Dec 29 2008
“It’s a dangerous thing, Frodo, stepping outside your windows…”
Here’s the deal. Aside from grading stacks and stacks of papers, planning a few lit units, organizing my house that has, for the last two years, slid further and further into “crazy psycho collector read-all-about-it-in-the-Lifestyle-section” land, and catching up on leisure reading, I’m supposed to be putting together a presentation for my colleagues about all the neato things I learned at the TIES conference at the beginning of the month. (Reference this blog and this one for context.)
That wouldn’t be a problem–I like putting together presentations–except for two things:
1) I hate, loathe, detest, and am flattened by having to present to colleagues. I can only teach teenagers. That’s it. My repertoire is quite…small. I can do 8th grade, and I can do seniors, and I can do everything in between, but beyond that? I either come across like a total imbecile or, in trying to avoid that, I assume far too much and end up speaking babble in Greek.
and…
2) In deciding what to include, I’ve been spending hours reading edtech blogs, following links, adding to my bookmarks, and exclaiming, “Oh, hey, another way to use Twitter!” and “Wow, that’s so freaking cool!” a lot.
Neither of these points are very helpful, you might notice.
Perhaps as an act of exorcism, I’ll lay out some of the cool things I’ve been finding for #2. (If any of you have ideas on fixing #1, please comment or e-mail!)
- Wordia. I’m having visions of some very fun and creative vocabulary lessons for kids.
- Search Cube. Cool for visual learners, I suspect. You can view an example here.
- Twitter Venn tools. Very cool. Visually interesting and fun. (Not to mention an awesome woman whose blog I need to watch closely so it’s already added to my RSS feed!)
- Speaking of new bloggers I’m following, here’s a great idea for Movie Trailers for Books with a very cool resource for keeping track of visual sources. Woot!
Where did most of these come from? Tweets on Twitter posted by other educators or edtechs.
So…back to that presentation. Maybe after following links to just a couple of more sites…and checking my tweets another time…oh, and yeah, that new Wiki I joined for educators, that might have something new…and…and…and…
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Thanks for the tools! I see a lot of time wasting in my future!
Almost exactly a year ago I did a rockin’ presentation to my colleagues. Everyone loved it and learned a lot. I loved doing it. Disclaimer: two months later I was unemployed and crying in my bathtub.
Here’s a few tips for “teaching” your peers:
It can be hard to find the right tone. Talk to them like you were giving directions to polite strangers.
An attitude of “here’s something I think is cool, maybe you will, too” never hurts.
Kids like to learn for the sake of knowing something new. Adult learners generally want to know exactly how this can be used in their life to make things easier. Give specific examples.
You are, for this 20 minutes or so, the expert. They already think that, or they would not have asked you to present. Don’t waste their time or yours being insecure or self effacing.
Own the space and time. You are a hostess, but instead of welcoming them into your home, you are welcoming them into you thoughts and knowledge. Be kind and charming and helpful, but in control. You are the one who knows where the cups are how to find the bathroom. Let them know that.
Have fun!
Dang! the interwebs ate my comment!
About a year ago, I made a presentation to my coworkers (and bosses). Everyone enjoyed it and learned a lot. I loved it! In fact, I am beginning to develop a curriculum for Community Ed. Here’s a few tips:
You are the expert, at least for that 20 minutes or so. That has already been decided, or you not have been asked to present. Don’t waste their time or yours being self effacing.
Adult learners want to know how what they are learning can be applied to their lives. Give specific examples.
An attitude of “Here’s a cool thing I learned, maybe you will think it is cool, too.” never hurts.
If you have trouble finding the right tone, use the same one you’d used to give directions to polite strangers
You are the hostess, not of your home, but of your thoughts and knowledge. Be polite and welcoming, but own the space. You are the only one who knows where all the clean cups are or how to get to the bathroom. Your confidence will make them comfortable.
Have fun.
Disclaimer: As much fun as I had presenting, two months later I was unemployed and crying in my bathtub. I don’t think the two were related, but be careful.