|
(tenative)
10:45 - 11:45 a.m. (Ballroom D)
October 25th 2007
 Dr. Jim Rex - State Superintendent of Education
Jim Rex has spent most of his adult life making a difference for the children, families, schools, and communities of South Carolina. As a high school English teacher, football coach, and higher education leader, he has made public education his life's mission.
Having served as Dean of Education at Winthrop University, as well as Coastal Carolina University, Dr. Rex knows what it takes to create a teaching force for South Carolina that is second to none. As the former President of Columbia College, he also knows the importance of preparing South Carolina's students, not just for higher education, but for the real world they face as working adults. As State Superintendent of Education, he will work to make sure that every student in South Carolina receives an education that will prepare them not just for competition within our own borders, but for competition in a global economy.
Dr. Rex wants to make South Carolina the most fairly funded, most innovative, and most choice-driven public school system in the United States. Once that happens, he believes South Carolina will be the fastest-improving public school system in the nation. He has five key goals for improving education in South Carolina’s public schools:
- Accelerate innovation;
- Reform accountability to ensure success;
- Expand public school choices for parents and students;
- Promote fair and equitable school funding; and
- Elevate and reinvigorate the teaching profession.
Dr. Rex is the former Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations at the University of South Carolina, where he retired in 1999 after serving his final tenure there as Vice President of University Advancement. He is a published author and has served as a top consultant to education advocacy organizations like the National Institute of Education and Governor Dick Riley's South Carolina Educator Improvement Task Force.
But his work extends beyond the education realm. Dr. Rex has also lent his time and talents to a variety of community organizations, including serving as Chair of Clean Water South Carolina; a member of the Palmetto Conservation Foundation board of directors; and chair of the Palmetto Trail. He is also the former chair of the board of the Nurturing Center, a facility created to help abused children.
Along with his list of work and accomplishments, Dr. Rex's family and his faith remain the cornerstones of his life. The grandson of a Methodist minister, he has worked to instill the traditional values he learned from his upbringing in the four children he shares with his wife, Sue: Adam, Jeff, Nathan, and Siri.
The Rexes live on Lake Wateree in Fairfield County, South Carolina.
3:30 - 4:30 p.m. (Ballroom D) October 24th 2007Deneen Frazier Bowen
Biography
Deneen Frazier Bowen began her work in education by blending her passions for teaching and acting by becoming a high school theater teacher. Since then, she has worked with educators all over the country to harness technology for better learning: both their students’ and their own. Beginning in educational technology as a software designer, she quickly recognized a strong need for school-wide visioning, professional development, and curriculum integration. Her book, The Internet for Your Kids, set the stage for her decade of work training teachers to use technology in the curriculum. Her work ranges from focusing on the professional development needs of teachers at one particular school – San Francisco University High School and Ephesus Elementary School in Chapel Hill, NC – to grounding the work of educational technology companies such as BellSouth Foundation, Apple Computer, bigchalk.com and Teachscape. Deneen is a professional stage and film actress living in Austin, TX. She received a Bachelor’s degree from the University of California: San Diego and Master’s degree in Education from George Mason University in Fairfax, VA.
Keynote Session – 3:30-4:30 (Ballroom D)
“The Natives Are Restless”
Take a uniquely entertaining and enlightening journey into the minds and hearts of today's digital natives. Using recent research, Deneen portrays a riveting cast of characters to reveal the students' struggle to connect what they do in school with what they do in the world. Using their own words, Deneen invites you to witness and connect to both the hope and discontent felt by these restless natives. Discover how to engage and leverage the digital mindset and creative energy of your own students to support the co-creation of a new future for your school. Deneen is the author of The Internet for Your Kids, founder and director of ActWith, offering uniquely live interactive learning experiences by creating characters that engage audiences in exploring the possibilities within and around them.
Workshop Session I – 9:30-10:20
Download Handout (PDF)
“Engaging & Involving the Digital Mindset – Student Voices”
You’re convinced. You want to engage and involve your students in decisions about leveraging technology for learning. Now what? How do you ASK them for ideas? How do you LISTEN to their ideas? How do you ACT with the digital mindsets of students to co-create a new future for your school? In this workshop, Deneen provides an interactive experience for school leaders to explore the recent data around student voice, investigate current case studies of districts exploring the student voice, and develop the foundation of an action plan around engaging your own students’ voices.
Workshop Session II – 12:30-1:20
Download Handout (PDF)
“The Power of Story – Digital Style”
For centuries people have been telling stories to educate the younger generation about their world – historical stories, cultural stories, personal stories. Today, students – digital natives -- are educating the older generation – digital immigrants – with their stories of growing up in a digital world. What if you could help students claim their own stories using digital tools? What if you could communicate with students at a deeper level by supporting and listening to their stories? These stories can help school communities connect in new ways to solve the new challenges of the digital era. In her keynote, she presents three digital stories, two authored by students and one by a teacher. In this session, Deneen guides you through a deeper exploration of the development, creation and uses of digital stories to help students express their ideas, dreams and concerns.
|
Opening Keynote