Staying In Touch At #NCTIES12

We are only 4 days away from the start of NCTIES 2012! I dunno about you but the Conference Committee and the entire Board are so very excited to kick things off at the Raleigh Convention Center in just a few days. Everyone has been working hard to make this the best conference yet!

There is lots to experience at the conference. From the great sessions lead by some of the brightest minds in the education community to the vendors showing off the latest in technology to just catching up with old friends there is something for everyone.

But how do you keep up with all that's going on? We have lots of different ways that you can stay on top of all the conference happenings and get more out of your conference experience.

Twitter- You can follow us at @ncties. This is the official channel for anything and everything #NCTIES12 (which is the official hashtag by the way.) From here you can keep up-to-date on schedule changes, vendor happenings, pictures from around the conference, and be the first to hear about some special things we have planned.

Facebook- The home of NCTIES on Facebook is http://facebook.com/ncties. You can find not only all the Tweets from the @ncties Twitter feed but more information too and you can network with other conference attendees.

Flickr Group- Taking pictures at NCTIES 2012? Why not post them to our Flickr Goup? http://www.flickr.com/groups/ncties2012/ Here you can add your photos of your experiences at the conference for others to share. Oh, and you can post video too!

Conference Wiki- http://2012ncties.pbworks.com/w/page/48944357/FrontPage All session presenters are invited to upload their handouts, presentations and anything related to their session to a page created just for them on the Conference wiki. Use this after you leave the conference to find resources from all the sessions. You will also be able to find all the tweets from everyone at the conference who use the #NCTIES12 hashtag.

Edmodo- New this year is our Edmodo community. (http://www.edmodo.com/publisher/NCTIES2012)  You can find it by creating a free Edmodo account and looking for NCTIES 2012 in the Publisher Community. Once there you can find more about how to use the community and the best part? We have created groups for every session. You can find the group codes here and join the groups for any sessions. Presenters are being encouraged to post resources here as well and this can be a place to carry conversations beyond the conference too. (Want to learn more about how to use Edmodo? Check out the Edmodo Help section. We will also have lots of materials in the Conference handbook as well as folks on site who can answer your questions.)

This year's conference is going to be pretty awesome! We want you to show us all the exciting things you are learning and experienceing. Send your pictures, reactions and more to @ncties or post them to the Facebook page. We will take the some and do a wrap-up here after the conference!

See you in Raleigh!

NCTIES Update

New at NCTIES this year - Student Showcase!

 

This year we have an exciting new addition to NCTIES!  On Thursday during the conference, we will be adding a student showcase (similar format to MEGA for those of you who have participated).  If you are interested in participating, use this link to submit a proposal 

http://tinyurl.com/ncties2012.  Proposals are due February 3.  If you have any questions, please contact Nancy Mangum at nancy.mangum@ncties.org

ISTE Membership Opportunity

  

NCTIES is part of the official Affiliate Network of The International Association for Technology in Education (ISTE).  You can join ISTE through our Registration page as you register, or you may Re-Access Your Registration your registration and add the membership. 

With ISTE membership, NCTIES members will recieve:

Learning & Leading with Technology magazine (print and online)
30% ISTE books discount
60% ISTE webinars discount
Access to NETS resources
ISTE annual conference and exposition registration discount
Unlimited access to all ISTE member communities and social networks including more than 20 special interest groups (SIGs)

                                         

Volunteer at NCTIES!

Would you like to volunteer at 2012 NCTIES?  We are always looking for volunteers to help with various duties throughout the conference. It's easy and fun!  There will be a short training session so you will feel comfortable helping people navigate the conference. Sign up by submitting this form: NCTIES Volunteer.  If you have any questions, please contact Danita Russell, our Volunteer Coordinator, at danita.russell@ncties.org.  Thank you!

Important NEW Update on Hotel Accomodations

The NCTIES blocks of rooms at the Sheraton and Marriott hotels have all been reserved. (You may still be able to get a room at either, but not at the NCTIES conference price or with the same privileges.)
However, the Clarion Hotel State Capital at 320 Hillsborough Street has a block of rooms at a special NCTIES rate of $79 per room per night. The Clarion offers free high speed Internet access, free parking, and is on the free R-Line bus route that also runs by the convention center, five times per hour from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. .
To make reservations, call the Clarion at 919-832-0501 then press 0 for reservations and ask for the NCTIES group rate.

 

Attendee Registration
 
Already registered for the conference, but you have decided you would like to come to one of the Pre-Conference sessions? It is not too late to easily register for one or two sessions through the Re-Access Your Registration link.  Pre-Conference sessions are $50.00 each and lunch is furnished for those that attend a morning and afternoon session.  We have a great line-up of presenters and with the wide variety of session topics offered, there's definitely one or two that will inspire you! 

 

Additional Registration Options Include:

  

Full-Time Student Registration 

Full-time Student Registration - $50.00 (lunch not included) Registrant must be a full-time undergraduate student and be currently enrolled at the time of the conference. Student will need to show proof of current enrollment when picking up registration packet.

  

Retired Educator Registration

Retired Educator Registration - $50.00 (lunch not included) Registrant is a retired educator not currently working in the public or private sector.

  

Vendor-Only Registration (Exhibit Hall Only) 

Vendor Only Registration - $50.00 (lunch not included) Registrant will be given a unique color coded badge to show Vendor Only Registration. Vendor Only Registration gives access only to the vendor area. The registrant will not have access to concurrent sessions or keynote speakers.

  

  

We look forward to seeing you in Raleigh in March!

Julia Hieronymus, 2012 Conference Chair

Sonya Terry, NCTIES President 

2011-12 NCTIES Board

Hotel Update

The NCTIES block of rooms at the Marriott is now full. You may still be able to book a room at the Marriott for the conference, but it will be at a higher rate and will not include the free parking and in-room Internet agreement.

The Sheraton has no more rooms available with two double beds. There are still plenty of King beds available at the Sheraton and there are also a number of roll-away beds to go in those King rooms.

Visit http://ncties.org/conference/raleigh/hotels/index.html for more information

Conference Registration is Now Open

We welcome you to register for the 2012 NCTIES Conference.

http://www.ncties.org/conference/registration/overview/index.html

You can view the PreConference speakers at:

http://www.ncties.org/conference/registration/overview/index.html

Aaron Slutsky to become a Google Certified Teacher

We are pleased to announce that Google has selected Aaron Slutsky as an attendee at the next Google Teacher Academy, to be held in Seattle, Washington on July 28, 2011. Aaron is currently the Director of Technology for McDowell County Schools and serves on the NCTIES board of directors.

Aaron was also invited to be part of the inaugural class at the first YouTube Teacher's Studio. Applications for the YouTube Teacher's Studio were only open to the 50 attending Google Teacher Academy and just 15 were invited to attend. This workshop will occur the day before the Google Teacher. Google believes that this program has the potential to spark a transformation in the way teachers connect with students, both in the classroom and outside.

I am very excited to attend both the Google Teacher Academy and the YouTube Teacher's Studio. I hope to share what I learn at the 2012 NCTIES Conference. ~Aaron Slutsky
The Google Teacher Academy is a free professional development experience designed to help K-12 educational leaders get the most from innovative technologies. Each Academy is an intensive, one-day event where participants get hands-on experience with Google's products and technologies, learn about innovative instructional strategies, and receive resources to share with colleagues. Upon completion, Academy participants become Google Certified Teachers who share what they learn with other K-12 educators in their local regions and beyond.

Google Certified Teachers are exceptional K-12 educators with a passion for using innovative tools to improve teaching and learning, as well as creative leaders and ambassadors for change. They are recognized experts and widely admired for their commitment to high expectations for students, life-long learning and collaboration.

The Google Certified Teacher program was launched in 2006 with the first Academy held at Google headquarters in Mountain View. The program has since held several academies around the globe, expanding the ranks of Google Certified Teachers. The Google Teacher Academy is produced by Google, in collaboration with CUE and WestEd, both educational non-profit organizations.

You can follow Aaron on twitter http://twitter.com/#!/aslutsky or circle him on Google + http://gplus.to/aslutsky

You can follow NCTIES on twitter at http://twitter.com/ncties

2011 Amended By-laws and Constitution

On behalf of our NCTIES board members, we have been working to review and make changes to our current bylaws. At our summer retreat, we passed a motion to send our proposed amended bylaws and constitution to our membership for a vote. Our timeline is listed in the column to the right.

Current bylaws are in black
Deletions are represented with a strike through
Proposed changes are in red
(Click here to see our proposed amended bylaws and constitution)

Reason for amending the NCTIES Constitution and By-laws is...
to ensure representation for all areas of our state.

The NCTIES board currently has one regional director from each of the NC Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) Instructional Technology regions defined in 2006 plus two at-large directors. In 2011, the NCDPI Instructional Technology division redefined state regions. Over the years, NCTIES has aligned our regions to match changes made by NCDPI in the instructional regions. The proposed change to our by-laws will more closely align the NCTIES board to the NC State Board of Education (NCSBE) education districts. Future changes to the NCTIES board will be made as there are changes made to the NCSBE education districts.

Reason for amending the "Standing and Other Committees" in the NCTIES By-Laws is...
to the align NCTIES awards with ISTE awards listed below:
SIGMS - Media Specialist Technology Innovation Award
ISTE Outstanding Teacher
ISTE Outstanding Leader
Making IT Happen


As required by our bylaws, all proposed bylaws and constitution amendments are scheduled for a 30 day posting period (July 16 - August 16) , after which they will be put to a vote (August 16 - 19) by our membership via a separate e-mail that will be sent August 16.

Sincerely,

2011-12
NCTIES Board Members

Friday Correction

Correction on page 110 of the conference program.

Session II: The Ripple Effect…..Impacting Education with Video

March 4th: 9:10am

Room 202

With video at the heart of the interactive classroom multiple technologies have a conjoining point creating a larger impact than any one technology could on its own. This opportunity needs to be media rich with multiple sources of content and interactions for reaching a diverse learner population. Leveraging video, this learning environment can ripple to a remote class, a remote individual, a blog, a wiki, or an iPod/iPhone. Positioning video at the center provides a common interface for both synchronous and asynchronous communications allowing content creators/deliverers to reach further.

Dr. Lance Ford is an educational technology advocate for TANDBERG, now a part of Cisco. For the seven years prior, he served as a teacher and technology facilitator/coordinator for Howe Public Schools in Howe, Oklahoma. . Lance has been named Wal-Mart regional teacher of the year, Oklahoma Technology Administrator’s Technology Director of the Year, and the recipient of the Polaris Award for Excellence in Teaching. In 2007 Lance was recognized as an Apple Distinguished Educator, was awarded the 2008 Long Term Service Award from the Oklahoma Distance Learning Association, and received the Technology Facilitator of the Year award from the National Association for Educational Communications and Technology.