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ICE Bloggers Have Been Active!

Even though we are in the midst of summer breaks in most schools and districts, several of the ICE blog authors have been busy providing updates of planned events and information about chapter leaders who are making a difference in the lives of other ICE members. I encourage you to check out all of the ICE blogs by using the links in the right-hand column, but here are some of the highlights of the content of the ICE chapter blogs:

RICE: The Rock Island area chapter has already posted a schedule of events for the 2009-2010 school year including their first mini-conference to be held at the Moline ROE facilities on January 23, 2010. The RICE chapter leaders have also put out a call for newsletter articles for their upcoming issue. Click here or use the link in the right-hand column to learn more about the activities hosted by RICE.

NICE: ICE members in the northern Illinois chapter remain extremely active and the NICE chapter leaders have also posted their calendar of events for the upcoming school year. Topics for meetings this year include a "Share-o-Rama," "Internet Safety," "Google Apps Workshop," "Potpourri of Practical Programs," and their annual mini-conference in January. This link will take you directly to the NICE schedule for 2009-2010.

DeICE: The leaders of this chapter that serves ICE members in Joliet and surrounding areas are very interested in getting some new people involved in the organization. They are planning a session on Internet Safety and are looking for ideas for other topics that would be of interest to chapter members. Please visit the DeICE blog site for more information and to find out how you can get involved.

SpICE: Blog author Karen Thompson always has new information about technology resources on her site, and her most recent blog post is about Google Squared, a tool that will help you to organize research data into a table. Karen includes a short video clip that provides an overview of Google Squared, and she also provides some ideas as to how this tool might be used by teachers in the classroom. Click here to read more about this online resource.

ICE COLD: In her most recent blog post, Nadine Norris reminds us all that even in the world of ever-changing technology equipment and resources, talented and dedicated people are still the heart and soul of our organization. Nadine writes about Sister Mary Therese Freymann, a person who has dedicated her life to working with students and teachers in a variety of ways. She has been a dedicated member of ICE for many years and she has inspired many other people by her efforts and her positive attitude. If you have not had the pleasure of meeting and working with Sister Mary Therese, you own it to yourself to read the story that Nadine Norris has posted here.

As I noted above, we are still enjoying the warmth of summer, but the school year will be upon us soon. Please take time to learn more about the chapter activities in your region of the state and pledge to get involved this year. You will be happy that you did!

Welcome

Welcome to the new Illinois Computing Educators network of weblogs. In our effort to reach out to educators across the state, we have created this home blog page as well as individual blog sites for each of the chapters that serve our members.

My name is Dick Marchessault and I am the new Executive Director of ICE. It gives me great pleasure to serve in a leadership role in an organization whose mission is to lead the educational community in enhancing learning through technology. We have experienced strong growth in recent years and our members continue our tradition of sharing their expertise and their passion as they showcase the many ways that educational technology resources can enhance the learning experience.

Much of our focus each year centers on the annual ICE Conference at the end of February, but throughout the year, educators from around the state remain active in their own regions as they participate in the many events and workshops hosted by ICE chapters. It is our hope that we can use this network of connected blog sites to maintain a steady and open line of communication with ICE members in all parts of the state. All through the year, we plan to post announcements relating to ICE sponsored activities, pictures from events, information about professional development opportunities, links to valuable resources, and commendations for those members who have been recognized by their peers for their outstanding efforts.

All of the ICE blog sites generate RSS feeds, and you can be alerted to changes to the blogs through e-mail updates or with the help of your favorite aggregator utility. As the Illinois Computing Educators organization grows larger and more dynamic, it is a great time for all members to take an active role and enjoy the many benefits that come with membership.