Methods and materials to build student's academic skills

Do your best students breeze through all their work and struggle with application problems? Participants in this workshop will learn an approach to help 6th-12th grade students solve complex problems. The method involves students in writing very simple computer programs to aid their thinking process.

n order to engage all students, especially those who are second language learners, building background and comprehensible input become critical components of effective instruction. Using an interactive whiteboard empowers teachers and students to demonstrate and develop beginning concepts and academic vocabulary.

Podcasts are a hot topic in 21st Century education. Wonder how to use podcasts in the classroom? Teachers can create them to fit their instruction, using podcasts to differentiate learning and assessments to engage students of varying levels and interests. Share a teacher’s experiences and learn how to create a podcast.

Are you empowering your students through the use of technology? This presentation will demonstrate and discuss how to help all ages and ability levels of students succeed in a 21st Century Classroom. Through the use of technology based assessments, curriculum, and interactive classroom devices all students can be engaged and succeed.

Explore the wide variety of resources available within IDEAL that can be used to expand and enhance instruction in math and science. These resources include: interactive websites in Thinkfinity; videos in Discovery Education Streaming videos; and technology integration projects from Recipe's4Success’ Lesson Library.

Learn how DataDirector can be used to inform instruction. DataDirector is a web-based data and assessment management system that allows you to view, disaggregate, and analyze data to focus your resources right where you need them most and make data driven decisions to positively impact student learning.

Teachers will explore interactive resources that can be used with their ELL and Gen ED students. We will explore the Learning Star with examples of each of the five points of the star.

In this hands-on session you will receive resources, tips and tools for using digital storytelling as an instructional tool as well as a means to assess student learning. We will use the free tools MovieMaker, Photostory, VoiceThread and Animoto.You will create your own digital story before you leave!

Do you have a blog? Would you like to start one for yourself or your classroom? Come see what tools and “widgets” you can use to make your blog fun and educational. Learn how to link classroom projects to your blog so parents and others can view them. It can be the answer to the age old question, “What did you do in school today?”

Are you interested in up to $10,000 for your classroom? Learn how to apply and recieve a 2009-2010 Qwest & AzTEA Classroom Technology Integration Mini-Grant. You will also be motivated by previous grant winners when you hear about their innovative ideas that have encouraged students to make a difference in their community.