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| New CUE Logo |
I spent the end of last week at CUE's annual conference in Palm Springs. Here are some of my thoughts after the weekend, in no particular order:
- Thursday Keynote: Dan Meyer's talk was fast-paced and high energy, showing lots of examples of how he finds math questions in everyday situations. His three-step sequence is "Capture Perplexity, Share Perplexity, Resolve Perplexity". The big take-away for me (and I hope for a lot of people) was starting lessons with a question, rather than a topic. This reflects the emphasis on inquiry in Common Core, as teachers in all subjects shift to working in this student-centered way.
- Friday Keynote: LeVar Burton shared about his love of reading which he got from his mother, who was an English teacher. He used Reading Rainbow to share this love and to provide opportunities for kids who may not have books around their house.
- Saturday Keynote: I did not attend Sal Khan's talk, but I followed some of the discussion on Twitter. I truly do not understand the passionate reactions (on both sides) that Khan Academy inspires. One attendee tweeted that Khan should get a "Nobel Peace Prize" (sic); another tweeted that they were "vomiting" in reaction. Khan Academy is a useful resource for teachers, but it is not The Future. Like any tool, it has strengths and it has weaknesses. I don't think he deserves a prize, but he doesn't make me vomit either.
- Three teachers and two administrators from our district joined me at this conference. It was great to be able to share ideas and thoughts with them throughout the weekend, and be able to think specifically about how things could work in our district. The other attendees were Michelle Anderson (Math, LCC), Lori Meyer (English, CV), Lisa Hendricks (Social Science, TP), Corey Bess (AP, DNO), and Tim Hornig (Principal, SDA). I'm hoping that they will also share their reflections in subsequent blog posts here.
- Resources and links from session I attended (or learned about):
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| Teachers lined up early to get in the Chrome session |
- The best part of the conference, for me, is re-connecting with people in my PLN and meeting new ones face-to-face. No matter how much we talk through Twitter, or blogs, or Google+, or email, it's still great to see colleagues and friends in person and informally.
