Hi everyone,

It’s that time of year again, time for the annual NJEA Convention, the largest gathering of it’s kind in the country (or so I am told). This year’s convention is even bigger, better and more relevant than ever before, thanks to the vision of and hard work by NJEA leaders like Michael Cohan, Darryl Ensminger, Rosemary Knab, and countless others in their organization. (I helped too, for the third year in a row.)

What’s New in 2010

So many cool things are happening this year, it’s hard to know where to begin…

• Sir Kenneth Robinson is keynoting the Convention on Thursday, November 4th. If you are unfamiliar with his book The Element, or his work on creativity, his 20 minute TED Talk, “Do schools kill creativity,” is a must-see.
• David Warlick will be leading two presentations: “Harnessing the Perfect Storm” and “Rebooting the Basics.” Details here.
• Edcamp NJEA, the brainchild of Mike Ritzius (one of the co-founders of Edcamp Philly), will be the NJEA’s first-ever “participant-driven” learning environment at the Convention. Please consider contributing as a presenter – check the wiki for details!
• High Tech Hall has been expanded to include almost 60 presentations from educators around the state as well as Thinkfinity and Dell. (We are working on the High Tech Hall presenter’s wiki, as soon as it’s done, I’ll post the link. Meanwhile, check out last year’s wiki.) High Tech Hall “showcase” presentations are small-group, hands-on and casual – just stop on by!

This is just a quick overview – check out the section dedicated to High Tech Hall in the convention program!  You can also see my photos from last year’s convention here.

Why the Convention Matters (more than ever)

In case you haven’t noticed, the teaching profession is under attack, especially in New Jersey. So what’s our best move? Sit back and snipe at all the critics? I don’t think so. Nope, it’s up to us to constantly improve our skills so that we can continue closing the achievement gap and reach all of our students and show everyone how much of a difference we make. And besides, with school district budgets everywhere slashed to the bone, these two days in November are among New Jersey’s teachers’ best bets for high-quality, research-backed, state-of-the-art professional development!

See you in Atlantic City!

-kj-