Fall CUE in Napa

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to attend the Fall CUE Conference in Napa with my teaching buddy Sandy Patterson.  Another friend and presenter Molly Maloy also joined us for a weekend full of amazing tech ideas and collaboration! 

Fall CUE was held at American Canyon High School, and what an incredible venue it was!  The students who attend there are very fortunate to have such a beautiful campus.

Sandy and I had the opportunity to present two different sessions.  In our session called, Catch the Vision: iPad Projects for the 21^st Century Classroom, we began by explaining our Model Digital District Framework, which helps teachers plan lessons using CCSS, ISTE Standards, SAMR, and DOK.  We showcased some projects done in Sandy’s 2^nd grade classroom in reading, writing, speaking, and listening. These included using QR Codes to learn about weather.  We also shared a lesson extension on student created newscasts using a green screen, plus a Mystery Skype activity. 

If you haven’t tried hosting a Mystery Skype, I would highly recommend it.  The looks on the students’ faces during the Mystery Skype are a reminder that this is a learning experience they won’t quickly forget.

The next classroom example was a Common Core Persuasive Writing Unit entitled, “Which Class Pet Should We Get?”  A description of the project can be found on our Common Core Blog. We also shared a project about magnets where students used Padlet to share their learning. A video showing the project can be seen here. 

In our next session, “Getting Started with Garage Band” we showed three classroom projects that can be incorporated into any subject area, grade level, or standard.  In the first example, Sandy demonstrated how she used a karaoke version of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, and had students write and record their own content area songs in Garage Band.  Students learned all about volcanoes, then wrote their own words to the song by applying what they had learned about volcanoes.  All of the projects can be downloaded by clicking on the picture below.

   

After the Fall CUE Conference ended, I had the opportunity to visit my son Tyler and his family who recently moved to the Bay Area.  We spent Saturday night and Sunday together and had a great time exploring the area and taking pictures.  Tyler is an amazing photographer, and his 5 year old son loves to take pictures as well.  Here is a picture that my grandson took of me with my iPhone.  I edited it with Distressed FX.

I had the opportunity to enjoy a Trunk or Treat activity with my two grandchildren while in Northern CA.  My grandson was dressed as Willy Wonka, and his sister was an Oompa Looma.  Here are a few of my favorite shots taken by Tyler. 

Fall CUE was an amazing experience.  I loved presenting with Sandy, plus I learned so many great things at the sessions I attended.   Then to top it off with a day with my son, daughter-in-law, and two grandchildren was frosting on the cake!