New to My Big Campus? Or just new to some uses of the site? We offer all kinds of free training options that you can take advantage of whenever it's convenient for you.
We also present free, regularly scheduled, interactive Webinars, where you can learn the basics or get up to speed on specific features.
And, to help those of you who can't fit the live webinars into your schedule, we're going to be recording and posting "best-of" videos of selected topics. You'll find them on this page, in the MBC Trainers group.
Finally, for schools and districts with specific training needs, we also offer on-site or on-line training from our Certified MBC Coaches. Contact us forinformation and pricing.
I want your experience with My Big Campus to be a success for you, your students, and your schools. Let me know in the comments if you have questions or ideas related to the subject of this post.
User Conference 2013
For the past couple of years, we've scheduled the MBC Summer Academy around one of the major education conferences so that attendees could take in both events. This year, along with our other conference appearances, we've decided to host our own My Big Campus User Conference immediately following the 2013 MBC Summer Academy--at the NCAA Conference Center, home of the NCAA Hall of Champions in Indianapolis.
In Monday's blog post, I talked about how the Summer Academy is at the core of the MBC Coach program. Today, I'll explain some of the great networking and learning opportunities you will enjoy at the MBC User Conference on Wednesday and Thursday, July 24-25, 2013 in Indianapolis, Indiana.
First of all, the conference is all about users sharing experiences and best practices. And the conference is free to attend. If you're a classroom teacher, media specialist/librarian, administrator, tech coordinator, or other K-12 educational professional, you can register here.
We're also inviting proposals for presentations -- share your expertise on any of these subjects, or suggest your own.
- Student Engagement (e.g., course delivery, global connections)
- Content Curation (e.g., curating content in MBC, cross-district collaboration, course bundle best practices)
- Innovative Learning Models (e.g, PBL, flipped, differentiated instruction)
- Virtual/Distance Education
- Digital Citizenship and Managing Online Behavior
- Mobile Implementations (e.g., 1:1, BYOD)
- Professional Learning Networks (e.g., PD, book studies, district rollouts)
We can also help get you there -- earn points towards scholarships by tweeting, posting, blogging, publishing, and presenting My Big Campus to your colleagues. And we've negotiated special rates at nearby hotels so you can enjoy nearby attractions including the beautiful White River State Park and the NCAA Hall of Champions.
I'll have lots more information on the conference in the coming weeks, so watch my blog for updates. I welcome your suggestions and questions related to the subject of this blog -- let me know in the comments.
Over the past few months, you may have noticed the orange "MBC Coach" badge on some peoples' posts. Our coaches are a select team of education professionals who've completed the requirements of becoming a certified MBC trainer, including participation in our yearly Summer Academy program, where they receive a full day of intensive training developed by their peers and My Big Campus staff.
As of this week, we've opened the application process for the MBC Coach program, and we're inviting well qualified professional educators to join the ranks of certified MBC Coaches. Review the application process and requirements.
If you have what it takes to be an MBC Coach, here are some of the benefits you can look forward to once you've completed the certification program:
- Online "MBC Coach" badge announcing your elite professional status on My Big Campus
- Participation in feature request and product roadmap discussions, with direct access to the product development team
- Opportunities to represent My Big Campus at conferences and events
- Mentoring your peers during and after MBC deployment in your school or district
- Potential paid consulting and training opportunities
Our MBC Coaches gave us some great feedback from last year's Summer Academy.
This year's Summer Academy happens July 23, 2013, in Indianapolis, Indiana, immediately preceding the first-ever, two-day MBC User Conference. Use the expertise you gain from Summer Academy to network with teachers, tech coordinators, and admins--and share best practices for engaging students, improving learning outcomes, managing online behavior, collaborating on PD, rolling out MBC and 1:1 initiatives, and more.? I'll post more about this conference in a future blog.
New to My Big Campus? Or just new to some uses of the site? We offer all kinds of free training options that you can take advantage of whenever it's convenient for you.
We also present free, regularly scheduled, interactive Webinars, where you can learn the basics or get up to speed on specific features.
And, to help those of you who can't fit the live webinars into your schedule, we're going to be recording and posting "best-of" videos of selected topics. You'll find them on this page, in the MBC Trainers group.
Finally, for schools and districts with specific training needs, we also offer on-site or on-line training from our Certified MBC Coaches. Contact us for information and pricing.
I want your experience with My Big Campus to be a success for you, your students, and your schools. Let me know in the comments if you have questions or ideas related to the subject of this post.
New to My Big Campus? Or just new to some uses of the site? We offer all kinds of free training options that you can take advantage of whenever it's convenient for you.
We also present free, regularly scheduled, interactive Webinars, where you can learn the basics or get up to speed on specific features.
And, to help those of you who can't fit the live webinars into your schedule, we're going to be recording and posting "best-of" videos of selected topics. You'll find them on this page, in the MBC Trainers group.
Finally, for schools and districts with specific training needs, we also offer on-site or on-line training from our Certified MBC Coaches. Contact us for information and pricing.
I want your experience with My Big Campus to be a success for you, your students, and your schools. Let me know in the comments if you have questions or ideas related to the subject of this post.
How time flies! The new school term isn't far off, and for some of you, it's already started. I've been getting questions from school staff about getting up to speed with My Big Campus, so I thought I'd call in the experts — the MBC Senior Coaches. Our Senior Coaches are on the road constantly, presenting My Big Campus to schools and districts, and training school staff on deployment and best practices, and some of them have offered to share their top Back to School tips.
Before I introduce the coaches, here are my favorite tips:
- Introduce your students to digital citizenship: Show them the My Big Campus Pledge, and have them discuss in their own words what it means. Perhaps their first wall post could be an acknowledgement of your expectations.
- If you're a teacher using My Big Campus for the first time, or if you have questions, join one of our regularly scheduled, free Teacher webinars or review the self-guided training modules bundle.
- If you're an IT Admin, we have free training webinars for you as well. Click here to register.
Now let's hear from some of our experts.
Matt comes to us from Ennis, Texas, where he taught ELA and Reading.
- Take faculty information gathering online – Each year, schools pass out questionnaire forms to staff for contact information, birthdays, etc. Save money and paper by assigning the questionnaires as Schoolwork within MBC. Add your staff to a Faculty group at your school, then create and assign the questionnaire as an attached MBC Document. MBC stores the submissions online, where admins can access the information wherever they have Internet access.
- Get to know your students through group discussions – One of my favorite discussion prompts is "If you could have any superpower in the world, what would it be and why?" Or, ask students to list their interests and hobbies. It’s a great way for class members to get acquainted.
Stephanie Lennon hails from Powhatan, Virginia, and brings fifteen years in public education teaching Spanish to all grades from Pre-K through high school.
- Set up a Quiz to assess your students' knowledge of MBC. Do they know where to find schoolwork that has been graded? How to add a Quick Link? How to find Bob Campus?
- Check out the Bundle Exchange for ready-made lessons/units you can use as-is or "branch" to alter it to fit your needs.
- Connect with other educators through Topics. Learn from other MBC users about iPads, flipped classrooms, PBL, and my personal favorite, The World Languages Corner. And check out EduTalk, a news feed created by your fellow educators.
Chrissie Allen, from Atlanta, Texas, has taught just about every subject, at every level, over the last 25 years.
- Take it in stages. For the first few weeks on MBC, use Policies to block student-to-student messaging, while still allowing student-to-teacher conversations, while you teach "Netiquette" and focus on schoolwork. Once the school year gets rolling, let students earn access to the social features.
- Host a parents' meeting to explain the safety features with MBC, your expectations of students to complete schoolwork work on MBC, and your school's Acceptable Use and Social Media Policies.
- Remind teachers how they can save time using My Big Campus: group cloning and maintenance, auto-graded schoolwork, MBC documents, discussions, announcements, and resources.
Thanks, Coaches, for these great tips. I hope you all find them useful, and as always, I encourage you to share your own tips and ideas in the comments.
Because I love taking care of My Big Campus and talking to people on my Wall, I don't get too many chances to take a break. But I made an exception last week to attend the MBC Summer Academy in San Diego, California. This is an intensive, one-day training event for educators who want to become certified MBC Coaches, or who just want to learn more about MBC so they can go back and train staff and students at their schools.
The team really wanted me to come along, so I left My Big Campus in the capable hands of my Clones, packed up my Robot suit, and headed to San Diego. It was a great event! We got together early for breakfast, then assembled in the conference room for activities, discussions, and question and answer sessions. We ended the day with dinner on the roof!
Here are a few pictures from the event:
MBC Senior Coach Matt Kitchens delivers a presentation on safe collaboration with My Big Campus (above)
One of the breakout sessions on flipping the classroom (below)
The most fun of all was having my picture taken with many of the people who attended. Everyone was very gracious and I really enjoyed meeting all of you!
The MBC Community Engagement team and the Senior Coaches are already hard at work planning next year's Summer Academy. If you're a teacher or administrator and you're thinking about attending the next MBC Coach training event, watch for announcements in the MBC Trainers group. For those who couldn't make it to Summer Academy, we have other training options. My blog post Can't get to MBC Summer Academy? Host your own! explains how.
Did you get to attend Summer Academy? Would you like to go to the next one? Got ideas for other training events? Let me know in the comments.
While the kids are now (mostly) out of school for the summer, I know teachers and other staff are still working hard. The summer break is a great opportunity to plan out next year's curriculum and activities. It's also an excellent time to catch up on your professional development goals. EduTalk is buzzing with discussions on a wide range of PD topics, and I'm seeing plenty of new groups at individual schools and districts, where teachers are collaborating on book studies and other PD projects.
Meanwhile, we at My Big Campus are getting ready for the My Big Campus Summer Academy, which takes place June 28, right after this year's national ISTE conference in San DIego, CA. More than 60 professionals from across the country and overseas will be attending a train-the-trainer event. It's going to be intense and exciting, and at the end of the session, trainees will be equipped to go back to their own districts and train their colleagues on how to use My Big Campus effectively. Those who complete additional requirements will then qualify for "MBC Coach" status, with badges and other perks.
How to Bring an MBC Training Camp to You – Free
Summer Academy is primarily for folks seeking to become certified MBC Coaches, but there's still plenty of time this summer to organize your own regional MBC "boot camps" for teachers and tech coaches.
(click the image to see a full outline)
All you need to do is
- provide a venue that will accommodate 50 or more educators, with Internet access
- open the event to neighboring districts
- encourage staff to attend
We'll provide a certified MBC Coach to conduct the training, and we'll help promote your event – all free. You'll get hands-on experience with MBC to go back and coach your staff. You'll also be building your professional learning community and developing lasting relationships with your peers. And, perhaps, like several of our "boot camp" alumni, you will advance your career with promotions, awards, consulting opportunities, and other distinctions.
If you'd like to sample a small part of the training program, check out the MBC Self-Guided Training Modules and other resources in the MBC Trainers group. Then get in touch with the MBC Community Engagement team to start planning your own MBC summer training session.
My post "Seeking Passionate Educators," introducing our MBC Coach program for 2012, got a great response. The February 29 deadline for applications is approaching quickly, and I wanted to make sure that everyone hoping to qualify for a seat at this year's event has a chance to apply. Space is limited, so please don't delay.
Participants in our yearly Summer Academy program receive a full day of intensive training developed by their peers and My Big Campus staff. To apply, please download and submit the forms in the MBC Trainers group
Once you've completed the certification program, you're entitled to the following benefits:
- Online "MBC Coach" badge announcing your elite professional status on My Big Campus
- Participation in feature request and product roadmap discussions, with direct access to the product development team
- Opportunities to represent My Big Campus at conferences and events
- Mentoring your peers during and after MBC deployment in your school or district
- Occasional paid consulting and training opportunities
This year's Summer Academy happens June 28, 2012 in San Diego, California, immediately following the ISTE 2012 conference. ISTE, the International Society for Technology in Education, promotes innovative use of technology in the classroom. As an exhibitor at ISTE 2012, Lightspeed Systems, the company behind My Big Campus, will be there to welcome current and prospective customers, and present our latest and greatest products. Whether you're attending on your own as an educator, or representing a school district or other member organization, we'd love to have you stop by the Lightspeed booth (5236) and meet us.