Ever wonder about all the functions of your mobile phone or PDA device? Do you know how your Bluetooth works? Have you ever asked: "How do I get the photos off my phone, but still keep them?" "How do I set-up my phone to send and receive e-mail?" "What’s the difference between GPS and GPRS?" "What’s WAP, MMS or SMS?" Learn about some of the most common functions of most mobile camera phones and a variety of projects for the classroom.

March 28-30, 2007

Tan-Tar-A

Osage Beach, MO

Staying up with the technology is a challenge for colleges and universities as students continue to lug with them a host of electronic devices to occupy them during their academic and leisure time on campus. While most universities and colleges have been able to stay up-to-date with technology, the challenge to maintain a competitive advantage is always looming. Today, recruiting top students and retaining quality faculty is as important as ever as higher education institutions prepare tomorrow's students to confront careers in a global economy. This session will examine what universities and colleges across the country are doing to keep up with the latest technology trends. The discussion will revolve around the issues regarding Internet access, cellular phones, online courses, distance learning, recruitment efforts and gadgets from home. Hear colleagues from local Missouri campuses discuss their current information technology strategies and plans for the future.

February 26-28, 2007

St. Louis, MO

Pre-Conference Workshop

Podcasting can be used in powerful ways to motivate students to develop their traditional as well as digital literacy skills. It can be done safely, is relatively inexpensive, and fairly easy to learn with any Internet-connected computer and a basic microphone. This session explores examples of successful classroom podcasts and demonstrates how teachers can start their own classroom podcast.. We’ll use the open-source and cross-platform (PC and Mac) software Audacity and podOmatic. Additionally, we’ll explore how to create PodGuides. A PodGuide is a combination of a map (PDF or JPG) of a certain place with numbered dots on it and a series of audio tracks (mp3) which you can download for your iPod. Think of an audio tour in a museum, but not limited to just that. Gain the know-how that will have you and your students podcasting next week!

Filamentality is a fill-in-the-blank tool that guides you through picking a topic, searching the Web, gathering good Internet links, and turning them into online learning activities without knowing anything about HTML or serving web pages. This session will guide participants through an online process to create a web-based activity in 10 easy steps. Come with ideas for such a webpage and leave with a finished product! Ideal for those new to the Internet or those who seek ideas on how to use the Internet more effectively.

The session will also highlight some of the resources available on the Filamentality page of the AT&T Knowledge Network Explorer website. Participants will see examples of a hotlist, scrapbook, treasure hunt, subject sampler, introductory webquest and full webquest all on the same curriculum topic.

Participants can use the hotlist they create in the session as a starting point to create other online activities using Filamentality.

Online collaborative projects are designed to integrate Internet technology into any subject area and offer a way to connect your classroom to other students, experts, and communities around the world. In this session, you will learn how to enrich your new or existing IVC program by utilizing existing collaborative, interdisciplinary, interactive, on-line projects. After becoming familiar with some of the resources to find past and current projects, we will explore the steps needed to create your own online collaborative projects.

A PodGuide is a combination of a map (PDF or JPG) of a certain place with numbered dots on it and a series of audio tracks (mp3) which you can download for your iPod. Each numbered dot corresponds with the track number you should play to hear the audio comment about that specific place on the map. If your mp3 player supports the viewing of artwork from the ID-3 tags in mp3 files, then you'll also be able to see a picture of what you should be looking at whilst playing a track. Think of an audio tour in a museum, but not limited to just that. Participants will see some examples and learn how to help their students create their own PodGuides in the classroom. This goes beyond the usual travel brochure!

When we think of blended learning, we often think of the current models for e-learning that blend both live and self-paced learning events. A well-designed blended learning course offers students a variety of activities that are often enhanced by multimedia applications, synchronous content delivery, asynchronous learning experiences, group collaboration and meaningful assessment. Many of the tools and technology that make e-learning so versatile can also be utilized within a traditional classroom to enhance student learning. Given the right opportunities and the right technology, every teacher can transform the learning environment, motivate students to learn and ultimately raise student achievement. Discussion will focus on tools for empowering teachers and administrators within the walls of the 21st century school environment as well as beyond the walls with some content available 24/7.