D.A.T.E Conference

Attending the D.A.T.E Conference was quite the experience! I attended four sessions along with the Jennifer Donnelly presentation.

The first session I attended was Shade Gomez’s discussion, “Project Based Learning: Incorporating Technology into the Classroom.” This was phenomenal! Shade began with a short worksheet explaining how PowerPoint should be used in a classroom; it should be used as a backdrop/referral tool rather than the main focus of the lecture or discussion. He then went into different projects his own students had produced using technology. The students’ task was to create their own project; it was freeform. His students had such creativity! Students incorporated music—wrote songs, mixed music on computers, etc—created posters, fabric art, books, and even Lego-mation. The Lego-mation was intense and some students did incredibly well with it. They would take Legos, and use stop-motion animation so the Lego people acted out a scene from Hamlet. They had sets, characters, and voice-overs. I was amazed.

For the second session I attended (and introduced) was Elizabeth Netzband and Tamatha Picolla’s presentation on “Hope IS Here: Finding Positive Messages in YA Literature.” They introduced several great literature options to include in the classroom that give students a positive outlook on life. Still, I feel most stories will have that “upbeat” moral, and those that don’t have a learning experience in them that students can benefit from. While I might take some of their suggestions, I am not sure I agree with their stance completely.

The next event I attended was Jennifer Donnelly’s presentation on A Northern Light. I was impressed by her public speaking and speech writing abilities. Granted she has had practice with this, but Donnelly brought you into what she was saying and allowed the audience to connect with her words and material.

The third session I attended was Carol Mikoda and Jen Rimualdo’s discussion on the use of Nancy Atwell’s reading and writing workshop in the classroom: “No Workshop Left Behind: Reading and Writing at the Middle Level.” Since one of our classes is fairly centered around Atwell, and considering that several students in the class have questioned how it would/if could actually work in a school district, it was wonderful to hear that it is happening in a classroom in New York.

The last session I attended was the informal discussion with Jennifer Donnelly, “Blood, Sweat and Fears: An Informal Discussion of the Writing Life with Jennifer Donnelly." I enjoyed hearing about her techniques, her ideas, and her processes throughout her writing. It was also fascinating to have her on the same level as the rest of us; instead of a famous writer lecturing us on what she does, she was a teacher/student just as we all are.