Presenter: Susan Casey

Session Title: Inventing Is a Fun, Interdisciplinary, and Research-Driven Activity
Strand(s): Author AU, Curriculum CU
Presenter Biography

Session Description:

Kids can invent. See photos and videos of kid inventors and demonstrations of their inventions. Learn fun ways to involve students in brainstorming ideas for inventions. Find out how to help them keep an inventor's log, identify a trademark, read a patent, and do online patent search so they can use primary sources to research the history of any technology, i.e. the bicycle. Learn ways to incorporate inventing and knowledge of inventions into social studies, language arts, science, and math lessons. Leave with activity sheets and a list of Web sites for patents and trademark searches, inventors, and national competitions open to K-12 students.

Presenter: Tamara Celi

Session Title: Hostess with the Most-est - Suggestions, Tips & Ideas for a Successful Author Visit
Strand(s): Literature LI
Presenter Biography

Session Description:

Don't let the economic times keep you from hosting an author at your school! Learn and share insightful sources and reasons to invite a guest author to your school by the end of this semester!

Presenter: Julia Christian

Co-presenter(s): Ann Akers-Grant 

Session Title: Increase Efficiency, Cut Costs, Eliminate Waste: Using Technology to Track Textbook and Library Assets
Strand(s): Budget BU or BUD, Management MA, Technology TE
Presenter Biography

Session Description:

Districts that centralize control and reporting of textbook and library assets across all schools can achieve significant cost and time efficiencies. Achieving this effectively, however, requires proper planning and leveraging advanced technology while adopting the right implementation strategies and best practices. This presentation will detail RUSD's initiative to bring the management of library circulation and textbooks into a single integrated tracking system. This session will outline the technological and procedural changes the district had to undergo to make this happen, the challenges faced, and the cost savings it is now enjoying.

Presenter: Franki Corless

Session Title: A Tisket, A Tasket, Engage Them with a Basket; Using Realia to Enliven Storytime
Strand(s): Literature LI
Presenter Biography

Session Description:

Using baskets is an easy way to enhance your storytime to get students involved in the stories, curious about books, and excited about their weekly trips to your school library. Bringing realia into your library doesn't have to be expensive, and you'll learn some tricks for adding some magic to your repertoire.

Presenter: Jeff Cutler

Co-presenter(s): Betsy Kahn 

Session Title: Serendipity: It's Really No Accident in Student Research and Achievement!
Strand(s): Curriculum CU
Presenter Biography

Session Description:

Learn how to increase teacher effectiveness and student achievement toward learning goals and information literacy through research strategies and adaptive learning models. Ideas for creating successful inquiry-based research and student publishing using ProQuest resources will be illustrated.

Presenter: Judy Davidson

Co-presenter(s): Robyn Albaeck  Lesleigh Alchanati Alchanati  Melinda Buterbaugh 

Session Title: Ready to Do Battle?....America's Battle of the Books
Strand(s): Literature LI
Presenter Biography

Session Description:

Are you interested in a reading incentive program that will get your students excited about reading? Our panel will describe the steps you will need to conduct a successful America's Battle of the Books (ABB) competition at your school and the time line to do it. We will explain how to promote the program, discuss the costs, and give you ideas for promoting ABB. We will make suggestions on how to get organized. One of our classroom teachers will share the teacher's role in creating a more successful Battle of the Books competition.

Presenter: Liz Dodds

Session Title: Video Clips to Reach the YouTube Generation
Strand(s): Curriculum CU, Literature LI, Technology TE
Presenter Biography

Session Description:

Video clips can instantly engage our students. Find out where and how to easily access them for all subject areas and all grade levels. Podcasts and vodcasts are also included, as well as book videos and video book trailers. Most of these resources are free.

Presenter: Liz Dodds

Session Title: Cloud Computing Made Simple
Strand(s): Personal Interest PI, Technology TE
Presenter Biography

Session Description:

Investigate online (cloud) resources to help you do your work as well as store it. Learn about cloud computing from personal finance to education applications. Several applications will be showcased so that participants understand what is out there and how to use it. From collaboration to education to email, finance to productivity, social, storage and video and many more, let the clouds contain your applications and your finished products.

Presenter: Julie Drake

Session Title: Real World: Real Teachers, Real Classrooms, Real Strategies for the 21st Century
Strand(s): Curriculum CU
Presenter Biography

Session Description:

The theoretical has inspired you and it's time to "get real" by hearing from practitioners about today's digital classroom; where learners are active, accountable producers. Video segments from California Streaming, a non-commercial option for media-on-demand, and a variety of presenters (in person and videotaped) demonstrate real world strategies, tools, and, best of all, classroom projects. Are you ready to get real?

Presenter: Laura Erickson

Session Title: Chance Collaboration
Strand(s): Collaboration COL
Presenter Biography

Session Description:

Collaboration can be simple, but it takes more than chance to help it happen. Simple steps will be offered to teacher librarians who would like to add new boasts to their collaboration models. Collaboration ideas that work as well as organizational tools for successful collaboration will be shared.