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Mark Your Calendars for 2009-2010 NICE Events!

Greetings,
We interrupt your summer break for this brief update from your NICE Board.

Mark Your Calendars for 2009-2010 NICE Meetings

Your NICE Executive Board has set the meeting calendar for the 2009-10 school year.

The proposed dates, locations and topics are:

• 09/30/2009 at New Trier High School, "Share-o-rama"
• 10/27/2009 at District 102 Meridian School, "Internet Safety"
• 12/05/2009 (Saturday) at North Shore Country Day School, "Google Apps Workshop"
• 01/23/2010 (Saturday) at Stevenson High School, NICE Mini-Conference
• 02/23 through 02/27/2010 at Pheasant Run Resort, ICE Conference
• 03/18/2010 at District 28 Westmoor Elementary School, Topic "TBA"
• 05/05/2010 at Maine South High School, "Potpourri of Practical Programs"

Be sure to check the NICE Calendar website for event details and directions (you'll notice a few new meeting locations in the coming year).

Potpourri of Practical Programs Re-cap

NICE wishes to thank Maine South High School District 207 for hosting our Potpourri of Practical Programs on Wednesday, May 6, 2009! We had an excellent turnout in spite of the weather.

At this meeting we presented checks to our Mini-Grant awardees, elected the 2009-10 NICE Executive Board, and shared a variety of presentations:
* Elementary Web Resources, by Jeff Shaw
* Scratch, by Michelle Russel
* Flip Video Cameras for Education, by Jason Meltzer
* Digital Camera Tips and Photo Fun, by Charlene Chausis
* Google Greatness, by Anne Truger
* Twitter for Educators, by Judy Gressel & Matt Stuczynsk

Remember to check the NICE Resources website for presentation information.

Your 2009-10 NICE Board members are:

• President: Vinnie Vrotny
• President-Elect: Charlene Chausis
• Recording Secretary: Matt Stuczynski
• Treasurer: Jason Meltzer
• Newsletter Editor: Laura Montgomery
• Webmaster: Terry Slocum
• Mini-Conference Co-Chairs: Mary Ann Apple and Tracy Murdach
• Past President: Jeff Shaw

Thanks for your attention, please feel free to resume your summer activities!
See you in the fall!

What are YOU learning this summer?

I hope your summer is off to a good start! I wanted to be sure you know about the great deal from WIU for your summer professional development. You can attend Summer Experience at WIU (July 22-23) or Stevenson High School (August 4-5), AND learn online all summer through STAR-Online, for the low price of $140 -- a savings of $25!! The sooner you sign up, the sooner you can start learning! Hurry, this deal ends July 1, so sign up today!!

• Summer Experience offers you three 3-hour hands-on workshops worth 9 CPDU's on current and emerging technologies with meals, resources, fun activities, and the opportunity to make new friends during this year's ’50s theme:  Happy Days are Here Again! -- There will be some great raffle prizes again this year!

• STAR-Online offers you online, interactive, self-paced modules/courses that help all educators learn, use, and integrate current technologies and emerging topics in today's classroom.

To take advantage of this deal and register for both by July 1, 2009, complete the Summer Experience online registration form at http://wiu.edu/otep/summerexperience/JSP/registNorm.jsp
Be sure to check the Yes button to register for STAR-Online and include your ROE number in the appropriate field. 

Once WIU receives your payment with the Summer Experience confirmation page, they will register you in STAR-Online and email your user name and password.  You will have access to the STAR-online courses until August 31, 2009. 

Please share this with all your colleagues.  It truly is the best "Experience" you'll have all "Summer"!

Potpourri of Practical Programs May 6, 2009 at Maine South High School

Please join us at our final meeting of the year!

Wednesday, May 6, 2009
4:30 pm to 7:00 pm
District 207 Board Room

Presentations:
* Elementary Web Resources, by Jeff Shaw
* Scratch, by Michelle Russell
* Flip Video Cameras for Education, by Jason Meltzer
* Tools for Mobile Learning, by Tracy Murdach
* Digital Camera Tips and Photo Fun, by Charlene Chausis
* Google Greatness, by Anne Truger
* Twitter for Educators, by Judy Gressel & Matt Stuczynski

Directions to Maine South

Registration and a complimentary light dinner will begin at 4:30 p.m. ** Please take a moment to RSVP if you plan to attend (so that we may get an accurate count for food ordering).

Click here to RSVP for the May 6 Meeting

NICE 2009-2010 Slate of Officers
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Also at our May 6 meeting, a vote is  scheduled for the proposed slate of officers for 2009-10:

President: Vinnie Vrotny
Past President: Jeff Shaw
President-Elect: Charlene Chausis
Secretary: Matt Stuczynski
Treasurer: Jason Meltzer
Newsletter: TBA
Webmaster: Terry Slocum
Mini-Conference: Mary Ann Apple
Mini-Conference: Tracy Murdach

Mini-Grants Awarded!
**********************************************************************
NICE Mini-Grants have been awarded and will be presented at the May 6 meeting.

Are you getting our NICE info?

Several years ago the NICE Board decided to move our NICE News to an electronic format, since the cost of printing and mailing was getting expensive. Since then, the money saved by "going green" has allowed NICE to allocate grant funding for educational uses of technology, as well as provide free dinners at our after school meetings.

The NICE News is published about 2 weeks prior to our NICE meetings and is available for download on the NICE website: http://chapters.iceberg.org/nice/news.htm. At publication time, an email message is sent to our members with highlights and a link to the online pdf version.

This month, we began using VerticalResponse, Inc., an email marketing company, to send our emails. VerticalResponse provides this service free to non-profit organizations such as ICE and NICE. The VerticalResponse system helps us to track how many members have received our message, and allows members to unsubscribe from future mails. Our most recent email news, announcing our May 6 meeting and slate of officers, was "bounced" from a number of school districts (including my own). Messages indicate "Northern_Illinois_Computing_Educ@mail.vresp.com" as the "From" address.

I contacted our network manager to inquire whether emails with this "From" address could be allowed through our email filter to our NICE members, and was advised to get the range of IP addresses used for the mailings. VerticalResponse sent the following information:

VerticalResponse sends all mail from mail.vresp.com in the following IP range:
209.66.113.62
209.66.113.63
206.57.6.62
206.57.6.63
206.57.6.143
206.57.6.144
206.57.6.145
206.57.6.146

So, if you are a NICE member who did not receive the most recent email message, please send this information to your network administrator.

April 25 at ICE-Cold

If you are not attending the DEN Virtual Conference on Saturday, Aril 25, you may want to join fellow educators at the ICE-Cold Mini-Conference, from 8:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m, at Lisle Junior High School, 5207 Center Ave. in Lisle, IL 60532. NICE member Sharon Sossin is presenting her popular session on "Digital Images to Creative Works of Art"!!

For details, click the ICE-COLD Blog link (located on the right sidebar of this page) or http://ice.typepad.com/icecold/2009/04/its-spring-mini-conference-time.html

Final NICE Meeting, 2009-10 Officers and Grant Winners

Potpourri of Practical Programs
**********************************************************************
Please join us at our final meeting of the year. We will meet at Maine South High School in Park Ridge for a  "Potpourri of Practical Programs."

Wednesday, May 6, 2009
4:30 to 7:00 pm
Details will be published in the April newsletter, in just a few weeks.

Directions to Maine South

Registration and a complimentary light dinner will begin at 4:30 p.m. ** Please take a moment to RSVP if you plan to attend (so that we may get an accurate count for food ordering).

Click here to RSVP for the May 6 Meeting

NICE 2009-2010 Slate of Officers
**********************************************************************
Also at our May 6 meeting,  a vote is  scheduled for the proposed slate of officers for 2009-10:

President: Vinnie Vrotny
Past President: Jeff Shaw
President-Elect: Charlene Chausis
Secretary: Matt Stuczynski
Treasurer: Jason Meltzer
Newsletter: TBA
Webmaster: Terry Slocum
Mini-Conference: Mary Ann Apple

Mini-Grants Awarded!
**********************************************************************
NICE Mini-Grants have been awarded and will be presented at the May 6 meeting.

Spring into Action on April 25 at Meridian School in Buffalo Grove

Spring Into Action with the Discovery Educator Network (DEN) and join thousands of educators who are passionate about integrating media into their instruction and collaborating with each other to improve student achievement. During this unique (and free) professional development event you have the flexibility to attend in-person at Meridian Middle School in Buffalo Grove, or online (from any Internet connectino).

The day will feature a special presentation from Chris Lehman, Principal of the Science Leadership Academy in the School District of Philadelphia. Entitled Building School 2.0, Lehman's presentation will examine ideas of constructivist pedagogy and the use of 21st century tools to create schools that are engaging, caring and relevant places of learning for everyone involved.

Come for all or part of the day. Breakfast and Lunch will be provided at Meridian. (You'll have to provide your own meals if you attend virtually.)

Here's a sampling of the sessions to be presented virtually in the webinar room. There may be local breakout sessions planned as well.

8-9: Keynote / Benjamin Button Effect - Lance Rougeux
9-10: Virtual Breakout / Turning Data Into Action: Exploring the reporting features of Discovery Education streaming - Matt Monjan
10-11: Virtual Breakout / Sowing Seeds of Success Part 1 - Projects, Ideas and Tips from STAR Discovery Educators
11-12: Keynote / Building School 2.0 - Chris Lehmann
12-1: Virtual Breakout / Closing the Global Achievement Gap: Beyond Test-Prep, Toward Life-Prep - Brad Fountain
1- 2: Virtual Breakout / The Impact of IT in RTI - Hardin Daniel
2-3: Virtual Breakout / Sowing Seeds of Success Part 2 - More Projects, Ideas and Tips from STAR Discovery Educators

Register online for either the virtual or in-person event:
https://den.dabbledb.com/page/denvirtualconferencersvp/NvAHYoyH

Thanks to Green Oaks Teachers!

NICE thanks Jason Meltzer, and the following Green Oaks teachers for sharing their teaching strategies in a one-computer classroom:

• Mrs. Lori Hill (Social Studies)
• Mrs. Tammie Diana (Science)
• Ms. Anna Crary (Science)
• Mrs. Deb Kaczmar (Technology)
• Mrs. Jina Rappaport (Librarian & Tech Teacher)
• Dr. Janice Matthews (Superintendent)

For those of you not familiar with Green Oaks, it is located on the far north end of Libertyville, just west of I-294 and south of Rt. 137. NICE attendees who made the trek northward were treated to a great presentation, and a yummy assortment of sandwiches and salads from Sunset Foods.

The Green Oaks teachers demonstrated how they are using presentation stations (document cameras, projectors and speakers) to engage students interactively in learning. As an added bonus, attendees saw a preview of the new Eno interactive board by Polyvision. Special thanks to NICE treasurer Jason Meltzer for arranging and hosting the meeting.

The meeting was broadcast on uStream.tv and archived here:

We hope you will join us at our next meeting, a "Potpourri of Practical Programs" on May 6, at Maine South High School in Park Ridge, when we will also announce the winners of our NICE Mini-Grant!! Look for details to be posted in the NICE News and on this blog towards the end of April.

3-12-09 Meeting Reminder

We hope to see you at our meeting next Thursday!
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"What You Can Do in a One Computer Classroom"
4:30 to 7:00 pm
Oak Grove School, Green Oaks, IL

The March 12 meeting will take place in the Junior High Learning Center of Oak Grove School, 1700 S. O'Plaine Road, Green Oaks, IL (adjacent to Libertyville).

Learn from Oak Grove teachers Mrs. Lori Hill, and Mrs. Tammie Diana, how one computer and a "presentation station" (a cart with a projector, document camera, DVD player and speakers) can help students learn. The meeting will focus on creative uses of document cameras and one-computer classrooms, and there will be time to share ideas.

Registration and a complimentary light dinner will begin at 4:30 p.m. **
** Please take a moment to RSVP if you plan to attend (so that we may get an accurate count for food ordering):

Please park in the Junior High Parking lot on the right, and enter through the door near the flagpole. 

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MINI-GRANT APPLICATIONS DUE NEXT WEEK!
=================================
Applications for the 2009 mini-grant are due by 5 pm at the March 12 meeting. Download a Mini-Grant application from the NICE website: http://chapters.iceberg.org. If you are unable to attend the March meeting, you may send your completed mini-grant application (be sure it arrives by 3/12/09) to:

Jeff Shaw, NICE President
c/o Sherwood Elementary School
1900 Stratford Rd.
Highland Park, IL 60035

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DOWNLOAD OUR MARCH NEWSLETTER:
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Our March Newsletter is now online at: http://chapters.iceberg.org/nice/news.htm
Check out the tips for technology integration from the NICE Board Members and the ICE Conference!

A Super NICE Mini- Conference!

The 2009 NICE Mini-Conference was an outstanding success! More than 200 people attended the annual event held at Adlai E. Stevenson High School on Saturday, January 31. Running a conference involves the hard work and collaboration of many people. Thank you to the entire NICE Board and to all of our presenters! Thank you Stevenson High School for hosting our conference at your wonderful facility!

We started the morning in Stevenson’s Forum area where people could view the mini-grant poster sessions, enjoy some refreshments, and spend time networking. Attendees then moved to classrooms where they could choose from among seven concurrent sessions held during each of the three 45-minute time slots.

This year’s sessions included presentations on digital safety, Web 2.0, blogging, Copyright and Fair Use issues, Google education tools, web pages, digital stories, Comic Life, Voice Thread and Apple’s iWork applications. Many presenters were teachers or technology specialists who provided specific classroom examples.

. . . the vast amount of resources I can take with me and share with colleagues.
Evaluations from the attendees, showed high marks for both the conference and presenters. The NICE Board thanks all the presenters for the high quality of their sessions, and for sharing their expertise.

Lots of usable ideas…
In addition to providing opportunities for sharing, learning and networking, the NICE Mini-Conference provided the attendees with a time to unwind during the culminating raffle which included more than 50 gifts, such as digital cameras and printers.

Thank you to all of our sponsors for their donations: Apple Computer, Atomic Learning, Discovery Education, FTC Publishing, ICE, Inspiration, Nettrekker, NICE, Promethean, Tech4Learning, Stevenson High School and Tom Synder/Scholastic.