Expanding the notion of backchanneling

At Tech Forum Austin, Paul Wood (Bishop Dunne Catholic School) and I presented “Tapping into the Backchannel”–a session on the variety of ways that backchannels can be used both professionally and in the classroom setting. We spoke specifically about how backchannels can be used by educators as: 1)learners 2)information gatherers 3)presenters (including speakers, principals, board members, etc–any sort of meeting) 4) in classroom settings As learners, tools like Twitter can be invaluable ways to tap into professional development workshops that we could never attend, and […]

Chronicling the details: story, mindfulness, and joy

In their article on Andy Rooney’s passing, CNN.com describes him as someone who “chronicles the particular.” This phrase especially resonated with me after Dean Shareski shared his vision of story in workshops at our high school last Thursday, as well as in his keynote at Tech Forum Austin. His eye for story in the most amusing details is clear in the video he opened his presentation for our teachers with. The backstory–his wife was on the decorating committee for his daughter’s graduation party and as […]