What did I learn at CUE conference?

So, I have returned from the CUE conference and I have settled into my Spring Break schedule which consists of a lot of catch up. I am preparing to do my taxes, cleaning closets and watching movies I never get to watch. I also have the great fun of picking my kiddos up from school for a week. They love as much as I do. No, Spring Break trip this year. Just enjoying a slower pace of life.

Let's talk about CUE before I continue to ramble on. I had a great experience at CUE as usual. It keeps me in touch with the techies teachers and inspires my creativity every time.

1. So, a while back I watched this super cool video by Dan Meyer and I applied some of his strategies in a 2nd grade classroom and they worked.

Well, Hello!!! guess who is the opening keynote at CUE, Dan the High School Math Teacher. GREAT and inspiring again his original TED talk was called: Math class needs a Makeover. You can find it on my post  in October.

Dan has many great ideas, I love his new message of Perplexity and how we need to provide students with perplexity in the math classroom beyond adding their names to the word problem.
I have started following this guy on twitter because I need to be around amazing minds like this.  Here is the link to my previous post about Dan but I intend to try out an idea in one of my classrooms next week based on his new ideas about Perplexity that he shared with us at CUE.

2. Levar Burton aka Reading Rainbow guy aka Jordy. This is not the learning you would expect but I did learn about Levar Burton. So, I am working the registration booth at the CUE conference and a registrant runs (speed walks) in swishing their conference tote side to side clutching their ipad mini, and says"Which way to Jordy?" I just starred at her. (insert puzzled face) Then they lady next to me says"  That way down the hallway." I pretended that I knew what was going on and continued my job while thinking: Who the heck is Jordy?????
Then the group of registrant volunteers gathers and says did you see the tweet about " Jordy and Khan (Sal Khan of Khan academy closing keynote) together at CUE, then they belt out these belly jerking laughs, some of them threw their heads back and fist pumped each other. In my head I am thinking WHAT? One of the volunteers asks"Are you a Trekkie?" I shook my head "NO".  She explained that Jordy is the character Levar Burton played on Star Trek and Khan is an infamous bad guy from Star Trek as well ( not the Khan academy Khan).  WHO Knew Not Me?  But now I know! And here it is: THank YOu Willam Shatner! and my husband who upon me returning from CUE said" You do not need to be a Trekkie to know about this Khan moment, it is iconic." I have watched and I am now sharing this video in case you have not seen it or don't know about Khan, then you want have an awkward moment at a CUE conference like me ya know just trying to help out.


3. You know what a GOOGLE SLAM is? Well its always a good time. They don't even have to try GOOGLE SLAM is a good time. (In my head I hear the Carly Rae song "It's always a Good Time.")

Here were the SLAMMERS. Megan Ellis ,

JR Ginex-Orinion, Lisa Highfill,Karl Lindgren-Streicher,Diane Main,Joe Wood all worth following on Twitter. LOVE Twitter super fast quick PD. 

This is one of my favorite things that would make you look super cool as a teacher or doing PD try google speak to search for something but test out what you want to search for before hand because  similar to another friend on the iphone it is not always accurate. This would be a great tool for younger students to do searches without having to type and build language skills. I am thinking ask the students a driving question " What would we ask google to help us find information about Pandas? What words would best help google know what we want?
I would love to hear what they say. This could be a possible mini lesson on being concise and making your message clear.  WORD CHOICE writing lesson ;)

  Google SLAM session continued! So, the session was packed (with people and info) but it ended with this. Gotta love it! I would love to make one of these videos when I go back to work.

Well there they are 3Three things I learned at CUE but there are so many way too many for this one post. My head is full again and that is why I love going to CUE! Enjoy this video!!!