Friday, Oct 2, 2015
Educators share classroom ideas on using technology to engage learners in the classroom
by Aimee LaBrie
Engaging digital natives in the classroom provides an opportunity for educators to use technology in creative ways, and exploring those opportunities was the focus of Rider University School of Education’s first TeachMeet event.
More than 150 teachers, principals and supervisors from elementary, middle and high schools, as well as student teachers and faculty from Rider and other local universities, came together to share their ideas on Thursday, Sept. 24, from 4 to 7 p.m. in the Mercer Room in Daly Dining Hall. Characterized as an informal "un-conference," the three-hour event allowed participants to engage in using technology and other tools, as well as to network with one another. For the sharing portion of the evening, presenters were asked to prepare a concrete lesson in either three or seven minutes. Topics ranged from how to use digital publishing in the classroom to new ways to approach mathematics and to reach the reluctant writer. How did this un-conference come to be? In May, Dean Sharon Sherman traveled to Sydney, Australia, to visit Rider's partner K-12 school and set up a global student teaching opportunity for University students. There she met Maggie Mattson, co-founder of #AussieEd, who teaches elementary school in Sydney, Australia, and the two had dinner. Dean Sherman learned that Mattson would be on sabbatical leave in New York this fall, and they organized the Rider University TeachMeet. Mattson agreed to lead the event. Having organized multiple TeachMeets in Australia, Mattson said, "I love this approach to shared learning. You truly do leave the event with 20 new and useful ideas in your pocket." "The event works because it's educators presenting for other educators," Sherman said. "The lessons are quick, the atmosphere is relaxed and participants meet professionals striving to solve the same challenges on a day to day basis. As participants left for the evening, the number one question was, 'When are you scheduling the next TeachMeet?'”
See more by viewing a student-produced video about the event:
This is how people were talking about the event Twitter using #TMRider.
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