"From Technology to Talk: Digital Resources for Deeper Classroom Conversations"- Webinar

I attended this webinar on March 14, 2016, and it was presented by Kevin Baird. He began by introducing blended learning which is a formal educational program consisting of two instructional approaches: technology based, and face to face interaction. This means that the real blend is between technology and talk, which eventually lead to things that define literacy as: reading comprehension, and argumentation. Kevin suggested different ways in which we can improve reading comprehension and shed the light on the importance of using technology to have students hear the language rather than only read it, emphasizing that "technology makes any text accessible to my ears...and for free." After that, Baird introduced argumentation through giving the idea of showing students a video and having them argue, i.e. have a class discussion about it. By doing so,students will share their thoughts, orient themselves to others' thoughts, deepen their reasoning, and engage in reasoning of others. Thus, we can't just slam books in front of kids...have them: hear, give opinions, and argue!

This was the very first webinar I attended so far. Although I struggled a lot with the sound and the connection in general, it was quite interesting to attend a meeting with people from all over the world online! Kevin talked about really interesting ideas that teachers should be aware of in order to come up with a more effective lesson. Although I had taken a lot of courses about how important it is to adapt your lesson to the students' needs and interests, have them discuss their own thoughts, and not to mention how many lessons we took about the importance of the listening skill which a lot of teachers don't pay much attention to...Yet I never actually thought about all of that working together, but Kevin kind of combined them all through the use of blended learning, which is something I didn't really know much about until I attended the webinar. Moreover, I never actually thought about the outcomes of discussions the way Kevin showed it. I used to think about it as an opportunity for students to share their thoughts and respect that of others, but the way Kevin presented it clarified the importance of having the students deepen their reasoning, i.e. use critical thinking, as well as try to see things from others' perspectives, which is also really complex even for mature adults. 
This webinar has actually benefited me a lot and I am looking forward for attending other ones later!