MLTI Summer Institute 2015

I ended the school year rather abruptly with this blog since it got so busy. No formal wrap up at all. Opps! That's what happens though, right?


This week is the first of several professional development sessions that I'm attending. When I took on this role two years ago, the MLTI Summer Institute was at the top of the list of sessions to attend given to my by the district. So here I am!

The basic outline of the MLTI Summer Institute is that you select a strand to cover during the three days and then you work with a cohort and your presenter to do your learning. I opted to spend the week with Ruben Puentedura from Hippasus to learn about "The Art of Refraction". Here is the full description to give you a better idea of what that means:

The Art of Refraction
Presenter: Ruben Puentedura, Hippasus

At times, the challenges of integrating new curricular initiatives with new technology tools can seem overwhelming. A process of “refraction” can help here, where a unit of instruction is viewed through the lens of a bigger theme (e.g. 21C skills), and focused into actual practice via a particular class of tools. In these four hands-on sessions, we will implement this approach in a range of areas, chosen to support a broad spectrum of subjects and grade levels. We will use a classification of 21C literacies created by Kristen Kereluik and Punya Mishra as our lens, coupled to SAMR and the EdTech Quintet as focal guides for technology integration. Participants will come away with four completed projects, as well as a process and set of templates that they can then apply immediately to their own classroom instruction.

So far I have explored a lot of tools, some of which I knew about, and also Ruben's work. It has been very interesting so far. I have also been learning more about Shawkan, the freelance photographer jailed in Egypt for almost two years now, as the focus for my projects that we have been doing.

I hope that summer is treating you all well. I have lots more to share, but I'll save that for later.

Location: Bowdoin College, 255 Maine Street, Brunswick, ME 04011, USA

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