I was blown away by what a positive experience this was! The TLT Symposium is an annual event put on by Penn State to assist instructors in implementing technology in their classrooms. The goal is to use technology most effectively to improve the learning experience for students as well as the teaching experience.
From 8am to 5pm, I heard excellent keynotes, attended useful workshops, and ate lots of delicious food. I consider myself somewhat of a “late adopter” to technology usage. I stubbornly resisted smartphones when they first came out and only created a Twitter account last week.
Recently, I have had an increasing number of experiences where I have seen a very positive side to technology and wished I were better equipped to get the most out of it. I am excited to have had the opportunity to attend the TLT symposium, as well as to earn the Teaching with Technology certificate through taking AEE 530.
I chose my workshops based on what my personal interests were. I attended a Yammer and VoiceThread tutorial since I will be giving a workshop on the benefits of using social media in classrooms in a couple of weeks. I figured it’d be useful to learn about different platforms that my partner and I hadn’t considered yet. The option within VoiceThread to generate audible discussion about topics from class instead of just written comments seemed great! Although writing is an important skill and I see the value of its use in assignments, I don’t think enough attention is given to expressing one’s self out loud in a coherent manner.
In a second workshop, I learned about other technological tools such as Doceri and CATME. Doceri allows the recording of lectures, as well as the ability to control a classroom podium using an iPad. This would provide a useful reference material for students. I had a Physics class as an undergrad that used video recording of lectures and I remember finding them beneficial for studying. CATME provides a useful framework for students to conduct peer evaluations following group projects.
In the afternoon, I discovered SALG, which is an app to measure student assessment of their own learning. In my assignments for AEE 530 so far, I have struggled to come up with effective ways to measure learner success and satisfaction, despite being well convinced of their importance. I was excited to learn about programs for gathering data and better analyzing learning success that would make incorporating SoTL into classrooms much easier.
After a day of learning about new (to me) apps and getting excited about designing future classes, I got to dip my feet into “live-tweeting” during the afternoon keynote. Mimi Ito spoke on improving connections between students and resources to enhance their learning experience. It was very visual and interactive – we even had a group quiz via Twitter – which left me feeling completely re-charged following a previous mid-afternoon energy slump. The attendees of the conference were full of great ideas and the energetic enthusiasm surrounding the conference was contagious.