November Learning: Expanding the Boundaries of Learning

Brian Mull

About Brian Mull
Director of Innovation, November Learning, Slidell, LA

Described as having an infectious enthusiasm and incredible depth of knowledge, Brian shares a powerful vision for teaching and learning with administrators, teachers, parents and students. He focuses on critical thinking, motivating students through authentic tasks and developing collaborative partnerships. His varied experiences allow him to present this information in logical and thoughtful ways.

Brian prides himself in being an engaged, lifelong learner. He was recently named as one of Google’s first 200 certified educators, and he has developed a professional network of global peers who continue to expand and challenge his thinking. Experiences like these continuously add depth and currency to his work.

Pre-conference Sessions

Building Learning Communities? It’s Elementary! (presenting with Angela Maiers)

This session addresses the same content explored in the Building Learning Communities: Putting It All Together workshop, but explores issues and examples from the perspective of an elementary school teacher.

In this four-hour session you will learn the basics of information literacy, plus have the opportunity to work with members of our team as you explore how to build an online showcase for student work, create a podcast or start a wiki or blog for the elementary classroom. Learn how to integrate all of these tools across the curriculum in meaningful and effective ways. Our team will show you how it all fits together and will be available during the course of the conference week to guide you as you work on projects and integrate new ideas. The results will be expanded opportunities for authentic work, global audiences and concrete ways that your students can make valuable contributions to their learning community.

Connective Learning – An Introduction to Google Tools in Education (presenting with Lainie Rowell)

Discover Google. It is more than just an ordinary search engine. Learn how to tap Google’s free online toolset and knock down the walls of your classroom, engage students and make connections in new and exciting ways. During this pre-conference session you will build robust tools that you can immediately begin using in your classroom. Develop a custom search engine based on your particular subject area or unit of study. Create an interactive map for your literature, history, math or science class. With these and other open-ended tools, the options are endless.

Main Session Workshops

Building Legacy with Wikipedia (presenting with Pat Kyle)

In cities and towns around the world, history is waiting to be uncovered. But once students learn this history, then what? Discover how you can guide students to use Wikipedia for sharing their newfound knowledge with the world. In this session, you will hear directly from a teacher, along with public librarian, Eric Riley, concerning the work of student historians, who are building legacy within their community. Then, we will uncover the mystery of Wikipedia as we demonstrate the steps you need to know for creating objective, factual and referenced entries within this global knowledge base.

Online Safety in a Connected World

Online safety is an essential part of working with children and the Web, and yet many of us know little more than the horror stories we have seen on television. In this session we will discuss why a conversation about online safety is essential, and I will provide you with simple steps you can begin taking into your classroom, school and/or home to help build a safer globally connected online experience for students.

Connective Learning – An Introduction to Google Tools in Education

Discover Google. It is more than just an ordinary search engine. Learn how to tap Google’s free online toolset and knock down the walls of your classroom, engage students and make connections in new and exciting ways. By using tools like Google Docs, Google Maps, Google Custom Search and more in your curriculum, you can add a new dimension to learning.