Edscape 2011: Innovation Now

Last fall I hosted a conference at my school that turned out to be a great success.  The idea was to create an event at a high school like no other in the area where passionate presenters and a major conference feel would have attendees leave inspired to initiate innovative change in their instructional practices.    Building upon last year's event I am proud to officially announce Edscape 2011 will be taking place at New Milford High School on Saturday October 15, 2011.  The site just went live this week so there will be many exciting updates in the near future.  For those that attended last year our goal is to provide an even better learning experience!

Edscape 2011 is a conference intended to bring together passionate educators who firmly believe that innovation is essential to increasing student engagement and achievement. Innovation begins with a desire to change. Edscape 2011 will provide attendees with the inspiration, strategies, and the confidence to actively pursue a transformation in teaching and learning practices.

The theme of this year’s conference is “Innovation Now”.  We will explore how learning environments can be established to promote critical thought, inquiry, problem solving, and creativity. Attendees will leave with a greater sense of how to authentically engage all learners through meaningful and relevant instruction.

The 2011 Eduscape Conference will feature presentations and workshops by innovative educators who believe that change is essential to meet the diverse needs of all learners in the 21st Century. They will share best practices, success stories, applicable strategies, and pedagogical techniques that address the following:

• Meaningful, cost-effective professional growth opportunities to improve teaching and learning.
• Effective technology integration as a means to promote student creativity, apply knowledge, and increase engagement in the classroom.
• Design of authentic learning experiences to enhance critical thought, inquiry, problem-solving, and relevancy in the classroom.
• Essential leadership practices to articulate a vision for school improvement and begin the implementation process.

Highlights for Attendees

• Learning about exciting, free Web 2.0 tools
• Hearing from esteemed educators who are innovating now
• Leaving with an array of applicable strategies and ideas to being the change process
• Complimentary breakfast and lunch
• Networking opportunities
• Sharing of best practices by other school districts, teachers, and administrators
• Opportunity for hands-on experiences with innovative digital tools

One major change this year is the $35 registration fee.  As many of you might recall last year's event was free.  The problem with this was that 575 people registered, extra food was ordered, and then 100 people didn't show up.  With all this being said I can guarantee that $35 is a steal considering we will still have a vetted keynote, exceptional presenters, giveaways, an interactive innovation learning lab, and delicious food (breakfast/lunch) just like last year.  We will be accepting proposals to present up until July 15, 2011.  If you have procrastinated now is the time to submit.  You can access the form to submit a proposal here.  Stay tuned for hotel information, updated sponsors, and other exciting events associated with Edscape 2011.