Still More Takeaways from MassCUE 2016

by Peter Torrey, Bulkeley High School


My first takeaway from my visit to MassCUE was the time I spent in the Google Presentation. I chose this one in particular because I was just getting started using the Google Tools and Apps for my classroom. They went through a lot of their educational apps and talked about how to differentiate for kids using Chromebooks, how to organize your work and lessons, and how to set things up for easy use. I was able to start using the things I learned right there in the presentation. I would love it if someone from Google came to Bulkeley to do some professional development.

A second takeaway would be that the presenters should have titled their presentations differently. A lot of people complained that presentations weren’t titled in terms of the grade level. I went to many that got started and then you find out it’s for middle school or 12th grade. The other observation I had was that I could have gotten more information by running into the presentations and getting the URL so that I could look at their presentation later.

The final takeaway was the 22 Tools You Can Use today in the classroom. Type in bit.ly/22Tools. This is a good mix of interesting tools you can use for different reasons in your classroom. The presentation allows you to click through the presentation and each of the tools provides a link for you to learn more about it.

3 More Takeaways from MassCUE 2016

by David Dagrosa, Bulkeley High School

1. Gillette Stadium is beautiful
2. I am Jets fan
3. I HATE the Patriots


All kidding aside, I really enjoyed my experience at the MassCUE conference. My first takeaway was that the conference was very organized. There was sufficient time to visit booths and attend breakout sessions. While there were sometimes more than one session I was interested in during a given time slot, I was able to get the URL that contained almost all of the information given by that presenter.

My second takeaway was that there is so much technology out there in terms of education. I really enjoyed my session on formative assessment apps. The presenter was great and went over a number of apps. I liked the “goformative” app the best. Sometimes it is good to see what it is out there so that you can make an informed decision for your classroom. Another session focussed on teacher leaders (The presenter specified that this is not coaches or specialists but classroom teachers that take on leadership roles). This session made me think about teacher leaders in a new light. The role of a teacher leader can not be defined in just one way. I will be sure to realize the importance of the teacher leader in the role that they can play and the impact they can have on teachers, students and all stakeholders in a school community as I move forward in my career in education.

My last takeaway was that it looked like we had followed the steps to implement Blended Learning in our school exactly as it was designed. I commend the work that has been done at our school and look forward to things to come. I hope that we work together to make sure that Blended Learning is benefitting all students at Bulkeley High School. It is important that technology is used appropriately because it can easily have as much of a negative impact as a positive impact on student learning.