Thursday, July 24, 2008

Welcome CASE Convention Attendees

I'm guessing that a few folks may be visiting the blog for the first time as a result of Anne Smith's and my presentation today at CASE. Here's the web page that we referenced with examples from our classrooms. Again, please remember that these are not all fantastic examples - we share our successes and our "works in progress" so that we - and hopefully other folks - can learn from them.

To learn more about this blog and our staff development efforts, you might read About This Blog and The Beginning. To get a feel for some of the discussions that happen on this blog, you might look through some of the Best(?) Posts of 2006 or Best(?) Posts of 2007. If you're interested in presentations like the Did You Know? presentation, visit the Fischbowl Presentations page. You can also learn more than you ever wanted to know about the presentation at the Shift Happens wiki. That won't include the version we used today, but you can download that as well (without the music, unfortunately, due to copyright reasons). You can also download the PowerPoint we used for the "rant and rave" portion of the presentation.

And even though he was stuck in Newark and left Anne and me holding the bag :-), you really should start reading Will Richardson's blog - he's a very smart guy with a lot to offer you and your students. Rest assured, Will, you still have lots of friends in Colorado - including the two below.

7 comments:

  1. Despite the gloom on this end of not being able to make this conference, I can't tell you how happy I am that the two of you stepped in. No better choice that I can think of! Really sincere thanks, guys. Hopefully I'll see you later this fall, after all the bad weather abates.

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  2. Karl and Ann:
    Well done today! You guys are naturals for the "big stage." Thanks for challenging all of us to rethink how we teach and interact with students. So let us all know if you receive any new laptops as a result of your blatent begging today. Proud that my daughter is part of this amazing effort.
    Bruce Jansen

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  3. @will - You're welcome, although you do owe Anne and me one good night's sleep . . .

    @Bruce - Thanks, we really appreciate the positive feedback. We're very happy (and lucky) that Cara is part of this effort as well.

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  4. Anne and Karl,

    Thanks for sharing your thoughts, vision and passion with us at CASE. I'm back home now and when I opened up my email there was a message waiting there for me from one of my students' mom. It had a link on it to his blog about his recent trip with his dad to Sweeden. Andy will be a fifth grader next year. As an elementary principal I think I owe it to my kids to at seriously look into this concept, clearly define the risks and rewards for our students and their parents, and begin taking a stand.

    Thanks again for sharing,

    DAVE

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  5. @Dave - Thanks for the comment and the kind words. Perhaps you can involve Andy - and his Dad - as you look into the possibilities. They probably have a lot to contribute.

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  6. Karl and Anne,
    I'll be telling this story for the rest of my career. You were so memorable, brave and right on target. Well done... simply well done.

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  7. @Dan Thanks for the kind words - and the opportunity. I'm just glad you still have a career after giving the microphone and the stage to me . . .

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