ECIS IT Conference

At the end of this month, I'm off to present at the ECIS IT conference in Frankfurt.
I'll be presenting 2 sessions. With things being typically hectic at school, and the fact I've begun working on a Masters degree, I've got that feeling that I may have bitten off more than I can chew. Not a particularly unusual feeling for me, so hopefully I can muddle through.

I attended the ECIS IT conference a few years ago in Dusseldorf. We made a bit of a scene by living at the school in a camper van for the duration of the conference. The whole conference was a great experience that year, so hopefully Frankfurt will continue the trend. I'm planning to be a little more traditional this year, and stay in a hotel (not that I've got around to booking it yet).

My sessions will be as follows:


Inquiry, Creation, Presentation - a school-wide framework for purposeful technology integration

In this session we will explore the process of designing and implementing a technology integration framework, intended for use across all levels and subject areas. Participants will be introduced to a planning model designed for Riffa Views International School. Guided by Standards for the 21^st Century Learner, from the American Association of School Librarians, the goal of the framework is to encourage technology integration in a learning-centered planning model.

We will examine the process undertaken when creating the framework, look at the specifics of the RVIS model, and share what the framework looks like in a practical classroom environment.

Originally I was supposed to co-present this session with a middle school teacher from our school, but unfortunately he has had to pull out. It will be an exploration of our work-in-progress with regard to planning for integration.

1:1 Laptops, a thin client solution

In this workshop we will look at how the RVIS thin client system was planned and implemented, and discuss both the benefits and challenges of such a system. We will explore how our thin client environment impacts on both the technical staff at our school and the teachers and students who use it. We will also discuss how other hardware and software is being used alongside the thin client system to provide appropriate educational solutions.

This is an updated version of the session I presented at ISB last year. When I signed up for this conference, I'd hoped to be discussing our improved Xendesktop system, but the implementation has not gone smoothly, so the presentation may not be as significantly updated as I'd hoped.