Drape's Takes

The folks at TTIX (Teaching with Technology Idea Exchange) inform me that the video from this year's conference has been posted here. I had the honor and privilege of giving the keynote address in June, a first for me. In reflecting further on the experience, I am reminded that I had intended to say many more things than I had actually managed to say. I'm sure many teachers have also experienced this in their classrooms.

Reason #8 - Blogging allows you to finish what you had originally intended to say.

Let me say up front that I had originally wanted to go a lot faster than I actually went. Nevertheless, the flow was smooth and I still felt that I had the audience from the beginning. It really was a refreshing experience.

• The results of my informal assessment of cellphone use throughout Utah - roughly 85% of all urban and rural high school students in Utah have access to a cellphone.
• Ithaca College and their Cellflix Film Festival - what an amazing way to use cellphones to teach.
• Ms. Bradfield and her class's travel bugs - one has traveled nearly 19,000 miles. Imagine the conversations.
• Matthew Horne and the amazing things he's done with his ESL students - I'm sure that blogging and postcasting are just the beginning.
• Kevin Honeycutt and one of my favorite quotes regarding teachers and our relationship to our students: "We've got to be willing to play where they play... even if we don't feel comfortable."
• Darren Kuropatwa and the great way he uses Flickr with his math students.
• One of the most powerful comments I have heard about the Pay Attention video. This was given by a student:

“This is a great video. As a tenth grader, almost everything in the video applies to me – I have a phone (which really doubles as a GPS), I have an MP3 player, I have a computer. The lack of application of technology in many schools is appaling.”

--michaelper22

• Finally, I would have told the audience about my cheesy poem - created specifically to close the presentation:
  

If I were you, what would I do?
I’d use YouTube, del.icio.us, and Flickr, too.
To teach my students about somethidng new.

If I were you, what would I do?
I’d use Google Tools – indeed the whole slew.
Google Earth, Docs, and Trends to name just a few.
Yep, teach kids to learn, even when the day’s through.

If I were you, what would I do?
I’d make my kids podcast, ‘til their faces were blue.
And then we would post them to the new iTunes U.

If I were you, what would I do?
I’d share with the world, yep honest and true.
Yeah, I’d be much more open and creative and common.
And when I was done, I would eat some Top Ramen.

If I were you, what would I do?
I’d pay more attention to what the kids do.
I’d learn how they learn in order to teach
Them things they should know without haffin’ to preach.