rh

Photo by Ian Usher

I can’t believe it, but another year came and went, and before I knew it, it was July and time again for the Adobe Education Leader Summer Institute.   This year was extra special, as a new group of Higher Education Adobe Education Leaders joined us K-12ers in San Jose.  The joining of the two groups was a brilliant move, with both groups learning from one another how we can all prepare students for the ever-evolving demands of the new workforce.  In addition, as everyone there noted, the Higher Eds were raising the bar on the presentations and the discussions we were having throughout the Institute.

Ian Usher and I, along with Greg Hodgson via video clips, presented on our Game Design Workshop.  Ian did an excellent job of formatting the presentation using different Connect layouts and our guest speakers (Colin Maxwell and two GDW students, Owyn and Rob) were wonderful at speaking a bit about their experience with the project.  We received excellent feedback from Adobe staff and fellow AELs.  We got great ideas for the future and made excellent connections with others interested in our concept.

Greg Hodgson and I are presenting the Game Design Workshop at the Creative Partnerships Conference today in the UK.  Well, I’m presenting by videoconference and Greg is there in person, but we’re hoping to spread the word about the wonderful experiences the students and we had during the the course.

I just finished watching the unparalleled Ian Usher present (in just 7 minutes!) the work we did on the Game Design course via FlashMeeting.  Ian presented at the TeachMeet Midlands.  What’s a TeachMeet?  The TeachMeet wiki describes it as an “unconference,” or a meeting that takes all of the icky parts out of a conference and sticks to the good stuff, like socializing, networking, discussion and presentations that are short and stick to point.  They try to make it so not the same three people ate talking and asking questions every time by randomizing presentation schedules and making Q&A a big part of the meeting.  Those who can’t go in person scan show up online. These TeachMeets are all centered around effective uses of technology in education and are broken into regional meetings.  The thing is that these TeachMeets are a UK thing.  So why don’t we have these here in the US?  Or Illinois?  Or Chicago?  Or the Northside?  Am I missing something?  I only see people in my field at conferences, which are not always the best time to get to know one another and hash out the projects we’re working on and get some feedback, or even develop partnerships.  Is there a TeachMeet equivalent I don’t know about?

Follow TeachMeet Midlands on Twitter.

Tomorrow morning at 11:30, I will be speaking at the 2009 Chicago Math & Science Initiative Annual Conference.  I’ll be speaking about the IDNR Biodiversity projects I’ve done at the Collaboratory, and how science teachers can integrate (free!) technology into their curriculum to give their students an engaging and hands-on experience with science.  I will be speaking at the same time as local TV personality Art Norman, so I’ve got pretty stiff competiton for audience members.  Therefore, you should make sure to stop by at my presentation.  Aside from the stimulationg conversation, there will be free handouts!

Thanks to everyone who came out and supported the ALF Texas Hold ‘Em Poker Tournament last month.  We raised a couple thousand dollars, despite the awful weather (that night) and economy (this year).  This will help in the fight against liver diseases.  Maybe someday I will actually learn how to play poker and join you all.  In the meantime, I’ll just pretend.

In case you haven’t heard, Northwestern recently joined Duke, MIT, Cambridge, Stanford and Yale as a provider of free intellectual video content on iTunes U. Aside from just academic material, iTunes U also disseminates News@Northwestern.  Last week, they released a story on iVOTE! ‘08, featuring the students of Lincoln Middle School and … me!

You can also watch it on the Big Ten Network in April on the following dates:

Tuesday, April 14: 8 pm
Thursday, April 16: 4 pm
Friday, April 17: 9 am

This morning, I did a presentation on the Game Design Workshop via Connect to the Key Instructional Contacts (KIC) of the Technology Information Education Services (TIES) of Minnesota.  It was a great crowd that had good questions.  I was joined by Colin Maxwell, who did an excellent presentation that focused on teaching students workflow in creating games (I’m hoping he presents something similar to my students).  A big thanks to TJ, who asked both Colin and I to share with the group.