Thursday, 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Session#: 127 Title: Squish! Splat! Gumby Goes to School: Make Curriculum Come Alive!
Presented By: Elizabeth Buyer - Tech4Learning
Time: Thurs. 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm Seats: 40 Location: Room 106 Strand: ALL
Clay animation is a highly motivating and incredibly effective way to engage students in curriculum objectives. Clay animation helps bridge the gap between the tangible and the technical, making it a perfect hands-on approach to learning. Students can use it to explain chemical, physical, and biological processes; recreate historical events; summarize literature and more. This session will explore the process of making clay animation. Participants will learn what materials and equipment are needed. Project ideas, classroom management strategies, and assessment procedures will also be shared. Examples of clay animation at a variety of grade levels in different subject areas will illustrate how it can be used to improve student learning. These examples will also give participants an idea of the possibilities of clay animation for a variety of age levels and classroom needs. Participants will leave this session better informed about the process of clay animation, and how it can be integrated into classroom learning. Each participant will be given a handout with related links to clay animation samples, project ideas and resources to start using clay animation with students.
Session#: 128 Title: Security and IPTEL
Presented By: Matt Cobb - Cisco Systems, Anthony Ware - Cisco Systems
Time: Thurs. 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm Seats: 40 Location: Room 107 Strand: ALL
The greatest demand today is for IP telephony, also known as voice over IP, an application that allows telephone calls to be carried over networks originally designed for data. The cost benefits of merging voice and data services onto one network can be dramatic. This is particularly true in education, since even the largest school districts and universities are often forced to hire outside contractors to manage separate networks. Cisco Catalyst switches provide the advanced QoS features needed to support IP telephony, and are available with network-based inline power support for Cisco IP phones, so separate power outlets are not required in each room. Cisco Systems is a recognized leader in network convergence. Cisco AVVID (Architecture for Voice, Video and Integrated Data) provides an open, standards-based foundation that makes it easy to roll out IP telephony services and other Internet-based applications. As recent high-visibility attacks like Code Red and the SQL Slammer worm have shown, traditional technologies are limited in the ability to combat the effects of new and evolving types of intrusions. Customers require host security that protects throughout all stages of an attack and provides important protection against new and unknown threats. With the addition of Cisco Security Agent endpoint security software, Cisco offers its customers the most comprehensive network security threat protection portfolio for securing large corporate networks.
Session#: 129 Title: Two ITS and a DIT - Delivering Instructional Technology to 900+ People
Presented By: Sharon Peters - Walton County Public Schools, Anna Marino - Walton County Public Schools
Time: Thurs. 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm Seats: 40 Location: Room 303 Strand: ALL
Walton County Public Schools consists of 14 schools and approximately 1000 employees. The instructional technology department was implemented in 2002. Since that time, two instructors and one director have provided technology certification courses, MS Office staff development classes, on-site classes, and one-on-one training in all system-wide software. Support and input in curriculum development is provided when it pertains to technology. Through lecture and PowerPoint demonstration, this session will provide information on how this program has succeeded in delivering technology instruction to nearly every staff member at every level of technology ability. Useful software, instruction manuals, staff development website, and databases for record keeping will be shared. Participants will see a demonstration of the mobile lab used for on-site instruction. All information shared at this session will be available through our website.
Session#: 130 Title: Homemade PowerPoint Games as an Alternative to WebQuests: How to Do it
Presented By: Lloyd Rieber - The University of Georgia, Gretchen Thomas - The University of Georgia
Time: Thurs. 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm Seats: 230 Location: Room 306 Strand: ALL
This session will present a model for implementing homemade PowerPoint games in the classroom. Practical procedures and resources will also be shared. This model is meant as a constructionist alternative (not replacement) to WebQuests that is based on students designing their own educational games with PowerPoint. PowerPoint games are already a familiar part of many classrooms, though usually in the form of already existing games (such as Jeopardy) that a teacher modifies for instructional use. This project is different in that it contends that a better use of class time for learning is to turn over the act of game design to the children. The model uses cooperative learning strategies and results in projects that are thematic and interdisciplinary. However, the model is also flexible to accommodate teacher needs, preferences, and schedules.
Session#: 131 Title: MS Agent Secrets: Animated Characters for Fun and Profit
Presented By: Steve Mashburn - Forsyth County Schools
Time: Thurs. 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm Seats: 120 Location: Room 308 Strand: ALL
Using free Microsoft Agent technology, participants will learn how to incorporate speaking animated characters into PowerPoints, emails, and webpages. Teachers can create exciting tutorials, reading buddies, tour guides, translators and other virtual teaching assistants within minutes. Easy-to-follow procedures will assure that every participant will leave the session with the basic skills and tools to begin using this engaging technology immediately.
Session#: 132 Title: Take the Fear out of Mathematics with Online Manipulatives
Presented By: David E. Powers - Ware County Middle School
Time: Thurs. 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm Seats: 110 Location: Room 309 Strand: Elem. Secon. Special
It is not the fault of the student if s/he is a qualitative learner. Mathematics teachers teach as they were taught, quantitatively. Reaching all students requires taking them, at the very least, from the visually concrete to the abstract. Both of these conditions, as well as all levels that fall in between, can be fulfilled using online mathematics manipulatives. Attendees should be convinced to tune in, turn on, and manipulate!
Session#: 133 Title: Got Morning News???
Presented By: Susan Lawhorn - Cobb County Public Schools
Time: Thurs. 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm Seats: 50 Location: Room 310 Strand: ALL
With a modest investment in equipment, any school can create a one or two camera closed-circuit video news program. This session will give an overview of how Chalker Elementary brings the morning news to life. Every student has an opportunity to participate at some point in the year. School administration likes the format as students and faculty alike tend to pay more attention to television video rather than intercom announcements. There are also more opportunities to provide variety because you never know who will appear on the show.
Session#: 134 Title: Saving Time with Cascading Style Sheets
Presented By: Steve McNutt - Rockdale County Public Schools
Time: Thurs. 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm Seats: 50 Location: Room 312 Strand: Tech. Secon. Media
The presenter will show how Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) save time by separating website form and content. Participants will be shown how to instantly change the font, size, color, and other attributes of multiple containers of text throughout your website by doing a little CSS work in the beginning. Cascading Style Sheets let you remotely control things like text attributes, background color or background image, and even dynamic effects like rollovers and hiding/showing objects. Using CSS usually involves experimenting a bit in your HTML, but it is really not terribly scary. Once you get the hang of it, you will feel much more confident in your web design capabilities so there will be more time for teaching and less time spent on website maintenance.
Session#: 135 Title: Putting Technology to Work in the Early Reading Classroom
Presented By: Shari McGilvray - Pearson Digital Learning
Time: Thurs. 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm Seats: 55 Location: Room 313 Strand: Admin. Elem. Special
In this session, participants will learn how the Waterford Early Reading Program is used to integrate classroom-based assessments, \instructional activities, and aligned materials to encourage explicit and systematic instruction in the five essential components of reading instruction. Participants will view and participate in demonstrations of software curriculum activities that illustrate how the Waterford Early Reading Program is implemented. The session will conclude with questions and discussion from participants.
Session#: 136 Title: ACTIVboard with ACTIVE Kinders
Presented By: Frances Trice - Upson-Lee North Elementary, Jan Payne - Upson-Lee North Elementary
Time: Thurs. 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm Seats: 55 Location: Room 324 Strand: Elem.
ACTIVboards are not just for the older grades. Five year olds can become very proficient using the pens, ACTIVotes, and ACTIVslates that are part of the ACTIVboard family. Kindergarten teachers and students can use the ACTIVboards every day during center time and whole group activities.
Session#: 137 Title: WebQuests: The Secret to Guided Empowerment
Presented By: Tony Brewer - Featured Speaker
Time: Thurs. 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm Seats: 230 Location: Ballroom A Strand:
A WebQuest is an inquiry-oriented activity in which some or all of the information that students interact with comes from resources on the Internet. In this informative session you will learn how WebQuests can be utilized to foster Communication, Computing and Critical Thinking, and how simple it really is to begin integrating technology today. Join Tony Brewer for a fun look at the quickest and easiest way to have your students taking the reins in the educational process through guided empowerment.
Session#: 138 Title: Technoparenting: Using Technology to Strengthen the Home and School Connection
Presented By: Doug Johnson - Featured Speaker
Time: Thurs. 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm Seats: 230 Location: Ballroom B Strand:
How can both parents and schools use technologies to help students become more successful? This session will highlight the purposes of parent e-mail lists, describe online gradebooks, give tips for helping reluctant teachers to begin to create class pages, and suggest strategies for getting all teachers in a building or district on board.
Session#: 139 Title: Enriching Student Minds: Meaningful Learning Experiences through Technology-Rich Information Inquiry
Presented By: Annette Lamb - Featured Speaker
Time: Thurs. 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm Seats: 230 Location: Ballroom C Strand:
Learning is about choices and challenges. Learn to develop technology rich, inquiry-based learning experiences. Create mental synergy by combining motivating activities with critical and creative thinking. Are we asking students to solve difficult problems? Are asking them to live fully and think deeply? Choices and challenges are what learning is all about. Technology provides the tools to develop rich inquiry based, learning experiences. Traditional testing only gets to a small part of the things we learn in school. It doesn't address the talents and insights that are often the most useful aspects of school. In schools we often focus on the “thinking” aspect of the mind. However, human consciousness also involves perception, emotion, will, memory, and imagination. Without concentrating on these elements also we’re missing much of the power of the brain. In addition to thinking, reasoning, and knowledge, our brain also processes opinion, motivation, and desire. By focusing so closely on the rational side, we may be losing the power of synergy. By focusing so hard on critical thinking, we may miss wonderful opportunities for creativity. A balanced curriculum doesn’t take more time. Instead, it focuses on both process and product. As students better understand the why’s and how’s of learning, they are better able to address essential content. Metacognition involves asking students to “think about thinking”. Whether practicing math facts or making high level decisions, students need to understand the process of thinking. Technology can help and hinder this process. Mindless drill and practice does nothing to help students understand the why’s of math. Having access to billions of web pages doesn’t help students make good decisions. Technology is only useful if students are information fluent. We need to nurture the bodies and brains of our students. Rather than junk food, our brains need meaningful learning experiences that will promote mental connections, motivate students to go beyond the basics and encourage positive habits of mind. Like our bodies, our brains need variety. Although students might like ice cream for every meal, we know that they need well balanced meals. This session provides dozens of examples across grade levels and subject areas that address the need to provide choice and challenge as we focus on higher order thinking. It also highlights an approach to information inquiry that promotes both critical and creative thinking using technology as a tool for questioning, data collection, synthesis, communication, and evaluation.
Session#: 140 Title: Writing Winning Grant Proposals for Technology
Presented By: Jeni O'Sullivan - SEIR*TEC at SERVE
Time: Thurs. 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm Seats: 130 Location: Ballroom D/E Strand: ALL
In this informative session, facilitators will provide information to participants about the components included in submitting a successful technology grant proposal. The participants will learn to distinguish technology needs from want statements, critique sample technology goal and objective statements, and identify effective strategies for developing a compelling technology grant proposal. Participants will have the opportunity to interpret Request for Proposal (RFP) specifications and review sections from previously funded proposals, while learning what reviewers look for when reading proposals. Also, explore tips for writing a persuasive proposal and learn where to go to find funding sources for proposed projects. Participants will receive a booklet with presentation slides, tips, sample review criteria, sources of technology funding list, and grant terminology.
Session#: 141 Title: Maintaining your PC's Health
Presented By: Claude Landrum - Valdosta City Schools
Time: Thurs. 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm Seats: 75 Location: Suite A Strand: ALL
This session will provide training for PC users from all levels of expertise. Topics to be covered include how to maintain the health of your PC in order to become a more efficient and confident user. If users have good PC/technology experiences, they are better workers and copartners with neighboring teachers, administrators, and colleagues.
Session#: 142 Title: Technology in the Mathematics Classroom: Teach It the Way They Learn It
Presented By: Jenny Weir - Carnegie Learning, Inc.
Time: Thurs. 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm Seats: 75 Location: Suite B Strand: Secon.
For many students, success in mathematics can be the turning point opening new academic and career opportunities. Students of all levels are adept at and enjoy using technology. The session will show that students can learn mathematics by using interactive and engaging software. Through this technology, students will experience how math applies to the real world and will begin to immerse themselves in the possibilities of mathematics far beyond the classroom.
Session#: 143 Title: Top Ten Websites for Elementary Students
Presented By: Wendy Marshall - Armstrong Atlantic State University
Time: Thurs. 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm Seats: 75 Location: Suite C Strand: Elem.
Save time and energy by coming to discover the best resources the web has to offer students, already organized and ready to access! This session will highlight some of the best educational resources available on the web for elementary students. Attendees will be taken to each site and suggestions given for how to best utilize each site in the classroom. These sites will all be pre-organized on a web page and made available to participants who may use and share them with students, parents and other teachers. These sites have been selected based on the following criteria: instructional focus, quality of materials and resources, site design and layout, and ease of use and navigation.
Session#: 144 Title: Georgia Technology: Creating a 21st Century Culture for Tomorrow’s Students
Presented By: Mike Hall - DOE
Time: Thurs. 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm Seats: 800 Location: Monument Strand: