November Learning: Expanding the Boundaries of Learning

Liz Davis

About Liz Davis
Director of Academic Technology, Belmont Hill School, Belmont, MA

Liz Davis’s professional experience has encompassed many facets of education. She is currently the Director of Academic Technology for Belmont Hill School in Belmont, MA. Over the past 15 years, she has worked as a 6th grade math and science teacher, a textbook writer and editor, and has traveled across the country providing technology professional development for teachers and administrators K-12. She has had articles published in national and local journals (Including ISTE’s Learning & Leading with Technology) and writes a blog read by an international audience. Liz presented this past July at BLC, she presented at the 2008 MassCUE, ACTEM and the Christa McAuliffe technology conferences this fall. She will be presenting with Lisa Thumann at the Educon 2.1 conference in Philadelphia in January. You can read more about Liz on her blog at http://www.edtechpower.blogspot.com.

Main Session Workshops

Twitter – Establishing your Personal Learning Network (presenting with Lisa Thumann)

Have you heard of Twitter? Are you wondering what all the fuss is about? Have you tried it and still don’t “get” it. In this session we will focus on the ways Twitter can be harnessed to build a rich and powerful learning community. We will discuss tips and tricks to leverage the potential of this network. Resources will be provided to help attendees set up their own networks during and/or after the session. Finally, we will capitalize on the face to face connections within the workshop to further enrich our Online learning community.

Twenty-Five Ed Tech Leaders to Follow (presenting with Lisa Thumann)

Whether your personal learning network (PLN) is overflowing or just starting to grow, this workshop will help you to refine your network to best suit your learning needs. We’ll lead you to interesting people who advocate for the effective use of technology to improve teaching and learning. These leaders will challenge your assumptions, answer your questions and make you think. If you’re not sure where to look for the right people, or if you just want to learn about some fresh voices, you’ll leave this session with inspiring additions to your personal learning network. These ed-tech leaders write blogs, maintain wikis, UStream their keynotes, publish their podcasts and more. You can find them all over the Cloud. Join us for a tour of the top twenty-five.

Goal! Define your goals and leverage your network to achieve them. (presenting with Lisa Thumann)

Dream Big! Do you want to connect with schools around the world? Do you envision a classroom of podcasters sharing their stories with a global audience? Do you see yourself as the keynote speaker at an educational technology conference? In this workshop we will dream big and work collaboratively to find the resources that can make your dreams come true. We will tap into the collective intelligence of the group to mine for information and support both online and off. We will envision a future where we’ve accomplished our goals and work backwards to layout the steps necessary to fulfill them. Bring your big ideas, your hopes and your dreams and be prepared to roll up your sleeves and get to work.