Sunday, November 27, 2016

WEMTA 2017's Keynote and Spotlight Speakers



Join us March 19-21 at the Kalahari to hear from these inspirational speakers at #WETMA17. Registration opens January 1st.

Keynote Speakers


David Jakes

A recognized leader in the educational design and technology field, David Jakes focuses on using the design process to support the organizational growth, development and change required to create relevant and meaningful conditions for student learning in schools. David's thought leadership includes addressing the increased need to develop agile, connected, and personalized learning environments that support a contemporary education, and how the use of technology can be reimagined to create boundless opportunities for learning. Before his current position as Chief Design Officer of David Jakes Designs, David spent almost three decades in education as a teacher, technologist, and administrator. David's design experience includes working as a Digital Designer and Strategist for CannonDesign and The Third Teacher+, a leading architecture firm and learning space consultancy. David is a frequent presenter at national and international educational conferences where he speaks about the power and promise of a new expedition for learning, and the roles that all educators have in shaping that journey.

E.M. Kokie

E. M. Kokie writes for teens because she is drawn to stories that grapple with issues of identity and self-determination, and characters confronting the line between childhood and adulthood. Her most recent novel, Radical (Candlewick Press, 2016), explores such themes as family, identity, trust, guns, and what it really means to survive, through the eyes of a teen lesbian who is active in the survivalist movement. Her first novel, Personal Effects (Candlewick Press, 2012), was a YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults and Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults Top Ten, a Lambda Literary Award Finalist, and a 2013 IRA Young Adult Honor Book. She also contributed to the anthologies Things I'll Never Say: Stories About Our Secret Selves (Candlewick Press, 2015) and Violent Ends (Simon Pulse, 2015). A lawyer by training, Emily lives in Madison, Wisconsin with her wife and pet Wookie. Emily can be found online at www.emkokie.com


Spotlight Speakers


Carolyn Foote


Carolyn Foote is a Technolibrarian interested in the intersection of technology, students and libraries. Recognized as a White House Champion of Change she focuses of the impact of mobile technologies on libraries and learning spaces. Her blog can be found at www.futura.edublogs.org.

Diana Laufenberg

For the past two decades Diana has been a secondary social studies teacher in Wisconsin, Kansas, Arizona and Pennsylvania. She most recently taught at the Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia, an inquiry-driven, project-based high school focused on modern learning. Her practice has deep roots in experiential education, taking students from the classroom to the real world and back again. Prior to her work in Philadelphia, she was an active member of the teaching community in Flagstaff, AZ where she was named Technology Teacher of the Year for Arizona and a member of the Governor's Master Teacher Corps. Diana was featured on TED.com for her "How to Learn? From Mistakes" and recognized for earning National Board Certification. Her publications include a featured piece on the New York Times Learning blog, co-authoring a chapter in an educational leadership book, and an article in the Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy. In 2013, Diana Laufenberg partnered with Chris Lehmann to start Inquiry Schools, a new non-profit working to create and support learning environments that are inquiry driven, project based and utilizing modern technology. She currently serves as the Executive Director and Lead Teacher for Inquiry Schools.

Ken Shelton

Ken currently holds an M.A. in Education with a specialization in Educational Technology as well as New Media Design and Production. He has worked as an Educator for over 14 years and most recently taught technology at the Middle School level. As a part of his active involvement within the Educational Technology community, Ken is an Apple Distinguished Educator and a Google Certified Teacher. Ken was also named to the California State Superintendent of Public Instruction's Education Technology Task Force. Ken regularly gives keynotes, presentations, and leads workshops, many of which are hands-on, covering a wide variety of Educational Technology, Technology Integration, Creative Expression, Visual Storytelling, and Instructional Design topics. Ken is currently the Global Keynote Specialist and Educational Technology Strategist, for EdTechTeam.

Thursday, November 17, 2016

13 days left for proposals for #WEMTA17

This year's theme is Access For All. There are just 13 days left for you to submit a proposal to speak at #WEMTA17. The conference is March 19 - March 21, 2017 at the Kalahari in Wisconsin Dells. This is a great opportunity to speak and share your expertise with many educators. Don't miss out on your chance to collaborate with some of the best educators in and out of Wisconsin.

You can plan your proposal session using this document. Included in the document are a links to the online submission form, a rubric, and session types. This year we will have Poster Sessions on Sunday afternoon too.

Deadline is Wednesday, November 30, 2016 for submission.


Feel free to pass this along to your colleagues to encourage them to present at the conference. Share your district's story.

Thursday, November 10, 2016

Session proposals are now open for #WEMTA17

Submit a Breakout Session for WEMTA 2017

You can plan your proposal session using this document. Included in the document are a links to the online submission form, a rubric, and session types. This year we will have Poster Sessions on Sunday afternoon too.

Deadline is Wednesday, November 30, 2016 for submission.

Thursday, April 14, 2016

Google Expeditions Opportunity



We were fortunate enough to have two Google Expeditions Product Specialists at our #WEMTA16 Conference. Jason Howard and Porsha Sanchez would like to extend an offer to all of you that may have not been able to attend our conference.

Below is a link to a spreadsheet for people interested in getting Google Expeditions to visit them during the late spring AND summer season. Google is pushing to visit places and events such as libraries, community centers, schools, summer school programs, summer enrichment programs, summer camps, STEM programs, or anything that can get the program further out to students.
Please use this link to signup to get contacted with more information about bringing the Google Expeditions event to you yet this school year or this summer - http://tinyurl.com/wemtaGOOGLEsummer16

Tina Heizman
Conference Co-Chair

Monday, April 11, 2016

WINNERS!

#WEMTA16
Nanci Marshall
Mary Stuedemann
Michelle Tryggestad
Rhonda Belmonte
Darcy Maxwell

More Winners

Amy Gee
Julie Weideman
Jennifer Russ

Who do you know wants to WIN a prize?

Lisa Risch
Polly LaMontagne
Tiffany Braunel
Jennifer Polomis
Lisa Chapiewski Lind
#WEMTA16

win Win WIN

#WEMTA16
Lynn Kobussen
Kurt Gosdeck
Jackie LaDew
Michelle Folk
Mike Richter

We just keep winning!

#WEMTA16
Brianne Kashak
Casey Thayer (2nd chance)
Brandy Grady
Cindy Halter

We just keep winning!

#WEMTA16
Deb Micolichek
Keeley Cornell
Bridget Westbury
Traci Kramer
Anjeannette Totzke

Still Winning!

#WEMTA16
Chad Kafka
Claudia Felsske
Kirstin Rose
Brittany Miller
Kate Ewing

Even more winners!

#WEMTA16
McKenzie Weaver
Andrew Brown
Betsy Rogus
Maureen Mattoon
Mark Hollendyke


WINNERS

#WEMTA16
Diane Konjura
Cheryl Carlin
Jessica Brogley
Amy Arbogash

--

Malena Koplin
Library Media Specialist
Waukesha West High School
262-970-3907

2016 - April 10-12 Kalahari Resort, Wisconsin Dells
2017 - March 19-21 Kalahari Resort, Wisconsin Dells

Winner, Winner ...

Abby Sundermeyer
Becki George
Penny Antell
Beth Podlasek

Pick up in exhibit hall
#WEMTA16

--

Malena Koplin
Library Media Specialist
Waukesha West High School
262-970-3907

2016 - April 10-12 Kalahari Resort, Wisconsin Dells
2017 - March 19-21 Kalahari Resort, Wisconsin Dells

More Winners!

Holly Cobb
Jolene Koeppel
Casey Ineichen
Nancy Washnieski

In the Exhibit Hall
#WEMTA16

--

Malena Koplin
Library Media Specialist
Waukesha West High School
262-970-3907

2016 - April 10-12 Kalahari Resort, Wisconsin Dells
2017 - March 19-21 Kalahari Resort, Wisconsin Dells

Door Prizes

Tom Reed
Jordan Stack

Pick up in the Exhibit Hall
#WEMTA16

--

Malena Koplin
Library Media Specialist
Waukesha West High School
262-970-3907

2016 - April 10-12 Kalahari Resort, Wisconsin Dells
2017 - March 19-21 Kalahari Resort, Wisconsin Dells

Door Prize Winners

Anne Otto
Wendy Liska
Beverly Carlsen
Hallie Weibel
Pick up in the Exhibit Hall
#WEMTA16

--

Malena Koplin
Library Media Specialist
Waukesha West High School
262-970-3907

2016 - April 10-12 Kalahari Resort, Wisconsin Dells
2017 - March 19-21 Kalahari Resort, Wisconsin Dells

Door Prize Winners

Sally LaPort
Ashley Matthias
Molly Somers
Jacquelyn Navis
Prizes in the Exhibit Hall
#WEMTA16

Door Prize Winners



Congratulations to the following WEMTA members:
Stanton Nesbit
Julie Watson
Tom Reed
Mary Hundt
Jordan Stack
Matthew Larson

Please come to the front of the Exhibit Hall and see Malena Koplin to claim your prize.

Keep watching. Prizes will be announced all day!


#WEMTA 16 Resource Links

Looking for presentation links & shared notes? Instead of clicking in the schedule on each session, we have created a one-stop-shop for all the necessary information. Please go to tinyurl.com/wemta16resources. Here you will find an awesome table of with links to all the sessions to take collaborative notes and presenters links will start populating throughout the next two days. Remember - TOGETHER We're Better @WEMTA16 

Hope you are enjoying the conference and look for the evaluation link to come out later on Tuesday afternoon.

Sunday, April 10, 2016

Presenter Resources & Collaborative Notes



Collaborative notes for attendees have been set up for each session. tinyurl.com/wemta16resources

Presenter resources will be added throughout the conference. These resources are available for those at the conference, and also those that were unable to attend. 

TOGETHER We're Better @WEMTA16

Just Added - Limited Seats - Google Expeditions



SPOTLIGHT: Google Expeditions Pioneer Program - Jason Howard a Google Instructor

A VR (virtual reality) experience that allows teachers to guide students through tours of landmarks and other interesting locations. Using inexpensive cardboard headsets, smart phones, and a teacher-operated tablet, Google Expeditions lets students experience 360-degree views of places like Machu Picchu, outer space, and caves in Slovakia. Students are free to explore the immersive environments independently, but using a tablet screen as a guided tour interface, teachers can point out important things in each scene, add notes to the VR experience, and see an overlay that shows them where each student is looking.

Google is actively looking to have this beta product tested all through the summer. So if you have a summer program, that you would like for Google to bring Expeditions to for the students, Google would be very willing to do so. At this session there will be a sign up list. Be prepared to add your school to the list. Jason will then follow up via email with an application to get your event scheduled. Whether if it's at a community center, summer school, anything, Google is actively looking to fill in dates.

Friday, April 8, 2016

Share your Expertise and Earn Money on Sunday



When: Sunday, April 10th, 8-11 am
Where: Kalahari Resort
What: Earn money for creating high quality, standards-aligned digital resources

Curators will receive a $150 stipend for off-contract time, and $25 in travel expenses. Recognition certificate for contribution to the statewide, innovative project for access to high quality digital content for ALL learners across Wisconsin.

They are curating high quality materials in health, agriculture, business and information technologies, physical education, science, English language arts and mathematics at ALL grade levels.

You do not need to attend the WEMTA Conference to take advantage of this opportunity. There is a separate registration.

See this smore with detailed information and registration (at the bottom).

Thursday, April 7, 2016

PLEASE Volunteer #WEMTA16


Make #WEMTA16 run smoothly by volunteering! The Conference Committee members volunteer many hours to plan the conference, but they need additional help at the conference.

Simply click on these links to volunteer.

Sunday April 10th Sign Up - http://goo.gl/xoO2Cw

Monday April 11th Sign Up - http://goo.gl/salx9N

Tuesday April 12th Sign Up - http://goo.gl/4vSscV

When you arrive at the conference, go to the registration desk for additional information.


Thanks for making this year's WEMTA the best conference yet!

Thursday, March 17, 2016

Meet Josh Stumpenhorst #WEMTA16


Josh Stumpenhorst - Monday Keynote at #WEMTA16

Josh Stumpenhorst, the 2015 ISTE Conference Closing Keynote Speaker, is a junior high teacher in Naperville, IL. As a teacher his work has been recognized through numerous awards from local and national organizations such as Illinois State Board of Education, Illinois Computer Educators, NEA Foundation, International Society of Technology Educators and many more. His book, The New Teacher Revolution: Changing Education for a New Generation of Learners, challenges traditional methods of teaching and learning. You can follow Josh’s work on his blog at stumpteacher.com or through twitter @stumpteacher.

WISELearn at #WEMTA16


Meet Kevin Henkes #WEMTA16



Kevin Henkes — Tuesday Author Keynote at #WEMTA16

Kevin Henkes is the author of the Caldecott Medal Winner Kitten’s First Full Moon and the Newbery Honor Books Olive’s Ocean and The Year of Billy Miller. He is the creator of several picture books featuring his mouse characters, including the #1 New York Times bestsellers Lilly’s Big Dayand Wemberly Worried, the Caldecott Honor Book Owen, and the belovedLilly’s Purple Plastic Purse. Bruce Handy, in a New York Times Book Review piece about A Good Day, one of the author’s picture books, wrote, “It should be said: Kevin Henkes is a genius.” Among his fiction for older readers are the novels The Birthday Room, Sun & Spoon, Protecting Marie, and Words of Stone. His newest books for beginning readers arePenny and Her Song, Penny and Her Doll, and Penny and Her Marble (a Geisel Honor Book). Kevin Henkes lives with his family in Madison, Wisconsin.

Volunteer at #WEMTA16


Make #WEMTA16 run smoothly by volunteering! The Conference Committee members volunteer many hours to plan the conference, but they need additional help at the conference.

Simply click on these links to volunteer. When you arrive at the conference, go to the registration desk for additional information.

Sunday April 10th Sign Up - http://goo.gl/xoO2Cw

Monday April 11th Sign Up - http://goo.gl/salx9N

Tuesday April 12th Sign Up - http://goo.gl/4vSscV

Thanks for making this year's WEMTA the best conference yet!

Countdown to #WEMTA16 is on


Early bird discount pricing ends March 31st. Make sure to REGISTER before then! You don't want to miss this great professional development opportunity. Not to mention networking with great colleagues in and around our state. Time is of the essence.

TOGETHER We're Better @WEMTA16

#WEMTA16 Hotel Rooms

Time is running out to get a discounted rate for a hotel room at the Kalahari. Our block of rooms have sold out, but as of today they have about 50 rooms left at the discounted rate. Hurry up and make your reservation if you have not done so yet. Once the rooms have sold out, you may be able to get a room at some of the other area hotels. For more reservation details, please click here.

Sunday, March 13, 2016

Reserve Books for the WEMTA Conference Today

WEMTA16 is only four weeks away! You can now reserve books to purchase at the conference from our author fair authors as well as titles by Kevin Henkes, our keynote author speaker.

Simply fill out this Google Form to reserve books for pick up. You'll need to pick up the books between 11:30 and 3:00 PM on Sunday, April 10. Additional titles will be available the day of the Author Fair, including Grandma is a Slowpoke, Janet Halfmann's newest title.

A Barnes & Noble Educator card will get you an extra 25% discount on April 10th only. If you don't have an Educator card, watch for applications at the event. If you have questions about any of the titles, or the Barnes & Noble Educator Card, please contact our Barnes & Noble contact, Emily Strandwitz, at crm2720@bn.com.

Book reservations end Sunday, April 3rd.

For more information about our Author Fair and presentation panels, please visit our Author Fair site. 







Thursday, February 25, 2016

WEMTA16 Author Fair Presentations

Join us on Sunday, April 10 for our Wisconsin author Q+A panels.

Wisconsin Picture Book Parade
11:30 AM - 12:30 PM
Featuring: Nikki Cooper, Janet Halfmann, Jesse Klausmeier, JoAnn Early Macken, and Andrea Skyberg

Wisconsin Young Adult Authors
12:45 PM - 1:45 PM
Featuring: Ann Angel, Bridget Birdsall, Rebecca Williams Spindler, Angie Stanton, and Liza Weimer

Wisconsin Middle Grade and Elementary Authors
2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Featuring: W.H. Beck, Valerie Bodden, Julie Bowe, Eileen Lucas, Julie Mata, Stacy Tornio and Shelley Tougas

All presentations will take place in the Mangrove room at the Kalahari. 


Saturday, January 30, 2016

#WEMTA16 Author Fair

The WEMTA Author Fair returns on Sunday, April 10 from 11:30 AM to 3:00 PM. The author fair is a great way to discover new books for your students and learn about the writing process. As of today, fifteen Wisconsin authors will be joining us:


  • Ann Angel
  • W.H. Beck
  • Valerie Bodden
  • Julie Bowe
  • Nikki Cooper
  • Janet Halfmann
  • Jesse Klausmeier
  • JoAnn Early Macken
  • Julie Mata
  • Andrea Skyberg
  • Rebecca Williams Spindler
  • Angie Stanton
  • Shelley Tougas
  • Stacy Tornio
  • Liza Wiemer


Watch for more information in coming weeks about the author panels you can attend and to reserve copies of books in advance.

Friday, January 22, 2016

Register now for #WEMTA16

We have some awesome things planned for this year's conference! Make sure to check out all the pages on the WEMTA Conference pages. There is something for everyone - TOGETHER We're Better! 

Our conference is for Library Media Specialists, IT Coordinators, Technology Coaches, Teachers, Students, Paraprofessionals, Principals, Administrators, Special Education, and Higher Education. We welcome anyone that wants to make a difference in teaching and learning by collaborating and sharing your best practices.

Friday, January 15, 2016

New Caldecott honor a historic win for Madison author Kevin Henkes





“Waiting,” a picture book by Madison children’s author Kevin Henkes, received two of the highest honors in children’s literature Monday when it was named both a 2016 Caldecott Honor Book and a Geisel Honor Book — only the second time any author has won that combination of awards.


More for the WI State Journal article here.