Wk4: Think Out Load: Presenting Dilemmas

So, it is not that I have never thought about doing workshops or presenting at conferences, in fact the vague, non-commital idea of it is exciting, but now that it is time to commit and find actual conferences to present at, I have lost all my confidence. I didn't know what I wanted to present, would educational professional even care to hear what I had to say or would they just criticize it? Then the fear that I am not "professional" enough to pull this kind of thing off. I don't talk in such a professional manner. I don't like to use words like "pedagogical."I don't think it helps get your point across. I know in workshops the presenters that talk a lot, with the big educational jargin words that made them seem self-important. As a teacher with little time and patience left after working, I just want to hear the idea in basic English...easier to understand...easier to implement because you have provided me specific examples (or time to make my own) and possibly materials for use right away, the better and more likely I will use it.

All this was running through my head as I was thinking about what I wanted teachers to know and to implement in their own classrooms. Then I remember... My main focus all this year has been Project-based learning, even my CBR reflected that. I finally knew I wanted to create a presentation that promoted PBL, using my CBR idea as the main platform. My CBR is simple in theory and can be used for any class or subject. It is easily tweaked and the phase 2 and 3 could become extensions. Within this presentation I would interject examples of PBL that can be included into the bigger project, or just on their own. The same goes with the advanced technology ideas we learned throughout this program.