My head is still spinning (in a good way) from all the new learning at MIGooglefest. Even if you were not able to attend, there are links to hundreds of resources on the schedule page. One thing that was obvious to me is that every human is uniquely created to innovate. There were dozens of presenters on a wide variety of topics related to Google Apps for Education. Some presenters gave philosophical ideas about how to innovate using Google tools. Some gave very practical how-to presentations about a specific product or project. Some discussed how to up technology skills in a certain area. Some cast visions of education models that could change the world. All of them were useful. All of them were just what someone in the audience needed to hear this week. I feel like I have been drinking from a fire hose and I will need some time to unpack it all.
Aside from many, many great ideas, my application from all of this is, “Do I give my students time to process? Do I give them manageable bites at a time?”. I really feel a need to examine my teaching practice to see if I give choice without being overwhelming and processing time without leaving students with nothing to do. I am trying to strike a balance between exciting innovation and crazy firehose spray. This will take some work.
makingthinkinglearning 