VITA-Learn -

This year we have expanded our offerings. We will have a keynote address and five sessions on Thursday. On Friday we have eliminated the morning Keynote in order to get in as many workshops as possible and get people on the road at a reasonable time. Friday will start off with three sessions in the morning and one regular session after lunch. The final Closing Session will follow the fourth session. It will be a shorter session and will be followed by the awarding of door prizes. We would love to hear from you regarding the new format after the conference is over.

With the release of Lightroom 1.0, Adobe has brought us a powerful editing and organizational tool that has many of the same powerful functions of Photoshop but at a much greater ease of use. Do you enjoy working with digital pictures? Would you like to learn more about easily controlling color, exposure, and white balance? Learn how to improve your over or under exposed images, remove red eye, and create special effects and much, much more

This workshop is intended for teachers, administrators or instructional designers who are interested in how the Moodle web based learning environment/course management system can enhance classroom teaching. The Open Source system called Moodle has some unique features that make it particularly well suited for use in a high school environment. The presenter, Dr Hartshorne, has extensive experience with helping teachers in school districts to use Moodle effectively in their classrooms; he has also taught a course using Moodle intensively and is currently working with Global Classroom as an adjunct Professor, facilitating online courses for teacher professional development.

Participants are asked to bring a portable PC or Mac with them. Participants will get most from this workshop by bringing with them a syllabus that they can use as a course template and some files that can be uploaded as resources. Also bring along ideas for discussion forum topics.

This three hour hands on session provides an in depth review of pod casting, focusing on the creation of audio, enhanced, and video pod casts. We will also review the many ways ipods are being used for instruction and assessment in Vermont Classrooms.

The potential of Web 2.0 to bring the pedagogy of John Dewey back in focus in today's educational landscape has everyone talking about School 2.0 . This hands on workshop will introduce participants to Web 2.0 tools that can support John Dewey's tradition of active, engaged, constructivist learning. Come learn how to redesign research assignments using social bookmarking tools like del.icio.us , use YOU-Tube and other video sites,~ work on group projects using Wikis, publish to a global audience by blogging and podcasting, collaborate with Google Docs and Spreadsheet, and more. Examples of real teachers using Web 2.0 with their students will accompany practical hands on instruction during this workshop.

Podcasting is really low cost and easy.~ Learn how to create a podcast with free and open source software on the PC platform.~ Empower your students and school with Podcasting.~ Participants will receive their own iPod as part of this workshop.~ Bring a laptop with administrator privileges (so you can load software) and any PC microphone to create your own podcast during this workshop.

This hands-on workshop is aimed at teachers who want to use and learn about the full suite of applications from the Inspiration© company. Using 30-day free trial software, we’ll first explore the award-winning visual organizing software programs, Inspiration and Kidspiration. We’ll see how visual diagrams can reveal patterns, interrelationships and interdependencies, and how they stimulate creative thinking in the classroom. There are so many uses for them that you will explode with ideas! This training will also help past users of these programs realize the tremendous potential of full Internet-integration that the latest versions of Inspiration and Kidspiration offer.

In the second half of the training, we’ll explore the newest member of the Inspiration© family; the data analysis program, InspireData. This innovative software applies the proven strategies of visual learning to data literacy. Students at the upper elementary level and beyond can collect data in multiple content areas, and use a visual analysis tool to see all the relationships and strengthen their critical thinking skills.

Have you ever struggled with how to integrate databases in the elementary classroom in a meaningful way that enhances the curriculum? In this presentation we will explore how databases are integrated throughout units and on a daily and weekly basis. Witness a multitude of database applications using programs such as Appleworks/Clarisworks, Tool Factory Database, and Inspire Data! These examples will provide you with plenty of ideas to apply within your own classroom or school. The use of databases is initially assessed in the fourth grade according to the Technology Performance Assessment Tasks. In order to best prepare your students they should be introduced to databases as early as the second grade. Join us to see how that can be made possible.

In an effort to jumpstart the assessment of the Technology GCEs, during the spring of 2007 two of the middle school teachers have started on a journey to integrate the skills that need to be assessed, into the existing curriculum that focuses on economics. Technology skills were introduced, practiced and assessed while the students were engaged with the Stock Market game.

In this presentation you will learn about our successes, as well as the pitfalls and snares encountered along the way. The teachers would like to share their thoughts on the time and effort expended, how the project could be run in the future, as well as critiquing the GCE’s themselves.

Join us for an exciting session featuring the latest products and technology directions for education from Apple Inc. We will look into all the developments with iwork'08, including the newest feature Numbers. The session will be loaded with exciting demonstrations and will have plenty of time for questions and answer.~

Social bookmarking sites such as del.icio.us and Furl are replacing 'favorites' and 'bookmarks' amongst fans of Web 2.0. Understanding the power of these tools will increase your productivity as a teacher; it can also help you redesign assignments in ways that increases and assesses critical thinking skills in your students. Alan November encourages educators to fight increased plagiarism by redesigning the assignment. Social bookmarking tools allow you to do just that.

Find out how Family Consumer Science, Art, and Technology are integrated to utilize every student’s strengths and talents in the Crafters Edge Program. Students run all aspects of this 8^th-grade business, including advertising, organizing and running seven school-wide dances and a craft fair, producing and selling products throughout the fall and at the craft fair—all using a variety of applications such as Word, Excel, iPhoto, Photoshop, and iTunes.

Explore some of the most amazing technology innovations for education. Play a voice-controlled educational game. Then build a podcast. Contribute to a theatrical script and watch as we bring a dramatic scene to life. With a standard digital camera we’ll take an extreme close-up of bugs. Then switch to panorama mode and stitch together one amazingly long image. Free copy of MultiMedia Lab V (worth $99), and subscription to Elementary Zone.

So you have some great assistive technology equipment: Now what?! Advanced technology has brought to the classroom numerous exciting opportunities for students & educators; however, it can take more than simply understanding how to operate the equipment in order to implement the technology successfully. This workshop is designed for special educators, classroom teachers, paraprofessionals and others interested in learning how to successfully use assistive technology in the classroom. Workshop activities will include outlining the steps to meaningfully assess the need for equipment, ways to systematically implement technology strategies and how to use a team-oriented approach to create a system of implementation.

Would you like to see a K-5 curriculum rich in technology?~ We’d love to share with you examples of student learning opportunities from a variety of subject areas that incorporate multimedia presentation and productivity tools, graphic organizers, and use of Internet resources, along with examples of student work.~ See our overview that includes Information Technology GE connections and student assessments.~ Join us to see how we are striving to make technology relevant to students, teachers, and the curriculum.

The study of colonial life takes on new dimensions when you make it compelling, exciting and relevant to your students with the use of technology. A blend of Internet research, a colonial newspaper and a multimedia combination of digital pictures, voiceovers and video make this 5th grade project a seamlessly integrated part of your curriculum unit.

Please join Apple for a Final Cut Studio 2 update to learn more about our digital media tools for creative professionals. You’ll learn how to prepare your students for careers in the creative industry—thanks to innovative solutions from Apple.

The power of today's technology is the ability to learn from others' knowledge and to build on others' experience. We will look at collaborative projects from circle time story telling to group research projects that utilize free on-line wikis and blogs. If you require your students to write in your class you owe it to yourself to learn more about wikis and blogs.

Today’s students require a different set of learning tools for our digital age. This presentation highlights several K-12 examples of ways educators are using computer technology for to address the Learning Standards. The presenter, an Apple Distinguished Educator, highlights projects collected from educators across the United States. Examples are applicable to any platform - Mac or PC . Teach course content, use technology as a tool, address the Standards, foster critical thinking, and measure what students have learned. Students are highly motivated as they create digital videos, produce historical documentaries, create Podcasts, design classroom WEB pages, and create other multimedia projects for authentic audiences. Students practice key technology skills as they become creators rather than just users of technology.

Get new strategies for animation in this vibrant workshop! We’ll look at various types of animation, then learn to create each one. Construct a path animation and watch a character travel around the screen. Build a swirling photo montage. Draw three frames of animation and assemble them into a looping Disney-style cartoon. Free MultiMedia Lab V ($99) and instructive manual.

We will present many examples of student projects both with special needs and regular education students work using iMovie, iPhoto, Claymation, Collecting Oral Histories, Graphing, Digital Book Reports and more. And we will discuss how infused technology has transformed our classroom learning environments over three years.

Do your students have cabin fever from drifting in a sea boring research reports?~ If so, then Digital Scrapbooking is your map to success!~ Come learn the ins and outs of this popular activity as we explore the basics of getting started and applications in the classroom.~ X marks the spot when we see how middle school students use Digital Scrapbooking to pull together research.~ Grab your shovel and dig in!

This presentation will show how two middle school teachers use video editing software with 7^th grade students in a digital storytelling activity. Students first write about all the characteristics that go into good teamwork; then produce a short movie based on the procedure writing genre~of the~Vermont Writing Portfolio. Their presentations include digital photography images taken in class as students work on technology projects together, and digital music they compose themselves from within the program. Students complete this mini-movie in just four class periods!

Interactive whiteboards affect learning in several ways, including raising the level of student engagement in a classroom, motivating students and promoting enthusiasm for learning.~ Smart has developed some interactive templates for their whiteboards to make the board even more engaging.~ Join us as we first talk about the basics, then learn about layering, the new templates, creating your own templates, unlocking the power of the Infinite Cloner, and using the recorder for both sound and movie integration.

In this workshop we will demonstrate different methods for integrating technology and literacy. Sample methods include use of blogs (writing and reading, blog pen pals around the world), nicenet, e-mail, and PowerPoint. Attend this workshop to make the “literacy connection.”

Symphony Math is an internet enabled, educational software program that helps students develop a strong conceptual foundation for mathematics learning. The program develops the problem solving ability of students through its use of manipulatives and word problems. Symphony Math supports the goals of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Curriculum Focal Points for students in K-4. The program was designed to improve learning abilities and educational performance through the application of cognitive development principles.

This presentation is for special educators who have an interest in the educational features, programming, and the implementation of a communication device for students with restricted communications. It addresses the advantages and obstacles found in using a device such as the MiniMerc.

Third graders at Fair Haven Grade School are working cooperatively with the local Historical Society to digitize documents as well as record oral histories from community members. As part of a Vermont History Society Grant, the students, staff, and society members are using digital voice recorders and several types of voice and photo editing software to add to our local history collection.

In this middle level math class, we end our study of geometry with Terrapin Logo. Logo allows us to use what we know about the properties of shapes to create some artwork. We use shapes, similarity, congruency, rotation, and symmetry. Students create some fabulous designs and add color using Logo, or they can save and edit them using Adobe Photoshop. For a final product, students get to print their favorite artistic creation onto a clear sheet for display.

Check out the most significant upgrade ever to Apple’s award-winning suite of digital lifestyle applications, featuring a major new version of iPhoto and a completely reinvented iMovie. Come see how this amazing package of features can enhance any classroom.

Why are we teaching a software package that students can't normally afford to have at home. Take a look at StarOffice and OpenOffice (a light version of StarOffice) as a free alternative to Microsoft. Star Office and OpenOffice come bundled with a word possessor, spreadsheet, database, presentation, and a math type program. Keep your software budget in check with these great alternatives!

~ ~ This session presents E-learning as an effective instructional tool. The technology is used to teach content, as well as manipulative skills. Due to the flexibility of digital learning units, children work on a variety of assignments simultaneously. Different techniques may be used; simple presentations consist of still images and text, more advanced use interactive video. The end result is a student portfolio, visually based, and automatically graded. A webpage or spreadsheet illustrates activities pupils complete.

We’ll plan, write, and perform a theatrical podcast in one hour, so bring your dramatic flair. Create a historical re-enactment, cartoon-voice scene…or even Shakespeare! Split into groups and plan the episodes and characters. Write a short script and record the dialog. Search for music and sound effects. Publish and subscribe to your podcast. Wrap up by sharing the best podcasts with your classmates. Receive a great manual, plus a subscription to Elementary Zone

Join us and you will be introduced to a variety of tools that support the creation of digital talking books. You'll see accessible talking books that have been made using PowerPoint, SwitchIt, Clicker 5, and whew, if time allows we'll also demonstrate how to take text from your computer, transform it into an MP3 format, and play it on your iPod or other MP3 player in no time!

In this presentation you will see how two elementary grade teachers are integrating technology into the curriculum. Cheryl will show you how technology is integrated into a several units including a plant unit. She helps build the foundation for her students as they prepare to participate in technology Performance Assessment Tasks in second grade. Janet will show you how the technology is integrated into first and second grade through her units and how she assesses the Second Grade Technology Grade Expectations.

Join us for an overview of several technology rich units that involve students in “playing” the stock market, doing their taxes, and using graphing calculators. You will be participating in several hands on exercises using the calculators and receive a packet of handouts and exercises for classroom use.

The best way to record music on a Mac is now the best way to record podcasts. And new iWeb integration gets your voice on the Internet in minutes.~During~this~hands~on~session~you~will~learn how to make your first podcast using iLife.~

JACK is the Jack Audio Connection Kit used by many open source digital audio applications such as Ardour, Audacity and Rosegarden. So far JACK is for Mac OS X and Linux. With programs like Ardour, you get professional quality Digital Audio applications. We will survey some of the open source applications that interface through JACK. (Some of the applications such as Audacity can run in Windows without JACK)

How do you manage a class with more students than computers? How do you squeeze technology tasks into your curriculum? Daily class activities are improved by computers on carts. Web tool software allows students to produce personalized standards-based e-portfolios. Earth Science students enhance learning by incorporating technology tasks, such as use of databases, sorting databases and creating graphs using software. Come learn how to integrate technology skills into a differentiated classroom atmosphere that works for all students!

We will do a presentation featuring SMART Technologies newest products and software packages. This presentation will include SENTEO, the new SMART interactive student response system and the upgraded BRIDGIT software package for cost-effective live online distance learning. Valley Communications will also introduce Vermont educators to VALLEY ACADEMY, the SMART certified school for teachers to effectively introduce SMART boards into the classroom curriculum.

What are hardware and software options? Which software is the best? Compare WYNN, Kurzweil, and TextHelp. Free downloads. Who uses it, and how? What is NIMAS (National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard)? Congress adopted NIMAS as part of IDEA in 2004. How does it affect network security? How do we integrate assistive technology into the classroom? This workshop will address these questions and more.

The tablet PC and projector system is the chalkboard of the future. In addition to vividly colorful illustrations and engaging lecture notes, the system provides back-up copies of everything the instructor would normally write on the board. Lectures are prepared ahead of time with no class time used for "writing answers on the chalkboard." Additionally, ink annotations assist in presenting diagrams and MS office application files.

There can never been enough communication between teachers, students, and parents. With an abundance of on-line grading programs and communication tools, such as the ones available from Google Tools for Educators, teachers can increase the frequency and effectiveness of their communications as well as open dialogue between parents and students, parents and teachers, and students and teachers. The initial set-up time and cost is extremely minimal and fairly straightforward even for beginners. These tools can help students become more aware of the academic standing as well as help build a support system around every student.

Tool (VCAT). This workshop will provide a quick overview of VCAT followed by an in-depth exploration of the new features available in this powerful, web-based curriculum development, data collection, and reporting tool. We will also examine examples of how VCAT is currently being used by districts throughout the state.

In this session, you will be given a keypad, just like an audience member in "Who Wants to be a Millionaire," and you will explore the teaching possibilities for this technology. We will discuss how the keypads have been used at Main Street Middle School science classes as tools to gather formative assessment data, and how they can be used in other settings as well. We will also discuss the pros and cons of different systems, and their technical capabilities.

In this workshop we will be exploring a wide range of ideas for incorporating digital photography into literacy, writing, science, social studies and math (phys ed, music, speech and language...) grade K-8. Regardless of your equipment: Mac or PC, one camera or 20, one computer or 20, digital photography can add texture and excitement to your classroom work.

(RTI) Model and provides valuable data to inform and differentiate instruction. Lexia reading software builds skills with explicit practice in phonemic awareness and phonics while promoting gains in vocabulary, fluency and comprehension. Learn how Lexia's research based design supports core reading curriculum; prevents reading failure for at-risk students and remediates difficulties in struggling readers and English language learners.

"One more change we teachers are expected to make!" was the gut reaction at Enosburg Elementary school last year when Technology GE's were dropped onto their plate. Although it's the responsibility of all teachers to be accountable for the introduction, practice, and assessment of technology skills, it doesn't need to be a painfully overwhelming process.

In a discussion and demonstrations from our Teachers, Librarian, and Principal we will share teacher and student projects from kindergarten through 5^th grade using resources such as Inspiration/Kidspiration, Appleworks, and QuizStar (4teachers.org). How did we address accessibility to technology?

This demonstration will show how Photo Story 3, a free downloadable software program, can be used in~a high school~English/Language Arts classroom.~~It allows students to use a combination of pictures, narration and background music to create digital stories on an almost limitless variety of topics.~ Examples of projects created using Photo Story 3 include Shakespearean sonnets, Greek mythology and Viking literature.~~~

First Class is a comprehensive, collaborative, integrated communication tool? How can you, the classroom teacher, take advantage of the features? Here is your chance to explore, share and learn. ----You are invited to participate in a general demonstration and discussion about best practices and current uses of First Class in New England schools. Lead by a panel of experts, you will have the opportunity to Explore new practical educational uses of First Class, Share your successes (and failures), Learn how other teachers and educational institutions integrate FC into their daily educational practices and most importantly, Connect and Collaborate with other educators using First Class to improve student learning and school efficiency.

Find out how students are using GIS in the classroom, the same tool used by professional planners, government agencies, and businesses all over the world. A geographical information system uses computers and software to organize, develop, and communicate geographic knowledge. GIS helps students visualize information, moving them into the realm of spatial inquiry. Learn how students use GIS to relocate Boston residents to Vermont, analyze the impact of hurricane Katrina, restore damaged ecosystems, manage natural resources, and investigate global climate change. GIS is a powerful tool that can radically improve student learning.

Want to know how to improve student literacy and meet technology standards at the same time?~This presentation describes and demonstrates techniques to create digital stories that use memoir in the narrative writing process.~ We'll show you how~Vermont teachers are using~digital storytelling~as an instructional strategy that meets literacy and technology standards. Please join us to share your stories as well.

We will show you how easy it is to bring the learning experience to life through projects that use the Adobe Digital School Collection's software components - Adobe Photoshop Elements 5.0 for digital image-editing; Adobe Premiere Elements 3.0 for digital video and audio production; Adobe Contribute 4 for web publishing; and Adobe Acrobat 8 Professional for creating, combing, and controlling media-rich Adobe PDF documents.

Descriptions: Witness how Chittenden East Supervisory Union schools gather and analyze NECAP scores, standardized assessments and local assessments in a timely manner to support school improvement. See examples of how we use our database to red flag students, do detail analysis of NECAP, and prepare for EST meetings. Watch our focus on student learning, professional collaboration and demonstrated results that answer:

As a culminating activity in Area Studies class, freshman social studies students are required to learn about, and teach, their fellow students about their small corner of Vermont. Through interviews with longtime residents of Vermont, and incorporating a full suite of digital technologies - audio, video, photography - they use PowerPoint to create oral histories of the Upper Valley region. Final presentations include the use of Smartboards to make the sharing, truly interactive. Join us to talk about how technology can help students learn about, and preserve, our Vermont past.

Suppose that you are the person responsible for technology integration. If you could use high quality versatile software that is easily available to everyone, would you use it? Would your mission as an educator be served well by teaching in school with applications that are freely available for students to use at home? These questions contain some big “ifs.” To explore these “ifs,” this workshop will examine best teaching practice that integrates technology that could as easily be open source as not. ~Examples will include projects to make publications like newsletters or brochures, analyze data like survey results, process images, make logos, and produce multimedia presentations, all of which can be done using open source applications. ~My explicit bias: public school needs to teach computer skills, not train students to use proprietary software. ~

A VTcite II project involving the establishment of a forum for developing educational activities that deeply integrate technology using open source software, to be posted as resources on VTcite, will be discussed.

As regulatory and institutional authorities come to terms with the importance of electronic messaging in the modern organization, it is becoming increasingly critical to provide reliable, long-term storage of historical messages. FirstClass Archiving Services provides comprehensive archiving, retention and searching capabilities for all FirstClass messages. Join the demonstration and discussion about how this might affect your classroom, school or district.

Second Life, the multi-user virtual environment game, is being used by many educators from around the world for learning and collaboration.~ Even Vita-Learn now has a presence in Second Life!~ Come learn about this exciting new environment in real life or as your avatar!