“The Internet: We are Connected”

We cannot ignore the fact that we are wired, either in our personal lives or in the classroom.  To what extent are we going to integrate new technological capability into the way we teach and the way that students learn?  The conference will attempt to address this issue in practical ways.  Once we have access, how will we take advantage of it?

The Western Pennsylvania Council of Teachers of English (WPCTE) will co-sponsor its annual spring conference with the Diocese of Pittsburgh and the Pennsylvania Council of Teachers of English/ Language Arts (PCTELA) on April 25, 2013 at Seton-La Salle High School (8 AM to 3 PM).

8 – 8:30 AM: Registration, Exhibits, Continental Breakfast

8:30 – 9:30 AM:

Welcome – John Manear, Executive Director, WPCTE, and Secondary English

Coordinator, Diocese of Pittsburgh

                                 Keynote Speaker - Ryan Goble, NCTE Co-Sponsored Speaker

9:30 – 10:30 AM: Featured Speaker: Sara Kadjer                           

10:30 – 10:45:  Coffee Break

10:045 – 11:45: Featured Speaker:  Rhys Daunic

11:45 – 12:30 Lunch #1 or

Focus Group Concurrent Sessions:

a) Ryan Goble will follow up on his presentation, with time to engage in discussion and questions/answers

b) Sara Kadjer will follow up on her presentation, with time to engage in discussion and questions/answers

c) Susan Martin,  Lead Curriculum Specialist, Secondary Literacy, Pearson

Once Upon a Chalkboard!

Blogs, Wikis, Flipped Classroom ... welcome to the 21^st Century Classroom. In this introductory session, participants will explore the varying ways of integrating technology into their ELA classrooms. Definitions, examples, relevant websites will be provided. Walk away with strategies to implement from low technology to 1:1 initiatives. Laptops, netbooks, iPads, iPhones are not required, however, are welcomed.

12:30 – 1:15 PM: Lunch #2 or

Focus Group Concurrent Sessions  :

a) Rhys Daunic will follow up on his presentation, with time to engage in discussion and questions/answers

                                b) David Leshock, Content Specialist, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Writing with Technology: Connecting and Collaborating

This session will focus on the methods and tools students and teachers have available for writing in the 21^st century.  We will examine the Common Core requirements for writing with technology and ways to meet those goals.

                        c) Kayse Hicks and Glynis Tweddell, New Brighton Middle School

The Best of Both Worlds: Blending Online Learning and a Traditional Classroom

Participants will be able to experience coursework that blends traditional classroom instruction and online learning using the Moodle platform. They will also be provided with techniques to help them incorporate online learning within their classroom.

1:15 – 2:15 PM: Poetry Festival

In conjunction with the celebration of National Poetry Month, we welcome area poets to read from and comment on their work.  Poets present will be:

                Nancy James

                Liane Norman

                Christine Pasinski

                Rosaly Roffman

2:15 – 2:30 PM: Book Sales, Author Signings, Free Book Redemption, Act 48 Application

The featured speakers are:

Ryan Goble

Ryan R. Goble began his teaching career as a high school English teacher in Ann Arbor, MI. He has since taught, consulted and presented for a wide variety of students, schools and organizations all over the United States. 

Ryan is the founder of www.mindblue.com, a company that started by creating rock and roll study guides but now focuses on consulting. He also shares many exciting resources with educators through his online social network with over 6,000 educators all over the globe at "Making Curriculum Pop" mcpopmb.ning.com.  

In 2010 Ryan completed a six-year term on the National Council of Teachers of English's (NCTE) Media Commission and became co-president of that organization in 2011.

Presentation: Connecting Minds Within & Without Technology

This presentation takes the rich tradition of literature circles and remixes, re-creates and reinvents these tools for teachers interested in mindfully exploring non-print texts (TV, film, radio, still images, websites, fashion, and video games) collaboratively with students to develop literacies across the curriculum. Participants will actively engage in the practice of Media Circles using elementary, middle and secondary film clips as model texts.

Sara Kajder

Sara Kajder presently teaches at Shady Side Academy, is NCTE Middle-Level Chair 2012-2014, and is the winner of the 2012 James N. Britton Award for her book, Adolescents and Digital Literacies: Learning Alongside Our Students   This book isn’t about technology. It’s about the teaching practices that technology enables.   

Sara Kajder (a nationally recognized expert on technology and literacy) recognizes that students are reading and writing every day in their “real lives.” Drawing on ideas found in Adolescent Literacy: An NCTE Policy Research Brief, Kajder offers solutions for connecting these activities with the literacy practices required by classroom curricula. 

Presentation: Putting Reading "to Work:” Stories from a Plugged-In Readers' Workshop

Authentic and meaningful workshop practices are rooted in the literacy lives of our students.  This session examines the impact of opening our learning and practices to include new tools/spaces which connect readers, invite sharing and open us all to new possibilities.

Rhys Daunic

Background

Based in Brooklyn, Rhys works in various schools and educational sites collaborating on student-centered media production, and providing embedded professional development in media literacy education for educators. Since 1999 he has facilitated TMS productions. In 2009 Rhys was elected to the Board of Directors of the National Association for Media Literacy Education (NAMLE), and serves on the editorial board of the Journal for Media Literacy Education.  Heis also a co-founder of Dtek Digital Media where he collaborated on web design and video productions with partner Andy Hieb from 2000-2009.

Presentation: Adaptation to New forms and Tools of Communication

This presentation will focus on the state of K-12 curriculum adaptation to new forms and tools of communication in the digital age, with a recommendation to build fundamental concepts and skills related to Digital and Media Literacy into the Common Core State Standards.  Examples from schools in New York City that have had success along these lines by developing effective strategies for moving teachers to a baseline of related practices, developing integrated units of study that expand the common core, and through project-based learning.

Western Pennsylvania Council of Teachers of English

“The Internet: We are Connected”

To: All  Connected Colleagues

From: The Executive Board, WPCTE

RE: Annual Spring Conference, April 25, 2013

We cannot ignore the fact that we are wired, either in our personal lives or in the classroom.  To what extent are we going to integrate new technological capability into the way we teach and the way that students learn?  This conference will attempt to address this issue in practical ways.  Once we have access, how will we take advantage of it?

WPCTE will co-sponsor its annual spring conference with the Diocese of Pittsburgh, the National Council of Teachers of English, and the Pennsylvania Council of Teachers of English/Language Arts on April 25, 2013 at Seton-La Salle High School (8 AM to 3 PM).

Three keynote speakers will focus on various aspects of the Conference theme...  Several concurrent sessions will expand on the conference theme, addressing the needs of classroom teachers in English/Language Arts, K - College.

We invite all of our area colleagues to join us for this exciting event.  Attached is the preliminary program for your consideration.

To register, please complete the form below and submit it in a timely fashion.