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On Thursday, Sept. 27, 2012, over 50 NHSTE members and educators gathered at the Derryfield Country Club in Manchester, NH for NHSTE's Night of Networking and Annual Meeting. This annual event has become a "must go to" for all educators who want to spend an evening sharing and learning more about using technology in the classroom. The evening started with an "Appy Hour" where everyone was invited to share their favorite apps. This was a fun exchange among members where we not only shared apps but we also learned strategies and techniques on implementation of iPads, classroom management, and using Apple TV for wireless projection and student sharing. The following apps or programs were highlighted and can be downloaded from the iTunes store.
President Cathy Brophy called the Annual Meeting to order after the Appy Hour. Cyndi Dunlap recognized the passing of Chris Nelson, a NHSTE member who worked tirelessly for education. It was decided that NHSTE would sponsor a mini-grant committee in her honor. Please contact Maria Knee to join the efforts. Cathy Brophy and Andrea O’Neil recognized Board Members and Committees, and honored Sheila Adams, outgoing Past President, for her many years of service to NHSTE. Kathy McClasky, NHSTE’s Advocacy Chair, was recognized for her outstanding advocacy work and as a result was ISTE'S 2012 Public Policy Award Winner. Deb Boisvert presented valuable information about NH Digital Resources Consortium which features collaborative rings, Institutes in a Box, Common Core lessons in a database and iPad training, tablet grants and google apps bootcamps. Cyndi Dunlap previewed the upcoming McAuliffe Technology Conference, co-hosted by NHSTE, from Nov 26 - Nov 29, 2012 in Manchester. There will be many exciting sessions, including four full-day iPad workshops.
A Slate of Officers was presented to members and approved unanimously. NHSTE’s 2012-2013 officers are: President - Donna Dennis; President-Elect - Celeste Best; Past President - Cathy Brophy; Vice President - Maria Knee; Treasurer - Deb Boisvert; Secretary - Linda George.
Our guest speaker Karen Janowski, of EdTech Solutions shared “The Most Important Technology Trick Every Teacher Needs to Know!” She had us review “The Misunderstood Mind” which profiles a variety of learning problems and designed to give parents and teachers a better understanding of learning processes, insights into difficulties, and strategies for responding. She had us try some activities at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/misunderstoodminds/reading.html to experience what learing is like for students’ with learning difficulties. From there Karen shared with us the “trick” that can benefit all students, using text to speech for all students. This feature can be accessed and activated on computers and iPads using the “accessibility” features. She also showed us one of Safari 5's new features, the "Safari Reader" This feature is a huge step forward for students who have difficulty focusing on the web content while being distracted by extraneous features. To learn more go to http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13727_7-20007195-263.html.
The evening ended with raffles, thank you’s, and a promise to see each other at the McAuliffe Conference from Nov. 27 to Nov. 29. |
