Posts Tagged ‘sim conference’

Remember Flip? He, along with Aaron and myself, attended the 30th Annual SIM International Conference two weeks ago. He had fun and got to interview a lot of great people. In order to test Flip out, I asked participants at the conference a simple question and compiled the answers in this five minute video. I tended to grab people in the lobby or hallways, which also happened to be the noisiest possible places to conduct an interview. Flip could have used a mic and I apologize for all of the background noise, but just think about the possibilities this little guy offers in a quieter setting.

SIM International Conference 2008 Conclusion from Stratepedia on Vimeo.

If you attended, please share with us in the comments below.  What did you enjoy most about this year’s conference?

We’ll be sharing the handouts for our sessions on this blog. If things go to plan we might even have some video to share–if you haven’t already done so, take a minute to subscribe to Hello and be the first to find out when they’re available!

(Don’t worry, we’ll have paper copies on-hand as well.)

Are you on your way to Kansas City for this week’s 30th Anniversary International SIM Conference? Or maybe you’re already there, taking part in a pre-conference workshop? Either way, be sure to circle these times on your conference schedule:

Wednesday, 1:00-2:00 PM: Poster Session

Stop by and check out Amber’s poster Thinking Outside the Online Course Topic Box”–if you’re familiar with the Learning Labs you may get the reference. Either way, stop by and say hello!

Thursday, 9:45-11:00 AM: Using Stratepedia Depot for Content Enhancement Support

There will be candy! You’ll also learn how Depot is a great way to engage your teachers with online examples and dialogue around Content Enhancement. Did I mention the candy?

Thursday, 11:15 AM-12:15 PM: Getting More from the Stratepedia Learning Labs

Sure, you know how to interact in threaded discussions, but the Learning Labs can do much, much more to help your group interact when not face-to-face. From knowledge sharing to collaborative document creation to web-based video conferencing (you heard me right!) learn about new ways to use the Learning Labs.

Friday morning: Technical Support

Stop by the Auditorium for some last-minute one-on-one time with the Stratepedia gang. Any leftover candy will be on-hand as well!

Gail Cheever had an awesome idea–instead of lugging along stacks of paper as handouts for Neatest Things: Content Enhancement, she’s posting them to the Models for Professional Development group in Depot. You can too!

If you’re a Depot user and have CE examples to share at the conference, contact Gail or me for information on accessing the group. It takes a minute or less to get started, but after that you can easily share your CE files with other attendees at the conference, not to mention those who couldn’t make it.

Don’t forget to attend our session Using Stratepedia Depot for Content Enhancement Support to learn everything there is to know about using Depot for professional development! I think we’re scheduled for sometime Thursday morning. Come say hello!

Thanks to Gail for the great idea!

Today, as I was waiting for some software to install in the background on my computer (a digital equivalent of watching paint dry), I decided to check out Dashcode, a Mac development tool that makes creating custom Dashboard widgets really, really simple. So simple, in fact, that after about 30 minutes of work I have something to share!

The 2008 SIM Conference Countdown widget does exactly what you think it might–it displays a counter on your Dashboard so you can easily see how long you’ve got to plan your travel and get that PowerPoint ready for this summer’s 30th Anniversary International SIM Conference. Once installed it looks something like this:

(By the way, it’s counting down to Tuesday, July 15, at 6:00 PM. I don’t know if it takes the time zone into effect but I doubt it.)

Want this widget on your Dashboard? Here’s what you need to do:

1. Make sure your computer can run the widget. First things first: You need a Mac. Sorry, Windows people. Second, your Mac needs to have OS X 10.4.3 or newer. You can find out which version of Mac OS you have by going to your Apple menu, then “About This Mac.”
2. Download the widget to your computer. (Provided as-is, no warranty implied, yada yada yada.) What will most likely happen is the file will download to either your Downloads folder or Desktop, automatically expand, and ask you if you want to add the new widget to your Dashboard. If so, you should be ready to roll!
3. If you downloaded the widget and nothing happened, check your Desktop or Downloads folder for a file called “2008 SIM Conference Countdown” or “2008 SIM Conference Countdown.zip.” If you see the former, just double-click it to open it on your Dashboard. If you see the latter, first double-click on it to decompress the zipped file, then double-click on the “2008 SIM Conference Countdown” icon (black, rounded rectangle) to add it to your Dashboard.

Hope you enjoy the widget! Dashcode has been fun to tinker with, so don’t be surprised if I add more widgets here down the road. Let me know what you think!

Want more widgets? Check out Apple’s widget directory.

It looks like Amber and I will have two, one-hour-long-ish sessions at this summer’s 30th anniversary International SIM Conference. I’ve submitted the following session descriptions to Patty, Mona and Julie:

Using Stratepedia Depot for Content Enhancement Support

If you liked the Content Enhancement Library, you’ll love Depot, the latest online collaboration tool from Stratepedia. Learn how Depot’s new sharing features support Content Enhancement professional development, expand opportunities to collaborate with other educators, and interface with state standards. Bring a laptop and your computer-ready organizers (GIST, PDF, PowerPoint, etc.) for hands-on practice, or just follow along with Amber and Aaron!

Getting More from the Stratepedia Learning Labs

You’ve joined a Learning Labs group, mastered online discussions, and maybe even shared an article or two in a file repository. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg! You can add wikis, multimedia, assessments, community glossaries, and more to your Learning Labs group. Join us in exploring these options and discussing how to use them for effective online collaboration.

Amber’s also got something in the works for the poster session. In addition, we’ll be hanging around most of the week, laptops in tow, ready to answer your questions about Stratepedia, educational technology, or life in general (answers may vary).

See you this summer!

Thank you to everyone who stopped by our session yesterday afternoon. We had fun and hope you did to. If you couldn’t make it (I know we were in a hot timeslot) you can still join our online workgroup to continue the conversation and view or download our presentation materials. I’m hopeful we’ll be able to post video of the session there as well when it’s available.

Thanks again for joining us and for your great input and ideas. Let’s keep it going!

I finally sent in the title and description of our Stratepedia session at this summer’s conference. Here it is:

Stratepedia: Recipes for Online Collaboration
Stratepedia is more than threaded discussions and shared Unit Organizers. Learn what we’re doing to create and nurture collaborative, interactive environments for online professional development. We’ll explore the Online Learning Labs, the all new Library, the Dossier assessment system, and other web-based supports for professional development and CLC.

The exact day and time is to be determined. Come say hello to Amber and me. I’ll post more information as it’s available. Also, for those of you who can’t make it, we’ll have some goodies posted after the fact, such as slides, a podcast version, etc.

If there’s anything you want us to be sure to cover, please leave it as a comment to this post. We’ll do our best!

See you at the show!