Arizona K-12 Center 2010

Leadership and Technology: Building Powerful Learning Communities

January 20-21, 2009 in Phoenix

The Arizona K-12 Center is pleased to have Dr. Tim Tyson present his vision for technology in teaching and learning. As principal of Mabry Middle School in Georgia, Dr. Tyson effectively lead teachers and students to learn and connect to the world through technology. This two-day Leadership and Technology event features daily keynote presentations by Dr. Tyson and six breakout sessions all geared for school principals, district administrators, and teacher leaders.

Tuesday, January 20

7:45-8:15: Registration and Breakfast
8:15-9:45: Keynote
10:00-11:30: Breakout 1
11:30-12:15: Lunch
12:15:1:45: Breakout 2
2:00-3:30: Breakout 3

Tuesday Keynote
An Irresistible Vision of Global Contribution
You're here because you already have a desire to implement technology in really significant ways into your students' educational plan. But for many educators, using technology in the classroom looks no different than when we were using overhead projectors or chalk. What can technology do in the teaching and learning environment that is truly meaningful and significant, that empowers learning in very new ways previously impossible in the classroom? This keynote peers into the technology black hole to answer those questions. But, even better, Dr. Tyson is going to show you what students are actually accomplishing in a regular public middle school, how they are impacting the world. We begin our conference time together by putting forward a clear vision of what has actually worked for teachers and students, a vision that is as transformational as it is irresistible!

Tuesday Breakouts

Leadership Applied: Building Powerful Learning Communities - Dr. Tim Tyson
The keynote was all about: "What." This workshop focuses on the practical: "How." How did a regular public school, in which technology use was all but absent, move to the forefront of deep techno-centric classroom innovation? Presented from the principal's point of view, Dr Tyson discusses the process of integrating technology in the school setting. Mabry Middle School was already a high achieving school; so, the staff was initially very reluctant to move into a new untried and unproven direction. Your school's reasons may differ, but many educators have significant concerns about attempting fundamental and systemic change. This, and many other topics will be discussed. This session is intended to be highly participatory; so, bring your questions, your challenges, your obstacles. We want to have a rich and productive time together seeing "How!" to bring the vision to life.

Get Organized and Collaborate with Google Docs - Amanda Hughens
Google Docs is fast becoming the preferred word processor, spreadsheet, and presentation tool of educators. With a free account, Google offers a centralized place for you to create, store, and share documents. It turns out that Google Docs has many advantages over Microsoft Office, particularly when it comes to collaboration. See how Google lets you invite others to add to and edit your documents and explore classroom uses. Participants who are already Google Docs users can learn advanced features like including images, using templates, and creating forms.

Blogging & Podcasting - Tony Vincent
Blog and podcasts are great ways to get your school on the web. A blog is a website that is easy to update. No longer do students or educators need to know HTML or complicated software to have a presence on the Web. Learn about why blogs are such incredible tools for teaching and learning, read example blogs, and start your very own! A podcast is an audio or video program on the web. Discover fantastic podcasts in iTunes and be inspired to perhaps create an online show for your school.

Wednesday, January 21

7:45-8:15: Registration and Breakfast
8:15-9:50: Breakout 1
10:00-11:30: Breakout 2
11:30-12:10: Lunch
12:10-1:10: Keynote
1:20-2:45: Breakout 3

Wednesday Keynote
Framework for the Future
We began our conference with a vision. We spent our time together in our sessions learning many different tools that will facilitate making the vision become a reality. In this final keynote, Dr. Tyson explores the future. Where is technology taking us? What does our future hold? What are the implications this path may have for education? What is framework will help us prepare our children in our schools for this unknown? We conclude our time together by bringing the future to the present.

Wednesday Breakouts

You, Sitting in the Director's Chair! - Dr. Tim Tyson
In this hands on session, you will edit your first movie. Lights! Cameras! Action! You will learn how to edit a movie using iMovie, a wonderfully simple and powerful program that comes free on every Mac. The astounding truth is, making a movie just looks like the "Great and Powerful Oz!" This presentation shows you how the "man behind the curtain" moves the little knobs to make it all happen.

Web Applications - Amanda Hughens
There are many tasks that used to require software that you can now do from inside of your Web browser. Web applications are great for education because they are free and you won’t install software. Get hands-on time to create jazzy slide shows, manipulate images, animate photos, and more. You'll be excited to use many of the web applications yourself and share them with classroom teachers.

The Personal Productivity Wiki - Tony Vincent
Learn about two concepts at once in this session! The first topic is productivity. As a busy school leader, you receive dozens of emails a day, deal with scheduling meetings, and have an endless to do list. Never fear! There are tools and strategies to help you keep your head above water. You'll learn about the tools and strategies through a wiki. A wiki is a website that anyone can edit and you'll see how reading from and contributing to a wiki can help learners dive into a topic. In this case, your topic is personal productivity.