Digital Lit was a hit!

The Digital Literacy Conference was an event being held on my school's campus from 8-1 yesterday, the 13th. In addition to the keynote, each attendee signed up for two breakout sessions. I won't lie, when I found out I had to attend this conference for one of my classes, I wasn't totally thrilled. The thought of waking up early on a Saturday wasn't exactly a happy one. However, I'll admit it - I was wrong! This conference was an amazing opportunity and I had so much fun - the best kind of fun, where you learn something, too. 

First up after sign in was the keynote speaker - Dr. Lisa Zawilinski. Dr. Zawilinski is an assistant professor at the University of Hartford and part of the New Literacies Research Team from the University of Connecticut. If you're in EDM 349 and her name sounds familiar, it's probably because we read her article on HOT blogging for class (you DID read it, right?). Lisa spoke about New Literacy in the 21st century and the idea that we have more access to information than ever before. She shared some of the research that her team has done - which you can view on her website. Her speech was filled with personal experiences - some funny, some extremely touching. She showed us that using technology in a classroom can really make a difference. 

One of the breakout sessions I attended - Extending the Conversation: Using Edmodo to Encourage Participation and Critical Thinking - was also with Dr. Zawilinski. If you've never heard of Edmodo, I highly suggest you check it out. If you don't feel like making an account, let me show you some of the tools Edmodo has with my account. 

Screenshot of my home page on Edmodo - click to view larger!

This is what it looks like when I sign in. It sort of looks like Facebook. As a teacher, I have the option to post a note, an alert, an assignment, a quiz, or a poll. You create a group for your class, give them the class code, and voila! You have a way for everyone to connect. You can give polls to figure out the class's prior knowledge on a topic. You can post pictures, files, etc, for them to look at and talk about. At the end of a unit, you can post a quiz. It's a pretty nice tool for educators. 

One thing Dr. Zawilinski discussed in this session was that you can even use Edmodo in younger grades. Some people would argue that students should be proficient in typing, otherwise it will be laborious. However, she argued that no matter how slow the kids type, it didn't get in the way of them using this website. One girl brought up a really good point - we don't refuse to let kids write before they're well-versed in it - we give them crayons and markers and let them experiment and develop. Why refuse them a keyboard just because they're not fast at typing? Technology can be used at all ages to enhance what's being taught. 

If you went to the conference, how was your experience? If you didn't go, I highly suggest you take advantage next year!