Tech Savvy Mama

Parenting in the Digital Age

Using Social Media Tools to Build an Online Community: NAEYC Conference Presentation

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Last week Amy Mascott (@TeachMama and WeTeachGroup.com) and I ventured to Orlando where we on spoke at the National Association for the Education of Young Children’s (NAYEC) annual conference about Community Partnerships: Using Technology to Educate, Inform, and Connect in the Online Community.  It’s been awhile since I attended a national education conference but it was invigorating to attend and sit in on sessions that made me feel as if I never left the teaching world.

 

NAEYC is an organization for those who work with children from birth to age 8.  Their Academy determines, monitors, and accredits high quality early childhood education programs.  NAEYC accreditation is like the gold standard for early childhood programs!
 
NAEYC’s annual conference provides professional development through “peer-reviewed presentations” and exhibits and serves as a way to learn and network with colleagues.  It was truly an honor to present at such a prestigious conference and walk through an exhibit hall full of the latest and greatest teaching tools for young children.
 
Amy and I saw gorgeous materials designed to activate a child’s imagination as they learn through play.
 
Light tables with water and glitter filled items designed to teach letters, shapes, colors, and attributes from Kaplan Early Learning Company.

 

Kaplan’s Technology Tunnel featured All In One Touch Computers with touch screen monitors and table-like learning surfaces for interacting with content.  How I would have loved these when I was teaching preschool and kindergarten!

 

Teachers browsing through boxes of heavily discounted supplies from Discount School Supply. I may or may not have picked up a few items for our house!

 

Community Playthings had a stunning booth full of high quality wooden products designed to last a lifetime and longer that I would outfit my classroom with if money were no object!

 

We also learned about the newest way parents can stay connected to schools and daycare through ChildCare Daily App.

 

VariQuest’s high tech touch screen Cut Out Maker didn’t make me miss cutting out construction paper strips and punching out each individual letter with the old school die cut machine that I used to use.  Tiny knives made our names out of a single piece of paper in a flash!  It can even cut magnets.  Oh the possibilities even for at-home use!

 

We even used the die cuts to decorate our presentation space!

I loved presenting in the Learning Galleria because it allowed us to provide targeted professional development for our attendees. Thanks to the ability to meet either individually or in small groups, educators walked away with information that they could use as soon as they got home.  For some this included creating a Google Form to collect information from a community of preschool directors and have them communicate using a ning.  Others wanted to know everything there was to know about Pinterest! 
 
And of course, Amy’s We Teach community was of huge interest among educators who look to collaborate with others beyond their school outside the school day.  There’s even a new We Teach & Build Communities group on We Teach to continue the conversations we started at NAEYC!
 

For those who are interested in our presentation, here is the description:

Social media tools like Twitter, Facebook, Skype and ning make some educators run away in fear or shake their heads in disgust, but these tools, when used effectively, can work together to create a strong online community of educators who can share information, learn from each other, and grow as professionals in their field. And it’s not difficult to learn how to make the most of these resources so that teachers can access them in seconds and gather a wealth of new teaching strategies, resources, and connections. Not only can these tools be used among educators for professional growth; they can also be used to strengthen the tie between home and school so that communication with parents and guardians is frequent and worthwhile. For all who are involved in Early Childhood Education—from beginners to experts in the field–this session is not to be missed. Participants at all levels will leave knowing ways they can safely and ethically utilize the latest social media tools in their own classrooms, offices, and networks, to better themselves, their students, and their community at large.

Here are the slides we shared with attendees:

NAEYC: Community Partnerships Barr/ Mascott presentation

Huge thanks to Fresh Produce for my conference wardrobe, AMD for sponsoring my trip as for my involvement as an #AMDTechMom, and Amy for being a fabulous co-panelist!

Thanks for reading Tech Savvy Mama through your feed!

Original post by Tech Savvy Mama
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  1. ichoosethesun says

    This ROCKS! As a former teacher and ECE consultant I find this totally awesome and will definitely share with my colleagues. Btw, great briefly meeting you at Blogalicious 11 🙂