E-mporium

The Mt. Vernon Ladies Association is working to promote George Washington by placing his picture back in schools across the country.  The portrait known as a “porthole portrait” is free and will be sent to schools who order it.  As George Washington’s birthday approaches, historians have grown concerned that today’s children have limited factual knowledge of George Washington and his presidency.  By placing a portrait of George Washington in the schools, historians hope to raise interest regarding our first president, his life and his presidency.

To request a portrait for your school, please have your principal send a letter on the school’s letterhead to the address listed below.  Your letter should include a description of the place you plan to hang the portrait and the school’s street address for UPS deliveries.  If requesting a poster for George Washington’s Birthday, please have your letters in by February 8, 2008.

To order send to:

Ann Bay

Associate Director for Education

P.O. Box 110

Mount Vernon, VA  22121

For more information visit http://mountvernon.org

The Michigan Leadership Council is excited to announce the details of the upcoming Discovery Educator Network (DEN) Virtual Conference.  The host site is in West Bloomfield at Doherty Elementary School.  The conference will be held February 2, 2008 from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.   Additional information and registration is with the link below.  The event is free and space is limited.

If you are interested in assisting with or facilitating a breakout session, please contact Cindy Carson (carson@westbloomfield.k12.mi.us). 

MI-DEN Virtual Conference registration.

Additional information - Michigan Blog on the DEN site.

The first Joint Education Conference will be held June 25 at Holt High School, and is a one day event sponsored by MACUL, the Michigan Association of Middle School Educators (MAMSE),  the Council for Social Studies (MCSS), Michigan Council for the Teachers of Mathematics (MCTM) and the Michigan Science Teachers Association(MSTA). 

The conference is also presented in cooperation with the Michigan Business Education Association, the Michigan Mathematics and Science Centers Network, and the Michigan Department of Education.

The theme of the conference is Making Integrated Education Work for Everyone:  Bringing It All Together

A Call for Speakers form to present  at the conference is available at mijec.org and proposals are due January 15.

One complimentary registration will be given to the lead presenter who is a current member of one of the following associations:  MACUL, MAMSE, MCSS, MCTM or MSTA.  Additional presenters will be given a discount rate of $20.00 each. 

For more information, visit mijec.org.

Register now for the MVU Symposium February 6, 2008.

Online learning is proving to be more than just a trend, it’s become part of everyday life for millions in schools, colleges and at the workplace.  Educators and students are discovering the flexibility and convenience of learning online, leading to major growth of online learning at all levels of education.  Through Michigan Virtual School™, and Michigan LearnPort®, MVU provides exciting solutions to everyday challenges that take students and educators out of the traditional classroom and into a world of possibilities.

Click here for more information. www.mivu.org/symposium

Location:

Marriott Ann Arbor Ypsilanti at Eagle Crest
1275 S Huron Street
Ypsilanti, Michigan 48197 USA
Phone: 1.734.487.2000

Contests are Multi-Media for K-8, Video for K-12, and  “Open” Video for 9-12 .  The revamped contests feature prizes for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place entries.  The newest category is the “open” video for high school students. Purpose, rules, eligibility, rubric, entry forms and additional information for each contest can be viewed at SIGMM webpage on MACUL’s website. 

Deadline for entries is February  1, 2008.  Pass the word along, SIGMM would like to have a greater participation level for all contests.

MACUL will soon be offering two online courses for educators.  Watch the MACUL  website for more information, or contact Ric Wiltse, MACUL Executive Director at rwiltse@macul.org. 

 Course will be led by instructor Miriam Taylor.  Courses start February 4, 2008 and conclude February 23, 2008.  Cost is $150 for MACUL members ($180 for non members).

To register, download pdf form and return to MACUL office.

Registration Deadline:  January 7, 2008

Visit MACUL Online Courses for description of courses.

Looking for keyboard shortcuts?  Try KeyXL.

Keyxl.com is the largest online database of keyboard shortcuts in the world.  This keyboard shortcut database is searchable by software program and covers all the major operating environments including Windows, Macintosh, Linux and brower-based applications.

Two out of five states lack media-literacy standards, possibly leaving students without the skills to analyze and evaluate media messages on the Internet, television, newspapers and other outlet, according to a recnt State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA) survey.  To address the concern, SETDA offers educators a toolkit to better teach media literacy skills.

SETDA Media Literacy Skills Toolkit

Adobe has training webinars available at the following URL:  http://www.adobe.com/go/eduseminars

The REMC Bid shopping cart now has a new feature.  Users can name their carts to make them easier to distinguish.  The name and cart number appear in the header information on the requisition.  All other functionality remains the same.  Customers must still follow their local purchasing procedure to place the order with the vendor.

Co-op Purchasing