November Learning: Expanding the Boundaries of Learning

Bob Sprankle

About Bob Sprankle
Technology Integrator, Wells Elementary School, Wells, ME

Bob Sprankle is a graduate of the University of Southern Maine. He has been a 3/4 Multi-age teacher in Wells, ME for 10 years and now serves as the school’s Technology Integrator. He was involved with the SEED group in Maine as a Technology Learning Leader and helped train the first wave of teachers using laptops for the 7th and 8th grader MLTI project. Bob was awarded Maine’s Technology Teacher of the Year in 2006 from ACTEM. His students have received world-wide recognition for their “Room 208 Podcast”, and have appeared in numerous articles, including, The New York Times and Apple’s Education Site. Bob has his own podcast (“Bit by Bit”) to help teachers incorporate technology into their classrooms. Both podcasts can be found at www.bobsprankle.com.

Main Session Workshops

Tear Down the Walls

How will our students be ready for the 21st century if our classrooms still look like the 20th century? This workshop will examine how Web 2.0 tools (like VoiceThread, podcasts, blogs) can help open up your classroom to a global community, democratize the classroom to allow for a participatory culture and prepare students with skills necessary for the 21st century. Examples and resources will be shared to show a variety of paths that offer students engaging, authentic learning experiences and help them take charge of their own learning.

Expand Your Classroom with VoiceThread

Come learn about one of the simplest and yet most powerful tools on the Web today. Learn how VoiceThread can be used in a variety of ways in your classroom to capture and share authentic learning. We’ll examine how to sign up for an account, options in creating presentations and benefits afforded to educator accounts. We’ll look at example VoiceThreads in order to see best practice and get inspiration for your own projects. You’ll leave the workshop with your first VoiceThread completed!