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Biggest and best NICE Mini-Conference ever!

Wow - what an amazing group of topics and presenters, and what a turnout for the 18th NICE Mini Conference!! The quality and variety of sessions, targeted at grade levels from elementary to high school and administration, gave our attendees the difficult task of choosing three "must attend" sessions.

This year we had over 360 attendees who were able to select from 28 fantastic topics/sessions. We also included an "un-Conference" format for those who could not find a fit during any session, and we appreciate the volunteers that manned the first NICE un-Conference.

Our attendees had one major complaint, "Expand the conference to [fullday][multiple days] so we can attend more sessions," "too many good sessions scheduled at the same time." A frequent comment from attendees was they will come again, and again, and again.

A special thank you to our presenters for making the 18th year for NICE Mini-conference the biggest and best it has ever been. Presenter resources are located at the NICE resources link: http://iceberg.org/nice/resources

We expect to continue this tradition at the 19th annual NICE Mini-conference in 2013! 

Are you ready to learn at the NICE Mini-Conference?

Thank you to all of our NICE Members who pre-registered for the NICE Mini-Conference. We are expecting a record attendance this year, and hope that the day provides great opportunities for learning! Our schedule of sessions can be viewed online at: http://tinyurl.com/2012NiceSched. Resources from our presenters are posted on our NICE website: http://iceberg.org/nice/resources.

Pre-register now for the 18th Annual NICE Mini-Conference

Join us for the eighteenth annual 

Mini-Conference sponsored by 

Northern Illinois Computing Educators.

Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012 

8 am to 1 pm

Adlai E. Stevenson High School

Lincolnshire, IL. 

Registration and refreshments will begin at 8:00 a.m. in the East Building (park in Lot C or D). We will gather in the lobby of the Performing Arts Center. During this time, you can meet our 2011 Mini-Grant winners and learn about their projects. 

We’re kicking off our day with a keynote by Steve Dembo, Discovery Education’s Online Community Manager, followed by three 50-minute breakout sessions. We will conclude the day with a great raffle! For those who would like to try an “unconference” experience, we’re setting up areas for that, too! You’re sure to come away with some great new ideas, and maybe a raffle prize, too. Admission is $5.00...pay @ the door! 

FIRST: Download a copy of the "Mini-Conference NICE News" to view the session descriptions and presenter information.

THEN: We ask that you pre-register before Jan. 25 by going to: http://tinyurl.com/nice-mini2012. This will greatly help us to schedule rooms and sessions, (but does NOT guarantee you a seat in any one session) ... so, please help us out!

Pre-registered attendees can also reserve an iPad to use while in attendance. (iPad supplies are limited, so register early to reserve one!)

Please feel free to bring your wi-fi enabled devices to our mini-conference! If you plan to blog or post information on Flickr, Twitter or Plurk, etc, please apply the hashtag #nice2012 to your tweets, blogs, photos, and links.

For more information contact the Mini-Conference Co-Chairs: Helen Lazzarro,lazz04@gmail.com, or Stephanie Cardella, scardella@nssd112.org 

Hope to see YOU on Jan. 28!

 

Stellar Sessions Planned for the NICE Mini-Conference on Jan. 28!

Mark Your Calendars!! NICE will host its 18th annual mini-conference on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012, from 8:00 am to 1 pm, at Adlai E. Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire.

This year's stellar line up includes...

• Steve Dembo: Keynote Address
• Jon Bergmann: The Flipped Class
• Katie Cardella: More with iPads
• Tricia Fuglestad: Creative Digital Art Projects~Elementary and Beyond
• Ryan Goble: Media Circles: Cooperative Learning for Media-Savvy Teachers
• Jodi Greenspan: Community 2.0--How Technology can Enhance the School Community
• Jodi Greenspan: Google Earth--Students can do more than just find their house 
• Jim Gubbins: Untangling the Web
• Jan Hackman: What's Blooming in the iCollaboratory? 
• Lynda Hartman: Accessible Worksheets. It’s a Win-Win–-Differentiate Access and Save Paper
• Cynthia Karabush: Give Your Surfers a Paddle: QR Codes in the Classroom
• Caren Kimbarovsky: Above and Beyond: More Interactive Whiteboard Resources
• Karen Ladendorf: Songs My Family Taught Me, and Beyond
• Amy Lamberti: Web 2.0 Tools for Creativity
• Jill Maraldo: An introduction to social media for administrators
• Maureen Miller: The 21st Century Administrator
• Laura Montgomery: Building a website with Weebly ("the Wonder-Tool")
• Nick Nicholson: SMART Response VE: Your Internet Enabled Device is Now A Student Responder
• Nick Nicholson: Working Smarter w/SMART Boards 
• Nadine Norris: Adventures in a a 1-1 iPad Classroom
• Christine Pfaffinger: iPad learning in the Science classroom, from APPs to lessons
• Linda Pribyl: Creating iPad Content
• Anthony Reibel: Closing Learning Gaps With Powerful Technology
• Melissa Rosen: Web 2.0 Tools For The Classroom
• Melissa Rosen: If It's Online, It Must Be True
• Jeff Shaw: ActivInspire Tips & Tricks
• Bonnie Thurber: When will I Ever Use This? -- Career

Session descriptions will be published in the January NICE Newsletter. Participants will attend the keynote address and 3 breakout sessions. Admission is $5. Pre-registration will be available online beginning early in Jan. Stay tuned for more details!

 

Time to nominate your peers for Educator of the Year!

Each year, ICE recognizes the extraordinary education efforts of ICE members through the Educator of the Year Program. There are two categories for this award: ICE Educator of the Year Award, for Pre K-12 Classroom Teachers; and ICE Outstanding Technology Using Educator Award, for Media & Technology Staff, Administrators and College/University Faculty.

To nominate a colleague, please download and complete the nomination form and email the completed form by December 12, 2011, to the ICE Educator of the Year Chair, Charlene Chausis, at cchausis@iceberg.org.

For info about the ICE Educator of the Year award, visit http://iceberg.org/grants_awards/educator.

NICE iPads in Education Workshop 12-3-11 Resources

NICE Members gathered at Loyola Academy in Wilmette, IL today to explore the use of iPads in education. Special thanks to Jan Stoner and Loyola Academy for hosting today's workshop, and to Gail LeGrand for bringing her delicious home-baked chocolate bundt cake! Congratulations to Michelle Russell, winner of the portable video camera!! (We are raffling off a camera at each of our meetings this year.)

Today's session began with brainstorming to schedule "topics of interest" for 2 breakout sessions (in an "unconference" style), then a "share out" of favorite apps. Several online resources are available with notes and ideas presented today:

A back-channel of links and ideas: http://todaysmeet.com/NICE-ipadsined

A shared Google-doc spreadsheet of notes. 

A shared Google-doc ..."What's your 1 thing?" ... please add your ideas and solutions to this!

View the opening session posted to our uStream Channel:

Be sure to mark your calendars for our NICE Mini-Conference, Sat. Jan 28 at Stevenson High School. Our list of sessions, and online pre-registration will be posted when school resumes after winter break.

 

Dec. 3: iPads in Education Workshop: BYOD

• Who: NICE Members
• What: iPads in Education Workshop: BYOD (Bring Your Own Device)
• When: Sat. Dec 3, 2011, 9 am to noon
• Where: Loyola Academy, Wilmette, IL

Details: Bring your iPad and discover and share how these devices are being used in education. We will begin with a “There’s An App for That” share out, and break into smaller groups based on individual learning needs and interests. A light breakfast will be served beginning at 9 am.

This workshop is exclusivley for NICE members. Pre-registration is required and space is limited. Register at: http://tinyurl.com/NICE-Dec3

The 2011 Global Education Conference is Coming.....

Steve Hargadon and Lucy Gray are ramping up for the second annual Global Education Conference, scheduled for November 14th through November 18th, 2011. Sessions will be held around the clock to accommodate time zones, and the best part is that the entire event is free!

via www.lucygray.org

Share-a-Rama Share-out

This year's NICE meetings are off to a wonderful start! We had over 40 people at our annual Share-a-Rama! A huge thank you to all who attended, especially those who shared wonderful new technology integration tools, websites, strategies and cool apps! From assistive iPad cases, to simple eBook publication online and tools to manage your evergrowing PLN, the Share-a-Rama is always filled with a plethora of great ideas.

A few of those who shared resources included...

Tricia Lazzaro of Hinsdale High School who shared ePub Bud, an online eBook tool which now includes group management for teachers. 

Beth Heile of North Shore School District 112 who shared how Google Forms have increased data collection in her STEP classroom. Beth also shared how Factime and VTok have allowed for unobtrusive parent visits and classroom observations of students.      

Cynthia Karabush of Greyslake North High School who shared a wealth of QR Code ideas.

And, Jill Maraldo of Deerfield 109 who shared how Google+ (now open to anyone) has been a valuable tool for building her PLN.

You can view the entire list of resources shared HERE or watch the entire meeting on the NorthernICE Ustream.

Speaking of PLNs, our next meeting on October 25th is What Can a PLN Do? at Edgewood Middle School in Highland Park. This session will help you discover and build your own PLN. Details to follow!

Directions to Caruso for Share-a-Rama

Greetings NICE members. Please click here for directions to Caruso. Our NICE news incorrectly stated there was an exit at Deerfield Rd if you are traveling from the North. We want to be sure you don't get lost! You have to get off at Lake Cook, go east, then go north on Wilmot Road to Deerfield Road. 

We're looking foward to seeing you on Wednesday, Sept. 21!