November Learning: Expanding the Boundaries of Learning

Seth Bowers

About Seth Bowers
Director of Information & Instructional Technology, CCSD 62 Des Plaines, IL

Seth Bowers has worked in a number of school districts that are trying to make sense of the new surge in educational technology. Currently the Director of Information and Instructional Technology for Des Plaines CCSD62, Seth has first hand knowledge of how to work with students, teachers, administrators, board and community members when ushering in this new era of integration.

Pre-conference Session

Building Learning Communities: Putting It All Together (presenting with Jim Wenzloff)

In this four hour session you will learn the basics of information literacy, plus have the opportunity to work with members of our team as you explore how to build a blog, create a podcast or start a wiki. Learn how to integrate all of these tools together in meaningful and effective ways. Our team will show you how it all fits together and will be available during the course of the conference week to work on projects and integrate new ideas. The results will be expanded opportunities for authentic work, global audience and your students making a knowledge contribution.

Main Session Workshops

Tomorrow Today: Thriving in the EdTech Revolution

Everybody’s talking about Web 2.0, the 21st century classroom and technology integration, but where do you start? Do you have the personnel, infrastructure and time for professional development? Do you even have enough machines for your community?

Many teachers and school administrators are stuck between wanting to integrate new technology tools in their classrooms and being overwhelmed on where and how to begin. This session addresses that reality and provides examples and encouragement about getting started.

iPad Workshop

The iPad is brand new, but the App Store is not. What does this dynamic duo mean for educators? Some of this is unknown, but there is no time like the present to try it out! For certain populations the iPad makes more sense than other interactive, personal devices. For example, classrooms with special needs make great use of ‘centers’ or ‘mini-environments.’ Our district is piloting our first 10 iPads, and this workshop is about how the larger format iPad can start to fit into this space. We will take a look at the first generation iPad as well as a host of free and pay-to-play applications suitable for classroom use.