NCCE 2016 Takeaways #ncce16 #edtech @NCCE_EdTech

I was lucky enough to attend and present at NCCE 2016 in Seattle and here are some of my random thoughts after three days of workshops and sessions:

• Thursday's keynote by Kevin Honeycutt was brilliant.  What a great storyteller.  Funny, passionate and creative.
• I want to find a free tech ticket system that students can use for a student help desk
• I love the name Tech Ninjas for student helpers, come in silently, get the job done, but train others to be masters too
• I love the thought of students getting trained to fix Chromebooks.  They need to be empowered.
• Drones are cool.  I want one.  Especially when students pair with community members and businesses and shoot photos and videos for them for training.
• Sustainable change comes from the ground up, not the top down.
• Cool Google Drive keyboard shortcuts
• Shift + t - new Google Doc
• Shift + p - new Google Slides
• Shift + s - new Google Sheet
• Shift + d - new Google Drawing
• Shift + f- new folder
• Shift + o - new form
• OneTab is an awesome way to organize a lot of tabs.
• Switcher is a great Chrome extensions manager, better than Extensify.
• Sqord looks like a cool fitness tracker for kids.
• youcanbook.me can also be used to check out devices.  Never thought of it in that way.

Beyond the cool tools, I noticed what a foothold Google has taken in technology and education.  Their mark is everywhere from Google Apps for Education to Chromebooks to hosting their own summit at NCCE.  I saw how allowing kids to invest in the technology learning, building, fixing, and teaching is very valuable.  They want to be a part of the process.  They want to have a social presence.  They want to be experts.  But they are kids and they will make mistakes and we need to teach them constantly and let them learn from their mistakes.

Digital citizenship is not going to become any less important so we need to be teaching it to kids from Day One to Cap and Gown.  We also all have a story to tell and an obligation to share stories for those who cannot.  Be social.  Use Twitter and Facebook, Seesaw, blogs, web pages and communicate with parents.  Create a digital refrigerator and use it for more than just stale milk.

Let students see you reflect on your learning and more importantly your mistakes.  That's where true learning lives.

“Wanna make change? Break into the classrooms and burn down the file cabinets full of lesson plans.” Kevin Honeycutt

Finally, apparently there is a delineation between Geeks, Nerds and Dorks.  I'm still searching my soul for my best fit.