GETTING READY FOR THE BIG DAY!

Are you ready for Saturday? We are getting everything ready here at South Valley Jr High School for a great day of networking, learning and sharing with educational technology. Here is an update on Tech or Treat:

• Currently there are over 50 teachers registered to take part in Tech or Treat - about 15 from the Liberty School District and the rest from schools throughout Kansas and Missouri - we think it will be a great group of people with a ton of great ideas.

• Are people really wearing costumes? Yes, I know for sure that the presenters for the sessions on blogging, podcasting and United Streaming will be in costume. You don't have to come in costume and I know many of you are probably thinking no way but Discovery Education will have prizes for scariest, most original and most historic. If you have ever done anything with Discovery Education you know that they can get a little crazy!

• Food - We have Starbucks providing the breakfast with coffee and pastries. Lunch will be provided a local Italian place in Liberty - Cupini's that just opened on the historic Liberty town square. It should be very good, and of course it is all free!

• We will have 10 of our very own South Valley Junior High students providing help throughout the day and they will also be in costume to add to the "Tech or Treat" theme.

• Brad Founatain of Discovery Education is flying in to give the lunch keynote address and Steve Dembo of Discovery Education will be giving a webinar to start off the day.

If you know of anyone else that would like to join us please ask them to sign up by sending an e-mail with their name and school to techortreat@gmail.com We are trying to finalize some of the food orders and want to make sure we have enough for everyone.

We are looking forward to meeting you. Check out this link if you would like a map to locate South Valley Jr High School in Liberty.

Teach or Treat Workshop Schedule

Note - Partcipants will rotate through each of the three sessions during the day on 1) blogging, 2) podcasting and 3) United Streaming.

7:45 - 8:30 Breakfast and Registration – Breakfast provided FREE to participants

8:30 - 9:30 Keynote from Steve Dembo – Discovery Educator Network Online Community Member

9:30 – 9:45 Transition to First Session

9:45 – 10:45 Session #1

10:45 – 11:00 Transition to Second Session

11:00 – 12:00 Session #2

12:00 – 1:00 Lunch and Keynote from Brad Fountain – Regional Manager Discovery Educator Network - Lunch provided FREE to participants

1:00 – 1:15 Transition to Third Session

1:15 – 2:15 Session #3

2:15 – 2:30 Closing Statements and Drawing for Door Prizes

Tech or Treat Technology Workshop!

The first annual Tech or Treat Technology Workshop is being held on Saturday, October 28th at South Valley Jr High School in Liberty, Missouri from 7:45 AM until 2:30 PM. This event is being hosted by Liberty Public Schools and Discovery Education. There is no cost but registration is requested prior to October 26th. Breakfast and lunch will be provided free of charge by Discovery Education. The workshop will include three sessions - podcasting, blogging, and United Streaming. There will also be a webinar with Steve Dembo from the Discovery Educator Network and a keynote lunch address from Brad Fountain, also from the Discovery Education Network.

Register for the 2006 Tech or Treat Technology Workshop by sending an e-mail with your name and where you teach to techortreat@gmail.com We will be sending out additional information to all registered participants.

Check this blog for more details to follow.

Steve Dembo - Discovery Education
Webinar Keynote Speaker - Tech or Treat Workshop

Steve Dembo served as both a Kindergarten teacher and Director of Technology before joining Discovery Education. As the Online Community Manager for the Discovery Educator Network, he oversees the DEN website and a network of over 20 educational blogs. Steve's personal blog, Teach42, is renowned in the EdTech community. Steve was one of the first educational podcasters and his show has inspired many educators to create their own shows. He is passionate about education and works with teachers around the globe in their efforts to explore and integrate new technologies. Steve's first child, expected to be born on January 1st, can be contacted by emailing Baby@Teach42.com

Brad Fountain - Discovery Education
Keynote Lunch Presentation at Tech or Treat Workshop

The current Regional Manager for the Midwest Team of the Discovery Educator Network, Brad Fountain has served as a classroom teacher, educational technology specialist, and school administrator during his 11+ years in the public school system. He received his BA in Elementary Education from St. Andrews College and his Masters in School Administration from UNCW. He has trained teachers in technology integration for the past 7 years and in 2003 he piloted his school in achieving the North Carolina Model Technology School Award. He has presented at NECC, NCAECT, NETC, and SC EdTech on a full range of classroom integration tools including MS Excel, PDAs, Forms in MS Word, and Data Driven Decision Making. Currently he is working on the Discovery Education Network Podcast, which will be launched in late September 2006.

Tech or Treat Host - South Valley Jr High School

The host for Tech or Treat is South Valley Jr High School in Liberty, Missouri - located at 800 MidJay Drive in Liberty. This 8th and 9th grade facility opened in the fall of 2004. South Valley Junior High shares a campus with South Valley Middle School which is a 6th and 7th grade facility. The workshop will be held in the commons of the facililty, the Library Media Center and the computer labs within the LMC.

The building is easily located off Interstate 35 and is roughly 20 minutes north of downtown Kansas City. Click here for map.

The Liberty School District hopes you will enjoy the day at South Valley Junior High for the Tech or Treat workshop.

Tech or Treat Flyer - Help Us Spread the Word!

Help spread the word about Tech or Treat. You can view and print a flyer (PDF format) to post in your teacher workroom or send as an attachment to a friend. This workshop is open to any teacher who registers before October 26th. We have space for up to 80 educators.

Thanks for helping us spread the word about this great opportunity.