Registration is now open for the MassCUE & M.A.S.S. Annual Technology Conference.

REGISTER
http://2010tgl2-masscue.com/index.html

I hear from so many that they are thinking about deploying Google Apps in their schools. If you want to hear more from people who have already taken the plunge, here are two sessions that will be of interest to you.

Session 1 – WEDNESDAY, October 27 – 10:15 am – 12:25 pm
Room 21
Getting Going with Google Apps for Education
Rob Ford, Director of Technology, Wellesley Public School

Are you interested in using Google Apps for Education in your school or district, but unsure of how to get started? This session will walk you through the process of implementing Google Apps for Education from start to finish. We will also look at how to integrate Google Apps forEducation with LDAP, Moodle, and other tools, before concluding with a discussion of the privacy and policy debates around Google Apps for Education and other online collaboration suites.

This is more demo than hands-on, but you are welcome to bring your own laptop and work along with Rob.

Session 3 – WEDNESDAY, October 27 – 2:00 pm – 4:10 pm

Room 21
Application of GoogleApps: Collaboration in the Wild
Dr. Lee McCanne, Director of Technology and School Libraries

This hands-on session will have two parts:  the first part devoted to learning how to use these tools for collaboration by diving in and doing it, the second half devoted to sharing examples and ideas from teachers and integration specialist.In the first half we will get everyone setup with a public gmail account (if you do not already have one) and begin to explore the collaboration features of GoogleApps.  We will discuss the pragmatic use and some of the decisions to be made with the Enterprise Education Account (that Google offers public schools).  No experience with GoogleApps required, but experienced users are also welcome.  The second half of the session will focus on examples of educational application of GoogleApps and discussions of use in the wild.  Experienced users are encouraged to share their ideas and examples with the group.

Bring your own laptop.

Session reservation: $25.00 per session

Registration is now open for the MassCUE & M.A.S.S. Annual Technology Conference.   I’m looking forward to this.

REGISTER
http://2010tgl2-masscue.com/index.html

As promised, here is another session description.

Adobe Classroom Suite – PreConference

Discover new ways to engage students in learning using Adobe Digital School Collection software across the curriculum Today’s technology provides educators with highly effective ways to address a wide variety of learning styles-and engage all types of students, regardless of academic strengths and interests. Beyond the textbook alone, teachers now can use digital images, graphics, video, audio, and animation to engage students in learning across the curriculum. Students can express what they’ve learned through sights and sounds that go far beyond text-based reports. Beyond the classroom-in higher education and the workplace-proficiency with digital technology has become essential. No longer a novelty, digital media is applied and relied upon everywhere. So, in addition to using new technology to address diverse learning styles, teachers know it’s equally important that their students can use the new technology themselves. Students who don’t acquire substantial 21st century skill levels in the K-12 years will be at a decisive disadvantage when they enter college and the workforce. Join Robert Simpson, Teacher Learning Center Director Ferryway School, Adobe Youth Voices Leader, Adobe Education Leader and Digital School Collection Trainer to learn how to incorporate the Adobe Digital School Collection (Photoshop Elements, Premiere Elements, and Acrobat Pro 9) in your classroom and across core subjects through your district. This is a full day hands-on workshop. http://twitter.com/becomingamerica

25 is the maximum, so all others will be wait-listed.

All sessions will be held from 8:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m on Tuesday, October 26, 2010 at the Sharon Community Center

As one of many volunteers working on the 2010 MassCUE / M.A.S.S. conference (October 27 & 28), I have been active with the conference committee in organizing breakout sessions. This means reading proposals, recruiting presenters, and helping to make sure we have sessions that cover all the strands and that will appeal to all our audiences. The title for the conference this year is Today’s Global Learners—Tomorrow’s Global Leaders and the breakout session descriptions are really living up to the theme. In anticipation of registration for the conference opening very soon, I will post several breakout session descriptions over the next few days.

The session below, Themes for 21st Century Education, is a panel session, and the moderator and panelists are Massachusetts School Superintendents, members of M.A.S.S. If you are an educator in Massachusetts or New England, quality breakout sessions like this one should provide the impetus for you to come to Gillette Stadium in October for the conference. If you are further away, maybe this description will inspire you to convene something similar for your state conference.

Breakout session description:

Where is public education headed?  We know that technology has exploded the possibilities for teaching and learning. We also know that our students must be prepared for life and work in a global context. And we know that certain competencies will be required in the workforce of the future. So what is the debate about 21st Century Skills all about? Is it about curriculum? Is it, as some say, about lowering the high content standards that have put Massachusetts first in the nation in student achievement? Finally, how does technology power the acquisition and application of skills, and support efforts to globalize the existing curriculum?

A panel of superintendents will discuss their work to deepen their understanding of the trends in technology, global education, and workforce skills as they relate to the mission of schools and districts in the years ahead.  The panelists will share their learning, reflect upon the tension between skills and content, and provide examples of what exemplary schools are doing to prepare students for life and work in the global village.

Moderator:
Anthony Bent, Leominster Public Schools

Panelists:
Maureen LaCroix, Bedford Public Schools
Kristine  Nash,  Hanover Public Schools
Ann Frederick-Koufman, Watertown Public Schools

I am so looking forward to the MassCUE fall technology conference this year.

Title of conference and dates:
Tackling 21st-Century Learning
Be sure to save the dates: October 28 and October 29 with the pre-conference on October 27!
Registration is open now.

There are four big reasons that have me so pumped!

1) NEW LOCATION
The conference has moved from its location of the past several years to GILLETTE STADIUM. The location is awesome. We’ll be using the clubhouse level for keynotes, exhibitors, and food, while the breakout sessions will be in the corporate boxes. The space has made it possible for us to have hands-on sessions, a cyber-cafe, and more room to just sit together and chat between sessions.
An extra bonus of this location is that it is close to Rhode Island. I have heard from some of my friends from other New England ISTE affiliates that people will be coming from all over New England, but that we should especially expect an influx of attendees from our neighbors from Rhode Island. Nice for networking, getting fresh ideas, and meeting new friends.

2) NEW PARTNERSHIP
The Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents (M.A.S.S.) and MassCUE (Massachusetts Computer Using Educators) are co-sponsoring the event this year. Each organization has, in the past, each had a fall technology conference. Bringing them together, the resulting conference will be MORE than the sum of their parts. Technology using teachers will be at the same conference with superintendents…hearing the same messages, talking to vendors together, and talking over lunch about how they can move forward back in their school district. It’s a great opportunity to kick off new initiatives with a unified vision.

3) GREAT KEYNOTE SPEAKERS, SPOTLIGHT SPEAKERS, AND BREAKOUT SESSIONS
Tony Wagner, author of The Global Achievement Gap, will present a provocative talk about the skills that students need in order to get—and keep—a good job in the new global economy and to be an active and informed citizen.

Donald J. Leu, with J. Gregory McVerry, W. Ian O’Byrne, Lisa Zawilinski, all of the University of Connecticut and the New Literacies Research Lab, will talk about The New Literacies of Online Reading Comprehension. Very timely and important topic!

In addition, there are so many really exciting and cutting edge breakout sessions that it is hard to select just a few to tell you about here. You can see the complete list at:
http://masscue.org/Conference2009/pdf/Complete-Workshop-Schedule.pdf

From Information Literacy to Information Leadership
In this interactive workshop, participants will have an opportunity to: 1) consider some implications of a focus on teaching and assessing 21st century skills; 2) look at a model for assessing 21st century skills; and 3) consider next steps for their classroom, school, or district.
Tony Wagner, Co-director, Change Leadership Group, Harvard Graduate School of Education

GoogleDocs/Netbooks/Moodle
Lee McCanne, Director of Technology and School Libraries, Weston Public Schools

SCORE: Winning Strategies to Conquer Information Overload
Kathy Schrock, Director of Technology, Nauset Public Schools, 1996 Pathfinder

Cyber-Bullying in Massachusetts: Current Trends & Compliance with the Broadband Data Act
Elizabeth Englander, Professor of Psychology and the founder and Director of the Massachusetts
Aggression Reduction Center (MARC), Bridgewater State
Sharon Grover-Renda, Director of Sales and Marketing, MECnet

The Educational Administrator’s Role in Advancing Technology: Issues, Considerations, and Challenges Inherent in Moving an Educational Organization Forward
Nicholas D. Young, Superintendent, Hadley Public Schools
Patrice Dardenne, Superintendent of Schools, Monson Public Schools
Suzanne Marotta, Superintendent, West Springfield Public Schools

The iPod Touch and Mobility Considerations for the School Leader
Paul Facteau, Marketing Development Executive, Apple Inc

There are sessions on using Moodle, Maximizing Collaboration using Technology, Creating Sustainable Professional Development Programs, Cloud Computing, and Using Data. I see sessions about the arts, science, math, writing, and more. Dr. Chris Moersch, the Executive Director of LoTi Connection will be presenting HEAT, and Beth Knittle, Massacusetts’ own second life expert is presenting a session. Do you use (or want to use) SCRATCH in your classroom? Want to meet Mitch Resnick, one of the primary developers? He will be presenting at the conference. Michael Purdy’s breakout on Classroom Twittering sounds really cutting edge and Isa Zimmerman’s session on STEM in pre-school should not be missed. You can learn about voicethread, robotics, universal design, smartboards, Eno boards, wikis, social bookmaking . . . . OK, you really have to check out the program yourself!

4) HANDS-ON!
Apple is back at our conference and will be running hands-on sessions all day both days.
At the pre-conference hands-on sessions attendees will take away software and all the tips and tricks about using the software.
During the main conference days there will be some hands-on (make it and take it) sessions. These will require a separate registration fee, but those who sign up for it will have a hands-on session learning to use something in the classroom (like a flip camera) and will take away the flip-camera at the end of the session – price included in the price of the session.

See you at GILLETTE in OCTOBER!!

MassCUE is an affiliate organization to ISTE . I am (as I type) in a large conference room with leaders from affiliates from all across the country, as well as some folks from as far away as Australia. We are all sharing best practices at NECC 2009 .

The information, strategies, and aggregate energy in the room is amazing. I’ve taken some notes about what other affiliates do and hope to follow up with them for details.

I want to learn more about those chapters that have

• managed to hire an executive director;
• increased their conference attendance;
• make an impact in their state advocating for technology in education;
• "Master Digital Educators" certification;
• Google partnerships;
• Administrative Technology Acadamies; and
• Administrative Leadership Summits in the summer.

Lots of good work furthering the understanding of technology in education.

A s Director of Technology for a K-12 school district, there are times when a specific project or topic usurps a majority of my time and attention. For example, there may be a network upgrade project that commands my attention, or at other times it could be strategic planning or grant writing or goal setting or team building or curriculum planning and development (this list could go on and on) that needs my focus and pushes itself to the top of my list for an extended period of time. Lately, my recurring preoccupation has been all about professional development (PD).

I’ve been reading and writing about PD, writing grants focused on PD programs, and working with colleagues planning PD conferences (MassCUE and METAA Technology Leadership Symposium and the Fall MassCUE and M.A.S.S. Technology Conference ). In both monthly technology department meetings and in our district administrative meetings, I started a practice of having some technology PD as part of every meeting. We have held to this more closely in department meetings, but did indeed include PD using technology in some of our district administrative meetings. Lastly, the most recent issue of on Cue , the professional journal of MassCUE for which I am the managing editor, is a themed issue with a focus on PD. Phew! So much to learn, so little time.

One of the grants is to create opportunities for teachers to participate in PD so that they will become purveyors of PD to their colleagues (train the trainer, is the popular terminology). The other grant is for online courses for teachers to become proficient in online teaching. The conferences will include keynote speakers, presentation-style sessions, a cyber café, hands-on workshops, and “make it and take it” sessions (learn on a new device and take the device with you at the end of the session).

If you are a MassCUE member, you recently received (or are about to receive) your Spring 2009 on Cue issue. This issue, delivered to the post office in April, started ten to twelve months ago. The theme was developed and publicized during the spring and summer last year. Starting with the March 2008 Technology Leadership Symposium and the fall conference I connected with presenters, educators, bloggers, and authors and invited them to contribute articles about PD. The work continued through the winter, soliciting articles from around the country, reading, editing, and planning out the issue. By the time on Cue finally went to press I felt like I had been engulfed in PD forever. Not such a bad thing, since I am a “true believer.” I think professional development and personal growth are the most important factors to improving the state of education. So, in your on Cue issue, authors share perspectives, disclose personal stories of growth and learning, and offer concrete suggestions. Thank you to all of the contributors:
Justin Reich (co-author Best Ideas for Teaching with Technology )
Thomas Daccord (co-author Best Ideas for Teaching with Technology )
Miguel Guhlin (blog: Around the Corner – MGuhlin.org )
Peggy Harvey
Walter McKenzie (site: SurfAquarium )
Carol Holzberg (profile )
Romeo Marquis (The Learning Curve )
Julie Koven (at Gann Academy )
Jason Schneider (in the news )

I hope that each reader of  on Cue is inspired to take steps toward building his/her own personal learning network and commits to sharing his/her journey with others.

MassCUE & M.A.S.S. 2009 Technology Conference
Pre-conference: October 27 : : Conference October 28 & 29
Tackling 21st Century Learning

T he school year hasn’t even ended and I am already looking forward to the Fall 2009 Technology Conference (October 27, 28 & 29). There is a lot NEW and EXCITING about the conference this year.

PARTNER
MassCUE is partnering with the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents (M.A.S.S. ) to host the conference together. Prior to this year, each organization has held its own technology conference. The significance of this partnership is more than just two organizations working together. MassCUE and M.A.S.S. collaborating on the technology conference means that technology using educators, Instructional Technology Specialists, Technology Directors, Superintendents and other school administrators will be at the same table. Truly systemic and effective use of technology in teaching and learning requires the partnership of all district stakeholders. Bringing the constituencies together for this professional development conference represents an important step in the right direction. And what might the results be of district teams working together to evaluate the vendors and the sessions? Might there be better and more collaborative decision-making? More strategic use of technology to meet teaching and learning goals? What else?
(METAA will also be helping to organize and will have many presenters at the conference.)

LOCATION
Gillette Stadium !
Even when a conference location has served a group well, it is a good idea to shake things up and move to a new location after a few years. It is even more important to relocate in order to better serve the entire state and to improve conference amenities and technology access. So this year the MassCUE Board of Directors has been working for many months on securing Gillette Stadium as the conference location for 2009 and 2010. This project has included the input and effort of the MassCUE conference committee, and M.A.S.S. Gillette Stadium is an exciting venue that has much to offer. The exhibit area, lunch, and keynotes addresses will be on the clubhouse level and the breakout sessions are in the luxury suites, one level up. There is plenty of parking (!) and lots of restaurants and shops that make the area a destination location.

NEW FEATURES
Lots of people are hard at work to make this conference one of the best ever. In the works are:

a Cyber café, hands-on pre-conference options, hands-on classroom sessions during the conference, and more!

KEYNOTES
Tony Wagner is the keynote speaker on October 28th. He is the co-director of the Change Leadership Group at Harvard and author of The Global Achievement Gap: Why Even Our Best Schools Don’t Teach the New Survival Skills Our Children Need –And What We Can Do About It . Tony is an in-demand speaker and is widely published. I read the book and find that his idea about the seven survival skills students need is supported nicely by the framework that the Consortium for 21st Century Skills has published. Conference participants are in for a rousing keynote about 21st century learning. I look forward to hearing Dr. Wagner address Massachusetts educators.

Dr. Donald Leu will present the keynote address on October 29th with a group of his graduate students from the University of Connecticut. Professor Leu is the director of The New Literacies Research Lab at the University of Connecticut. The lab conducts research on the new reading comprehension and learning skills required by the Internet and other emerging information and communication technologies. He is often called upon to speak on Internet literacy. Dr. Leu and his co-presenters will deliver a powerful message about 21st century literacy.

I hope to see you at Gillette in October. Please consider presenting a break-out session to share your expertise and to tell your success stories.

Presenter RFP

As a board member of MassCUE , I was really pleased that the attendance at our recent conference was up 33% from 2007. Talking to people at the conference I listened closely when attendees talked about how good the conference was. I heard positive comments about exhibitors, keynote speakers, and breakout sessions.

In the days since the conference, I have been thinking about the success of the conference and wondering why. Why attend a conference? It is easy to imagine all of the barriers to going to a conference – money is tight; budgets are frozen; it is difficult to be out of the classroom or school district for even one day, never mind two; there are plentiful opportunities for professional development online . . .

Now, for the reasons TO attend. Attendance at a good face to face conference means many opportunities to make connections. Conference participants network with colleagues and share ideas, successes, and frustrations. I think the sharing is more powerful when people are together because there is also an emotional connection and chances to just have fun together. I heard lots of people say it was worth coming to the conference just for the keynote speakers. Wesley Fryer and Hall Davidson were exciting, thought-provoking, and charismatic. Charisma is sometimes lost in an online, textual exchange.

Making personal connections with the exhibitors is also a huge benefit to attending the conference. One quick conversation could solve what you’ve been trying to resolve by phone call for weeks. Attendees told me they got free trials and found out about free training resources at the conference, learned about software and hardware, and met people they had previously only dealt with by email or phone.

When I think about my own highpoints of the conference they all have to do with personal connections – working with all the MassCUE members who bring you the conference every year, Beth Knittle helping me with a technical issue on my blog, Will Richardson ’s session, From Information Literacy to Information Leadership , so conversational and participatory, conversations with people who came up to me to ask “What’s new at MassCUE?” I can’t list here all the great conversations and personal connections that made the conference worthwhile. Given all the constraints on our time and money, I have to guess that the personal connections are part of the reason other people attend.

How about you? Why do you attend conferences?