Session 1

The Changing Role of the Administrator in a Technology Integrated School.

Things are changing in our classrooms. The kids are different, the curriculum is different and the tools are different. Come explore your role as an educational leader and as a technology leader. We will address why technology is so popular in our classrooms and what the experts (ISTE, NCATE, CEO Forum) say. Other issues addressed are technology standards for administrators and recent accountability studies and their relationship to technology integration.

Session 2

Effective uses of the Internet in Classroom Instruction.

Sure your teachers are using the Internet with their students, but what are they doing? Is it enhancing instruction? Are the sites they are using age appropriate? Is learning taking place? This session will provide you with some tools to help understand and answer these questions and how to guide your teachers to more appropriate uses of the Internet in their classroom.

Session 3

Walking the Walk! What does Curriculum and Technology Integration Look Like?

We’ve all heard the phrase, “Curriculum & Technology Integration,” but what exactly does that look like in a classroom? How does it affect how and what teachers teach. Do teachers need to change their classroom management and instructional style? What technology do my teachers really need? This session explores these questions and more through a hands-on exploratory experience.  Other issues addressed are national and state technology standards for teachers and what NCLB has to say about this issue.

Session 4

Video and Video Tools in the Classroom.

Video in the classroom means more than showing movies and instructional videos. Today teachers have a wide array of tools available to them to enhance their instruction and excite students about learning. This workshop will provide administrators with a new look at the possibilities of video and video production process in the classroom. Participants will learn how the video production process can enhance team building and cooperative learning in the classroom. Video segmentation, streamed video and curriculum specific video clips will be addressed.

Session 5

Wasted $$ or Impact on Learning? How do I know the difference? Technologies impact on learning and student achievement.

The “BIG” question! We would be foolish if we weren’t constantly asking this question in regards to every dollar we spend educating our children. However, this seems to be asked most often in regard to new tools and methods of teaching than other more traditional methods and tools. Rightfully so, considering that collectively billions of dollars have been spent on equipping our schools with hardware, software and professional development. So, where’s the big pay off? This session will explore a variety of examples (appropriate and inappropriate uses) of how technology is being used in our classrooms.  We will look at a variety of studies and what they say about the impact on teacher performance and student learning.

Session 6

What’s next? Planning for Technology & the Sacred Cows…get out the grill.

Let the word ring out across the land that the day of the sacred cow is over. With over a decade and billions of dollars behind us, it is time to take stock of our situation. What is working and what isn’t, and more importantly, why? For years we have acquired many hardware and software tools with little or no plan for success. This session will attempt to help participants identify their “sacred cows,” improve what works, and stop what doesn’t. We’ll explore what’s a trend and what’s trendy.  Other issues addressed are administrator, teacher and student roles in the technology integrated classroom. Practical tools for identifying levels of use in the classroom and evaluating teacher use of technology in the classroom will be discussed.

Session 7

Portable Computing in Our Schools-A Practical Approach

In the politicians’ lexicon, “a chicken in every pot” seems to have been recently replaced by “a laptop for every student.” Chicken can be very tasty and do the job of filling our bellies, if prepared well. The same applies to laptops in the hands of students. If students and teacher are well prepared (training) and supported in their use of these new tools, exciting things can happen. This session will cut through the media/marketing hype about portable computing in your classrooms and present some practical approaches to using PDA’s and laptops as an educational tool.