Edutopia Webinar Series: Exclusive Members-Only Benefit
Upcoming Webinars
December 10, 2009, at 4 p.m. PDT/6 p.m. CDT/7 p.m. EDT:
Creating a Strong School Culture: Inspiration from Houston's Successful YES Prep Schools
Host: Grace Rubenstein, senior producer, Edutopia
Presenters: Chris Barbic, founder of the YES Prep Public Schools, Mark DiBella, school director at YES Prep North Central, and Mayra Valle, a senior at YES Prep North Central
Target audience: Ideal for teachers and administrators interested in strengthening the culture at their schools
Anyone who has worked in public education knows that school culture can make or break the experience. Great teachers, programs, and practices succeed best only with a culture that supports them. In Houston's YES Prep Public Schools, educators put culture front and center, and it's a major force behind their success. Teachers support each other and constantly seek to help their colleagues improve. They build relationships with students to help them thrive even under the schools' rigorous demands.
The end result: happy teachers, and hundreds of low-income students becoming the first in their families to attend college. There's no magic involved -- just good ideas, dedicated people, and deft execution. In this session, YES Prep leaders explain what they do, how they do it, and how you can put some of these ideas in action at your school, too.
Previously Presented Webinars
October 29, 2009: "Greening Your School: How One Educator Can Make a Difference"
Host: Amy Borovoy, coordinating producer, Edutopia
Presenters: Tim Grant, coeditor of Green Teacher magazine, and Tom Koulentes, assistant principal at Highland Park High School, in Highland Park, Illinois, and cosponsor of the school's Green School Initiative
When the big challenge of protecting the environment feels overwhelming, we can often do best by looking at the impact we can have in our own backyards -- or, in this case, schoolyards. Educators and students working together can make some real eco-achievements, empowering students and deepening some academic lessons along the way. In this session, Tim Grant and Tom Koulentes highlight some of the best ideas, examples, and strategies they've found. Learn more at the webinar's resource page.
August 27, 2009: "The Fundamentals of Funding: How to Identify, Write, and Submit Grants for School and Program Initiatives"
Host: Grace Rubenstein, senior producer, Edutopia
Presenter: Kathleen Petersen, director of Title I programming for Utah's Washington County School District and former principal of the district's Santa Clara Elementary School, in Santa Clara, Utah
To expand on our coverage of the federal stimulus package for education, we drew on the grant-writing experience of school administrator Kathleen Petersen, also a member of The George Lucas Educational Foundation's National Advisory Council. She demystified the process of researching, designing, writing, and implementing grants. Learn more at the webinar's resource page.
June 4, 2009: "Engaging the Digital Generation: Insights from Kids, Teachers, and Parents"
Host: Amy Erin Borovoy, coordinating producer, Edutopia video
Presenters: Teacher Vicki Davis, who also blogs at the Cool Cat Teacher Blog, and researcher Nichole Pinkard
Today's students use digital media in ways hardly that were imaginable just a few years ago, revolutionizing how kids create, collaborate, and teach one another. Join us for a stimulating discussion with innovative educators, parents, and students from the Digital Generation Project as they share practical tools and strategies for engaging the digital learner. Learn more at the webinar's resource page.
April 9, 2009: "How the Brain Learns Best: Strategies to Make Learning Stick"
Host: Grace Rubenstein, senior producer, Edutopia
Presenter: Judy Willis, middle school teacher and neurologist and authority on learning-centered brain research and classroom strategies derived from this research
Neuroscience is a complex field that educators don't often turn to for inspiration, but knowing a few basic concepts can help you plan teaching strategies that will prompt your students to be more receptive to learning. Find out how introducing a few simple techniques to your craft -- and increasing some of those you may already employ -- can encourage productive learning and actually change brain chemistry, increasing children's ability to learn (and retain) new skills and information. Read more at the discussion page for the webinar.
February 12, 2009: "A New Day for Learning: How to Cultivate Full-Time Learners"
Host: Milton Chen, executive director, The George Lucas Educational Foundation
Presenters: Hillary Salmons, executive director, Providence After School Alliance (PASA), and Karen Dvornich, continuing education coordinator, NatureMapping
Discussion and exploration of A New Day for Learning, which showcases model programs that engage students in the array of learning opportunities inside, and outside of, the classroom. You'll walk away from the webinar with lesson plans, best practices, and tips you can implement in your school, your school district, or your community. Read more at the discussion page for the webinar.
November 6, 2008: "Small World: How to Bring Your Students into the Global Classroom"
Host: Grace Rubenstein, senior producer, Edutopia
Presenter: Blogger and author Will Richardson, a member of Edutopia's National Advisory Council
Unlike books, radio, and other media, the Internet is a two-way communication tool. Online, everyday people are able to shape and contribute to the collective experience -- it empowers you and your students to become information producers, rather than mere consumers. We know that the Web is changing politics, business, and the media, but what does that mean for teachers and schools? That's what we'll be talking about during the webinar.
About Edutopia Webinars
Edutopia presents six webinars hosted exclusively for our members each year. These interactive events, designed to connect our valued members with leaders in the movement for educational reform, will allow our community to directly ask questions and learn from each other and from experts in the field. Our webinars typically last one hour and include an interactive feature in which you can submit questions online during the event; you may also be asked to participate in polls.
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