Collaborating with Google Apps in the 21st-Century Classroom, co-presented with Gina Marcel
In the 21st Century school of the future, collaboration and digital citizenship are encouraged and enhanced by a 1:1 laptop program and use of open source platforms and programs. No longer does one need to pay for pricey Mail software and word processing suites. Google Apps enables schools to be in control, productive, efficient, and creative. Teachers can share tests as Google forms, collate data in a Google spreadsheet, generate Google class sites, and embed Google presentations and videos. Participants will be able to confidently create a google site to communicate with children/parents/administrators, showcase work, gather all materials, and generate online discussions.
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EdCampPhilly, Philadelphia, PA
5/22/10
EdCamp Philly is an unconference devoted to K-12 Education issues and ideas.
10:00am – 11:00am
Collaborating with Google Apps, co-presented with Katy Gartside and Nancy Wong
11:00am – 12:00pm
iPads in the classroom, co-presented with Ann Leaness and Julie Meyer
2:30pm – 3:30pm
The World of Google Apps, co-presented with Kristen Swanson, Frank Williams, Rita Chuchran
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NALS National Association of Laboratory Schools, 2010 Annual Conference, Muncie, IN
4/8/10, 3:00pm – 4:00pm
Collaborating with Google Apps in the 21st Century Classroom, co-presented with Marisa Guastaferro
In our integrated Language Arts classroom, students work collaboratively and independently using Google Apps, iMovie, and Garageband to enhance their learning experience and share with their classmates. This demonstration is about using new media in the Middle School Language Arts classroom to increase motivation, understanding, and accountability. One example of how this is done is our in-house Independent Reading Site (powered by Google Apps). Students populate the site with an ever-increasing selection of book reviews; These reviews can be in the form of text, video, or drawings. In the differentiated English classroom, an independent reading program is essential to allow students to read and analyze at their own level and pace. The public nature of this new media increases student motivation (to read, to publish, to comment, to connect) and accountability (Am I reading regularly? Am I understanding what I read?) Because our Independent Reading Site is power by Google, students can quickly and easily search the site for book titles, genres, authors, and other classmates. Students are encouraged to comment on each others reviews and seek out new titles based on recommendations from their peers. In essence, our middle school students are social networking around literature. We are excited to share other examples of how we are using New Media in the Language Arts classroom.
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NAIS National Association of Independent Schools, 2009 Annual Conference, Chicago, IL
2/27/09, 8:00am – 9:00am
Using Social Networks in the Academic School Environment, co-presented with Don Buckley, Andrew Gardner, and Gina Marcel
The population of the United States is just over 300 million. There are 225 million MySpace accounts. Over 100 social networking sites exist. What percentage of 12–17 year olds have an online profile? (source: PEW) Technologists from The School (NY) will explain how social networking can be used successfully in the school environment to educate our digital natives.
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NAIS National Association of Independent Schools, 2008 Annual Conference, New York City
2/28/08, 1:45pm – 2:45pm
21st Century Communication Tools and the School of the Future, co-presented with Don Buckley, Jenny Howland, and Andrew Gardner
In this discussion technologists from the School at Columbia University will look at the “other” 21st century communication tools, including social networking, blogs, wikis, Twitter, Tumblr, YackPack, Pownce, Twine, and more. They will demonstrate how these tools play out in the classroom and in the schools of the future.
Karen Blumberg 