Learn how to navigate through the Thinkfinity website and find excellent resources for literacy, science, math, social studies, social-emotional & culture.
Hundreds of teachers use Thinkfinity. Here's why:
• Free, exciting, top-quality materials
• Quick, accessible and easy to use
• Content created by trusted experts and leading educators
• Thousands of standards-based lesson plans
• Valuable professional development opportunities

***Please note $10 Registration fee is non-refundable.*** Session is divided into elementary and secondary sections in separate rooms. Topics:
• Making positive connections & keeping the lines of communication open
• Strategies for dealing with non-communicative parents
• Dealing with challenging situations
• Structuring productive Parent/Teacher conferences

Learn how to navigate through the Thinkfinity website and find excellent resources for literacy, science, math, social studies, social-emotional & culture.
Hundreds of teachers use Thinkfinity. Here's why:
• Free, exciting, top-quality materials
• Quick, accessible and easy to use
• Content created by trusted experts and leading educators
• Thousands of standards-based lesson plans
• Valuable professional development opportunities

TeacherFeast comes to Rockford and DeKalb! These highly popular technology Feasts have been held in other parts of the state for many years. The TeacherFeast covers a variety of topics including SMART, Moodle, web development, RtI, podcasting, Office 2007, Windows 7 google applications, Web 2.0 tools, and many more. Trainers provide 1 to 1 suport and just-in-time enrichment based on daily feedback.

This academy focuses on constitutional rights of students and parents. Sub-topics to be covered include: First Amendment Rights, residency rights, discipline procedures, search and seizure, homeschooling, and student handbooks. For those desiring Administrator Academy credit, participants will need to develop an action plan to update school procedures and to inservice staff members on constitutional law issues.
Co-sponsored with Northern Illinois University Society of Educational Administrators (NIU-SEA). ADMINISTRATORS’ ACADEMY credit available; however, any educator may attend. Cost includes NIU-SEA membership.

Learn how to navigate through the Thinkfinity website and find excellent resources for literacy, science, math, social studies, social-emotional & culture.
Hundreds of teachers use Thinkfinity. Here's why:
• Free, exciting, top-quality materials
• Quick, accessible and easy to use
• Content created by trusted experts and leading educators
• Thousands of standards-based lesson plans
• Valuable professional development opportunities

Are you tired of ISAT rumors? Do you want the TRUTH about the 2010 ISAT for Reading and Extended Response? In this workshop teachers and administrators will experience hands-on activities and teaching strategies that will help them embed ISAT test preparation into daily instruction. Workshop materials will include graphic organizers, story maps, worksheets, and sample ISAT reading passages.

Library of Congress, the largest library in the world, has digitized 11+ million sources. Participants will learn how to use the LOC website, and will receive a variety of ideas on how to integrate resources into the curriculum to differentiate learning. The workshop will cover many fun activities and lesson ideas such as digital storytelling, sequencing and photo analysis. Participants will have work time each day to begin a project to use in their classroom. **NOTE: This course replaces Focus on Photos. If you have taken this course for college credit in the past, graduate credit will not be available again. CPDU’s would be provided.**Graduate credit is through Regis University for upper elementary teachers and middle and high school Social Studies, fine arts and language arts teachers. This includes workshop time, online module work & a classroom project (one year to complete)

This course will provide administrators with the knowledge and skills to supervise and evaluate certified staff (administrators, teachers & school service personnel). Public school administrators who evaluate certified staff are required by state law (105 ILCS 5/24A) to complete this course prior to beginning any evaluations. This course includes a pre-instruction reading and writing assignment and a post-instruction application/dissemination component assignment.

Are you tired of ISAT rumors? Do you want the TRUTH about the 2010 ISAT for Reading and Extended Response? In this workshop teachers and administrators will experience hands-on activities and teaching strategies that will help them embed ISAT test preparation into daily instruction. Workshop materials will include graphic organizers, story maps, worksheets, and sample ISAT reading passages.

***Please note $10 Registration fee is non-refundable.***
Session is divided into elementary and secondary sections in separate rooms. Topics
• Learn systems to set up routines and procedures
• Establishing ways to create a positive classroom climate
• Strategies for dealing with inappropriate behavior

Transition-rich IEPs create synergy and improve outcomes for students with disabilities by merging compliance with “best” practice. This session will focus on the nuts and bolts of transition-rich IEPs – measurable post-school goals, transition assessment, course of study, transition services and annual goals. Participants will also learn about the implications of the Illinois rule to include transition plans for students by age 14 1/2 and review effective practices for those students with disabilities who are beginning their official transition journey. Some guided practice included and links to tools and resources will be provided.
Learning Objectives:
• Participants will understand the difference between "basic compliance" and "best practice".
• Participants will learn a step-by-step process for developing transition-focused IEP's that meet IND 13 requirements and support success for students with disabilities as they progress through the transition process.
• Participants will become familiar with a variety of resources to support their work, e.g., age-appropriate transition assessments.

An overview of the Math ISAT will be given with an emphasis on short and extended response items. Review the Illinois Mathematics Framework and participate in activities to use in the classroom. Good for new teachers or teachers who are new to a grade level.

Lawyers. Accountants. Computer programmers. That’s what our parents encouraged us to become when we grew up. But Mom and Dad were wrong. The future belongs to a very different kind of person with a very different kind of mind. The era of “left brain” dominance, and the Information Age that it engendered, is giving way to a new world in which “right brain” qualities - inventiveness, empathy, meaning - predominate. That’s the argument at the center of this provocative and original book, which uses the two sides of our brains as a metaphor for understanding the contours of our times.
In this insightful and entertaining book, Daniel H. Pink offers a fresh look at what it takes to excel. "A Whole New Mind" reveals the six essential aptitudes on which professional success and personal fulfillment now depend, and includes a series of hands-on exercises culled from experts around the world to help readers sharpen the necessary abilities. This book will change not only how we see the world but how we experience it as well.
This KIDS group discussion will look further into what this book’s message means for learning, teachers, classrooms & for “our” kids coming of age in a changing world. The book will be mailed to you 2 weeks prior to the class. Registration fee includes the cost of the book.

There are two things that a school community is concerned about - their children and their money. With principals, assistant principals, department chairs, athletic directors and central office personnel realizing that the trend is to site-based fiscal management, they need to understand school finance in a way that is simple and easy to understand. Soon managing line items in the budget that pertain to an administrator's area of responsibility will be part of your job description. With this in mind, "School Finance Made Easy" is the program for you. This enjoyable hands on academy will result in understanding school finance, being able to partner and dialogue with your business manager and superintendent and even to understand your home tax bills and assessments. At the end of the program, you will have completed a mini budget and tax levy to illustrate the productivity of the day. ADMINISTRATORS’ ACADEMY credit, however, any educator may attend

Find out how one teacher raised the bar on reading! The book includes how to grow reading as a passion in students, teaching them the invaluable skill of picking a “next book”, building a classroom library and much more. The book includes many reading titles for your emerging readers! Read the full book by the book club date of Nov. 4th. We will discuss how we can take the book’s information and create change in our classrooms, change in our student’s reading. The book will be mailed to you 2 weeks prior to the workshop. Registration fee includes the cost of the book.

This is an event you can’t afford to miss! This session will begin by looking at some of the legal and insurance liability issues districts now face related to technology. Participants will then examine eight types of technology security threats confronting districts, including network security; data and identity theft; inappropriate content; cyberbullying; predators; inappropriate uses of the network; copyright infringement; misuse of mobile communication devices. Participants will create a framework of policies, procedures, trainings and hardware/ software systems that districts should have in place to address those threats.
Teams of technology coordinators and administrators are encouraged to attend. The session is based on the book "Security vs. Access: Balancing Safety and Productivity in the Digital School." Conference fee includes the cost of the book ($22) (registrations received after October 12th may not receive the book at the conference). Administrators' Academy credit.
Dinner Tuesday night at Vinny Vanucchi’s in Galena is sponsored by H2IT and CISCO Systems!
You must make your own room reservation at Eagle Ridge. Call 1-800-892-2269 and ask for the rooms held for the Learning Technology group to get a special conference rate (block released Oct. 11).

This course will introduce school leaders to the "classroom walk-through" as one tool in improvement of student achievement in their schools. Walk-throughs are intended to be separate from any formal teacher evaluaion process. Focus is on using this technique strictly as a means of engaging teachers in dialogue and reflection about teaching practices and school-wide goals. The school leader will be introduced to various models of classroom walk-throughs, how to introduce classroom walk-throughs to staff and students, collect and track observational data, provide feedback, and foster reflective inquiry with the faculty.

***Please note $10 Registration fee is non-refundable.*** Session is divided into elementary and secondary sections in separate rooms. Topics:
• Innovative ideas for motivating students & managing curriculum during testing time
• Reaching the English Language Learner (ELL)
• Managing students with IEP’s in your classroom

With the advent of increased use of innovative technologies in education and in life, administrators are faced with new learning opportunities and challenges. This academy gives participants opportunities to examine applicable educational research, investigate exemplary uses of these networking tools, and make plans to utilize these tools effectively to support learning in their school environments. ADMINISTRATORS' ACADEMY credit available; however any educator may attend.

***Please note $10 Registration fee is non-refundable.***
Session is divided into elementary and secondary sections in separate rooms. Topics:
• Finding strategies you can put into your classroom tomorrow
• Utilizing technology in your classroom-whether you have it or not
• Utilizing the Internet to expand your classroom
• Strategies for maximizing student understanding and achievement

***Please note, $10 registration fee is non-refundable.***
Session is divided into elementary and secondary sections in separate rooms Topics:
• Endorsements
• Requirements for certification and maintaining certification

***Please note $10 Registration fee is non-refundable.***
Sessions are divided into elementary and secondary sections in separate rooms. Topics:
• Rejuvenating yourself and your classroom
• Keeping "the lid on" and keeping it fresh through the end of the year