Hopefully everyone is staying warm and counting down to PETE & C at “The Sweetest Place on Earth” We wanted to extend an invitation to the events hosted by PAECT during the conference. Don’t forget to stop by the PAECT booth across from registration to get your PAECT ribbon.

Sunday February 21st
PAECT Board Meeting, February 21; 4:30 pm, Suite 3339 of the Hershey Lodge. All members are welcome to attend

Monday February 22nd
If you’d like to find out more about PAECT, please plan on joining us for one of the following events
PLEASE FILL OUT THIS RSVP form to help us with our planning!
Everyone is invited to the Regional Directors’ reception from 6:00-7:00 pm on Monday February 22 (during PETE&C) in the Hershey Lodge President’s Suite (Suite 3338/9). Come meet up with fellow PAECT members and your regional directors from your region of the state for light fare and conversation from 6:00 - 7:00 PM.

If you are unable to make the Region Directors’ reception, you can catch up with us at the President’s Reception starting at 9 pm in the Hershey Lodge President’s Suite (Suite 3338/9).

Tuesday February 23rd

Chief Technology Leaders - SIG of PAECT (CoSN state chapter meeting) 12:30 pm
RSVP at the PAECT booth across from conference registration on Monday

PAECT Awards Dinner Tuesday, Feb 23 6:30 pm Empire Rooms ABC
General annual meeting followed by dinner and then PAECT awards. Come celebrate with your peers the many accomplishments done throughout the year!!

To help us in our planning, please let us know if you are able to join us for any (or all of these events)

Lots to do at PETE&C! We’ll see you in Hershey!
The PAECT Board

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This summer attendees of the KTI / PAECT Geocaching seminars were invited to apply for a  Matching Grant opportunity for the purchase of GPS equipment for educational projects.  Congratulations to Linda Nitsche and Erin VanGuilder of OJR school district for their winning Grant application:  Puzzle Project was the winning project from the MCIU workshop!

See more of the grant lessons submitted and look out for a Geocaching workshop in the Spring.

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PAECT, using member funds, has purchased several Global Positioning Systems (GPS) classroom “kits” for use by members for geocaching in education on a loan basis. The “travel” of the 8 unit set will be facilitated on the Regional Events calendar. You must be a current PAECT member to take advantage of this opportunity.
If you are interested in borrowing the GPS units please check the Regional Events calendar on the Regional event page for availability, fill out the request form and contact Kristin Hokanson (SE Regional Director) at kristin dot hokanson at gmail dot com. Please be sure to leave at least 1 week to arrange for transporting the equipment.

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We’re on a mission to find volunteers for NECC 2009 in Washington DC, and we need your help.

Volunteers from all the states around Washington DC are needed to support the 30th Annual National Educational Computing Conference (NECC) in Washington, DC (June 28 - July 1, 2009). The connections that you have in your state are the most obvious source of this needed energy while NECC is in our backyard. We are seeking to sign up close to 700 registered attendees who are willing to give as little as 3 hours of volunteer time. The volunteer sign-up can be found at http://center.uoregon.edu/ISTE/NECC2009/. As a volunteer, the special “Super Early Bird” lowest registration rate is available for you no matter when you register for the conference, but you must be sure to volunteer.

Please go online and signup to help. You’ll find a listing of the kinds of tasks that help is needed with. No matter what your job is, you know people who will be coming to NECC. Please pass this information to them, with your encouragement to sign up.

WHY Volunteer at NECC 2009?

Provide a valuable service

Receive a cool NECC T-shirt

Further your professional network

Enjoy special volunteer events

For more information on volunteering, contact NECCVolunteers@vste.org.

NECC Volunteers Coordinator

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Joint Venture of: PAECT and Keystones Technology Integrators

PAECT and The Keystone Technology Integrator Program is pleased to announce the following professional development opportunity:  Be sure to sign up soon-registration is on a first-come first-serve basis-

SPACE IS LIMITED!

Title:    2009 GeoCaching  and GIS with GPS

Description: PAECT and Keystones Technology Integrators invites PAECT members and Keystones to attend a full-day hands-on seminar on GeoCaching and Geographic Information Systems (GIS).  GeoCaching is a “treasure hunt” where participants use Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers to search for hidden treasures across the world.  GIS allows programs like Google Earth to access information about the world around us.

Attendees will spend time in the classroom using GIS applications, free GeoCaching software and resources before heading outdoors (rain or shine) to learn how to find hidden treasures!  Attendees will learn how to create lessons using geocaching to teach any subject: Science, Mathematics, English - the possibilities are limitless.  Special “curriculum caches” will be hidden in the surrounding area and attendees will learn how to use a GPS to find them.
AND THE BEST PART…
**Attendees will be invited to apply for eight $500.00 matching equipment grants to purchase GPS units, software and accessories for classroom use (one grant will be awarded at each training location).

In addition, one randomly drawn attendee from all 8 workshops will receive a free Garmin GPS receiver unit courtesy of netTrekker.
•    Breakfast and Lunch included
•    Receive 5 Act 48 Hours

Offered at 8 locations throughout PA.  (Choose a location convenient to you)
**Registration will take place on the Beaver Valley Intermediate Unit’s website.**
Date             Location
June 19  IU23    Montgomery County IU
June 23  IU12    Lincoln IU
July 7     IU1      Intermediate Unit 1
July 14   IU19    Northeastern Educational IU
July 14   IU5      Northwest Tri-County IU
July 15   IU17    BLaST IU Williamsport
July 17   IU8      Appalachia IU
July 21   IU29    Schuylkill IU

Attendees should:
•    Bring a wireless enabled laptop computer
•    Need access to an account on the laptop that will allow you to install software (software and instruction for both Macintosh and Windows computers will be provided by PAECT.

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FINALLY —

COPYRIGHT CONFUSION IS ABOUT TO END!

You’re Invited to a Special Event on November 11 at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia

Did you ever feel guilty about using an image you found on Google images, or a snippet of video, or part of a song because someone told you that it was stealing other people’s copyrighted work? We’ve been hearing more and more about owners’ rights to copyright— but many people are not aware that users have rights, too. Under the Doctrine of Fair Use, people are able to incorporate copyrighted materials into their own creative work, especially when their new work adds value to or re-purposes the existing material.

With the rise of digital media tools for creating messages, learning and sharing, it is more important than ever for students and educators to understand their rights under copyright law. This event will show that, when it comes to the use of copyrighted material for teaching and learning, the overall message is “YES, YOU CAN”– and of course, that’s good news for everyone!

Please join us on Tuesday, November 11 at 9:30 a.m. at the National Constitution Center to learn how the Code of Best Practices clarifies the fair use rights of students and teachers. The Code of Best Practices reflects a national-level consensus among media literacy educators in K-12, university and afterschool programs about how copyright and fair use applies to specific instructional practices involving the use and sharing of copyrighted materials.

You’ll learn about why fair use matters to ensure that copyright law fulfills its purpose, under the U.S. Constitution, to help promote creativity and the spread of knowledge. We will showcase innovative curriculum materials, including videos and animated songs designed to teach about copyright and fair use.

This project is a collaboration with the Center for Social Media and the Washington College of Law at American University and was supported by a grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, with additional support from the Ford Foundation through the Future of Public Media Project at the Center for Social Media.

Where:

The National Constitution Center
Independence Mall, 525 Arch Street
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19106
When: Tuesday, November 11, 9:30 am. Refreshments will be served.

I have been following this work for the past year and think this will be a truly liberating statement for any educators using digital media in their instruction.

Registration is appreciated to assist us estimate attendance for purposes of ordering refreshments.
To register, email katie.donnelly@temple.edu
Questions? Email Renee Hobbs at renee.hobbs@temple.edu

Come and find out what all the BUZZ is about!

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Welcome to the new home of PAECT South East! I’m Kristin Hokanson, Technology Integration Mentor at Upper Merion Area School District, and Keystone Technology Integrator.

I’m also the PAECT Regional Director (IUs 14, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26). As you know PAECT is the state affiliate for ISTE, and co-sponsor of PETE & C each year. The South East region has sponsored a few local activities, but when I was elected I committed myself to really making PAECT a professional resource for the members.

My first mission is to develop a regional team of folks who are interested in taking an active roll in creating more regional opportunities. I’d like to ask anyone interested in forming a Regional Leadership Committee to contact me. I’ve talked informally with a few members and I think this association can flourish and serve the members in an active way. Already those I’ve talked with and I have come up with some ideas:

* Regional Keystones / PAECT “mini” summit

* Birds of a Feather evenings including guest speakers or presentations

* Day of learning using emerging tools such as GPS and then having time to network and talk about how these tools can be used to improve practice.

This is YOUR association, so if you or someone you know who is a member of PAECT in this Region, or someone who would be a great asset to our association would be willing to help brainstorm and plan events, please leave a comment below or contact me. I am excited to have a place to share information with the South East region of PA and building the bridge for technology integration.

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