I am home from my wonderful trip to Washington, DC and had a great time. I met many great people of which I will speak about in various upcoming posts. I want to start with one of the sessions that stood out the most to me that I hope when I take it back to my colleagues they will feel the same way!
At NECC this past week I had the awesome opportunity meet an eleven year old teacher. Yes, I said eleven year old. Her name is Adora Svitak and she is a very talented writer at this young age. Yes, she is gifted in this area, but she has been totally encouraged by her parents and tutors to pursue this interest and grow in her passion. As I sat and listened to Adora speak about writing and integrating technology, her vocabulary blew me away. Not like some "nerdy" kid trying to show off with big words, but just like listening to another colleague speaking to me in a PD or PLC meeting. Adora travels the country conducting writing workshops for teachers and students. What could be more motivating to kids than hearing it straight from someone their own age?
Adora's grasp of technology use both in her day to day writing and in her presentation skills was also amazing to watch. She was brought to NECC this year by Promethean, one of the premiere Interactive White Board manufacturers. Just watching her use the ActivBoard and student response system in her presentation to us again blew me away. I hope her message from the child's point of view can be heard by teachers and administrators. She talked about the wonderful engagement and defferentiating opportunities that are available through the use of these interactive tools.
Her goal in life is to inspire kids to love reading as much as she does, and to let them know it is the basis for whatever they may be interested in. Through her writing workshops kids and teachers alike are able to hear from a child's perspective the importance of engaging instruction.
Take a look at Adora's books that are listed on her website http://www.adorasvitak.com/ when you get a chance. If you have not seen or heard her speak search YouTube for Adora Svitak.
I've included an interview that was done this week with Adora by one of the local DC TV stations. Toward the end of the interview she references that she will be speaking to a group of teachers at 3:45 that day. I was fortunate enough to be in that session and was given a copy of one of Adora's books and got to meet her briefly!
More NECC posts to come soon!
Susan
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I wish I had made it to this session. She sounds wonderful!
ReplyDeleteEnjoying your blog posts, by the way. Looking forward to sitting down myself and blogging about NECC soon. Thought I'd have more time to blog while I was there. :)
Thank you very much for your kind words and encouragement. Adora loved her NECC experience. This is her third year to attend and present at NECC. She enjoyed watching and learning from Promethean booth presenters as well as visiting other booths. We appreciate you taking time to write down your thoughts.
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