AAPS well represented at 2011 MACUL conference

From AAPANews Service

The Ann Arbor Public Schools will be well represented  in the instructional technology arena this year as multiple staff members present in the annual MACUL Conference. “Essentials for 21st Century Teaching and Learning”  takes place from March 16-18 at Cobo Center in downtown Detroit.

The 35-year-old Michigan Association for Computer Users in Learning hosts its annual meeting and will feature a variety of workshops for teachers plus a Student Technology Showcase, the Classroom Gadget Showdown and Robofest, in which young engineers compete to create the smartest robot at the conference. New this year is Social Media Café, a place for teachers to network during the conference.

Ann Arbor Public Schools workshop presenters and their topics include:

“Learning Our W-A-Y: Piloting a Collaborative County-Wide Cyberschool” – AAPS Director of Instructional Technology Monique Uzelac will present with Washtenaw Intermediate School District Director of School Services Sarena Shivers and WISD Director of Assessment Naomi Norman. They will discuss the new Washtenaw County online learning program being hosted at Stone HIgh School starting with the 2010-11 school year.

“We’re Going to Japan! Let’s Record and Share Our Trip” – Ann Marie Borders, a first-grade teacher at Logan Elementary School, will share how she used Moodle, language translators, digital photos, and the web to learn about, record, and share experiences while preparing for and traveling to Japan. She will also share how she implemented a Japanese culture unit with elementary students.

“Online Learning for Everyone: One District’s Approach” – AAPS District Webmaster Alexandra Van Doren, Director of Instructional Technology Monique Uzelac and Instructional Technology Coach Anne Reader discuss how Ann Arbor Public Schools uses Moodle to support its approach to online and blended options for both student and professional learning, central systems to organize those offerings and materials and the systematic approach the district uses of putting it all together.

“Avoid Pitfalls When Sharing Curriculum and Student Portfolios
Online Via Google Tools”
– Skyline High School teachers Peter Pasque and Kristal Jaaskelainen offer a practical road map to efficient and effective methods of collaborating online. They will share how they have implemented
common curricular sites and student portfolios utilizing Google tools.

“Using the iPod Touch to Enhance Literacy Learning in the First
Grade Classroom”
– Logan Elementary’s Ann Marie Borders will show how to improve student literacy skills using the iPod Touch. She will present applications and practices for educators working with special-needs students, bilingual and non-English speakers and pre-readers and readers – both at home and at school.

For more on the conference, visit http://www.macul.org/conferences/2011maculconference/

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