K12 Online Conference

One conference that I visited was called Parents Engagement in the 21st Century. There were many points that I agreed with in this conference. The first woman speaking says early on that mistakes made by children in school are natural. There are consequences for their actions, but then we move on. I think sometimes certain teachers can dwell on their student's mistakes and even hold it against them. Everyone makes mistakes. It is part of life and we need to learn to move on. The main gist of the broadcast was finding and using tools to create more parent envolvement. Supporting our students and encouraging them to act and think responsibly is vital for their success. Matt Mantagne mentions that filtering school computers may do more harm then good. It challenges the student to find ways around the filter and also can block educational content. Learning what and how our children use tools available on the internet is key to building a relationship with them. If parents use the same tools that their children use (facebook, blogs, etc.) they will better know what their kids are doing online. Although this can be time consuming, it is important to make the time to engage. For parents and teachers both, resources need to be provided in order to remain updated on technology. This is one of the main problems here. Resources can be found everywhere, so with time and determination the task is not impossible. Overall, I think that these conferences are really handy in learning something new or expanding your knowledge of a particular subject. Parents, educators, and anyone else interested in the education field would greatly benefit from visiting this site and sites like this one.