Thanks to the generosity of the Muirlands Foundation and support of teaching and learning, last month eight Muirlands teachers and Principal Klein attended the CUE (Computer Using Educators) Conference held annually in Palm Springs. This is the largest Educational Technology event in the Western U.S. and it proved to be a tremendous learning and networking opportunity for the participating teachers. Faculty attended multiple sessions specific to their content area and many sessions on programs, web 2.0 tools, tricks and effective systems to further quality technology integration and student engagement in their classrooms. These teachers will be sharing best practices with their Muirlands colleagues as they begin to implement what they learned. There is no doubt that this will have a positive effect on instruction where thoughtful and consistent use of technology continues to be an area of focus for our school.
Muirlands teachers who attended the conference offered the following comments:
What a wonderful experience to see all the opportunities there are to engage kids with technology. As well, it was a powerful opportunity to realize, even more, the expertise and inspiration that exists right here on our Muirlands campus. Thank you Muirlands Foundation for giving us this extended time to be together, learning and sharing.
Thank you Muirlands Foundation for the opportunity for me to grow as an educator. I really appreciate that you understand the importance of continuing our education as teachers so that we can provide the best possible education for our students (your children).
Opportunities for teachers to participate in meaningful, progressive professional development are both rare and costly. Without the support of the Muirlands Foundation, the CUE Conference experience would not have been possible. Sending a cross curricular team has and will continue to have a significant impact on the quality of education at Muirlands.
I liked learning so many new things and ideas. In particular, I enjoyed learning about so many quality teaching websites to support research, projects, and collaboration.
Highlights included: Listening to the keynote address from Professor Sugata Mitra - Learning about the SAMR model of technology integration - Brainstorming new ways to teach effective questioning techniques - Discovering fun new apps, including Thinglink and 30 Hands - Finding new Google tools and add-ons to use for research
I learned a variety of tips and tricks to immediately use in the classroom with my students. I also learned a variety of ways to increase the use of technology in the classroom, such as offering alternate ways for students to demonstrate knowledge through leveraging web tools and applications.
I now feel better prepared to use technology to present to my students concepts in math that are sometimes difficult for them to grasp.
I was surprised and impressed by the quality of the CUE conference. I cannot wait to incorporate new ideas and techniques into my classroom that I learned from both the presenters and my peers. My favorite part of the conference was the opportunity to collaborate with teachers from other areas and to learn from them to better support my own students.
We engaged in professional discussions that enhanced each other's professional growth over the three days while at the same time, getting to know each other better. Thank you Muirlands Foundation!
Check out this short video made by ALAS Media that captures some of the energy, excitement, and happenings of the conference CUE Rewind. For more information, and to check out presenter resources, visit 2015.cue.org.
