Last time I posted about the importance of PD, I’ll tell you about my conference next. First though, a reminder to mark May 28, 29 and 30th in your calendar. This year Mohawk College and the good people in the Centre for Teaching and Learning are hosting This is I.T. Don’t know about this conference? Here’s a quote from the website, “This Is IT! has been the province’s premiere instructional technology conference since its inception in 1994. This year marks the official name change from This Is IT! to Advancing Learning, reflective of the conference’s focus on teaching and learning.”
The Ontario Library Association’s annual Super Conference is a big one for us library types. Over 4500 people attended, not quite as many as the annual American Library Association conference, but check out this clip to get the idea. Super Conference is always a great learning and networking experience. A special nod goes out to our own Jenn Horwath, the Ontario College and University Association’s Academic Librarian of the Year. A well deserved honour for Jenn. We miss her and look forward to her return from sabbatical in the fall.
Super Conference featured some non-librarian keynote speakers whom I found to be particularly inspiring this year. Irshad Manji who wrote The Trouble with Islam: A Muslim’s Call for Reform in her Faith spoke about what inspired her to write the book. Brave is the word that comes to mind to describe Ms. Manji. Elizabeth May also spoke at the conference, her lifelong dedication to the environment is really amazing. A colleague and I have quietly talked about how to inspire some “greening” around the college. Stay tuned for more.
My trusted source Resource Shelf has lots of good stuff to share as usual. I’ve found a new website to monitor: KillerStartups.com! In their own words, they, “…review 30+ internet startups per working day.” They allow visitors to vote on the ones that they think might become “killers”. I don’t know if this one will become a killer but anyone creative will be impressed by the new online sketchpad at OffType.net. It is really easy to use, comes with a scalable colour palette and an adjustable drawing tool. You can save or print the images you create – you can even save them online right on OffType. Give it a try or show it to your students, its lots of fun.
Also found on Resource Shelf, the World Almanac, that wonderful provider of facts and “this day in history” information has an e-newsletter. The World Almanac blog is in BRAINlinks, they do a daily post with an update of facts and events related to that day’s date. The e-newsletter is more comprehensive than the blog and it’ll come right to your inbox. This is a great way to find little tidbits to share with your students, start conversations etc. Or just to enjoy for its own sake if you’re a fact geek like me!
To end on a green (and charitable) note, another neat find on KillerStartups. It’s a new social networking site based on doing good works: GoodCircle.org. A clipping: ” … find and join people, friends, groups, and organizations who are involved in and support the same things you do. Search by name, idea, cause, belief, event, organization, community.” Check it out, maybe it’ll help you or your students find some help with a favourite cause.
