Bringing Ignite Home

As I followed ISTE 12 from home on Twitter (San Diego seemed so much nicer than 100 degree heat in Missouri), one of the items that got my attention was the Ignite presentations. This was something I had not seen before so when I was reading the tweets about how awesome these sessions were, I wanted to learn more. I like the idea of a fast paced 5 minute presentation with slides changing every 15 seconds. See the example below and go to the 20 minute mark to see an example Ignite presentation by Josh Stumpenhorst (@stumpteacher on twitter). 


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y74DRhQqN6s

Want to see some more snippets from Ignite sessions and participant reaction, check out this video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJBTpBxzbpM


Of all the things I was learning from ISTE 12 via Twitter, the Ignite presentations were front and center in my mind. I wondered how this concept could be brought back home to the staff and students I work with, as well as other educators in my area.

Could this format be a good way to start a professional development session? - Doing a quick Ignite presentation could setup the learning for today, get my participants excited for the session, and could spark some conversation before we get started.

Could this format be used to get all my teachers that I work with interested in the possibilities of technology in their classroom? - Every year I send out an email to all five of my schools detailing how I could be a resource to them, what technology resources they have access to, etc. Maybe I can do a five minute presentation in the building or I could do the same thing with a video and picture-in-picture so I could do slides and show myself. A video is never as good as in person, but it would be an alternative if I could not get 5 minutes at an early year staff meeting.

Could this format be used by students? - If students were presenting individually or in groups, this format could give them structure and keep their presentations from being stagnant. Students would also have to think critically about what images they need and how it will correspond to their speaking parts.

I like the possibilities but I would to hear what you think. Do you have any other ideas for how the Ignite style presentations could be used? Please leave a comment or contact me on twitter @itechbob