Arizona

This is going to be a fantastic way to end a year of EdTechConnects full of learning.  Don’t forget to register early because we do have a limit to how many people can attend.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

The Presentations

Mary Mueller will demonstrate how to improve the literacy skills of high school English Language Learners by using downloaded audio books. She also will include how to incorporate web sites and unitedstreaming films in building background knowledge prior to reading, how to build vocabulary in increasing reading fluency, how to teach structural patterns in forming metacognitive connections between reading and writing, how to include outlining in strengthening paragraph organization and how to publish written assignments in creating a classroom blog.

Heather Sullivan will be sharing how her high school biology students create digital lab reports with MovieMaker as an alternative to the "traditional typed lab report". Students work in teams & take pictures as they work through a lab. Then they create storyboards, choose audio, edit their movie and present it to their peers as lab reports.

Diana Laufenberg will be sharing The Power of One, a project that was developed around a visit by Paul Rusesabagina, the man featured in the Hotel Rwanda story. Grappling with the gruesome stories of genocide she chose to incorporate the concept of the power of one person to positively impact the lives of others even when faced with great peril. The project charged the students with identifying a person that has used their life to positively impact the lives of others. They then produced a ‘movie’ detailing the ways in which the life influenced others. Students had to comment on how they do or intend to positively impact the lives of others.

Fred Delventhal will be presenting Spinning Toys: Balance and Motion in Microgravity.  Fred was part of a team of teachers that guided second graders through the scientific process to find out the effect of gravity on spinning toys.  They conducted the experiments on NASA’s Reduced Gravity Jet - The Weightless Wonder.  Fred used this project to introduce new technologies to the teachers involved such as blogging, Flickr, and Google Docs.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

If you have some extra time this weekend there is a great online convergence happening over at Webheads in Action: Communities of Practice Online.  CoolCatTeacher, Vicki Davis, reminded me about this opportunity this morning.  The price is just right, FREE!  The schedule lists many interesting and engaging topics.

There is a big webinar tomorrow with a producer from the Science Channel and DEN has just confirmed that ASTRONAUT Ken Reightler will also be on the call!  This webinar is part of DEN’s Earth and Space Virtual Project.  If you haven’t already checked out this opportunity for you and your students I would highly recommend making time in the near future. 

Join DEN tomorrow, May 4th at 1 PM (EST) for this really special webinar and make sure to invite your colleagues as well.  Click here to register.

Allstate has partnered up with Discovery Education to create the Drive It Right mini-site.  This resource applies to all students driving and riding with other teen drivers.  The site provides resources for educators, teens and parents to raise awareness about safe driving practices.

The first 100 people to submit how they will use the information at their school will receive a free DVD player, a copy of the Drive it Right DVD and a $100 gift certificate.  So, give a shout to ALLstate and receive a host of wonferful resources!