Rebel U 2012: Recap

This year marked the third year for Rebel U.  As our district continues to grow and add different technology devices and resources, it is vital that we provide our teachers with relevant professional development that supports the use of technology in their classroom.  Each year, we ask teachers to complete an evaluation at the end of Rebel U.  We use the information gathered from this evaluation to improve weaknesses, continue the areas that were deemed important or positive, and make each event entertaining and filled with relevant learning.

Our theme for this year was "weLearn."  We know that there is not a one-size-fits-all model to using technology, and how we approach using technology (whether it be for professional/personal use, or with students) will look different for each person.  Different knowledge bases, comfort levels and intended uses all play a factor in implementation.  Regardless of how it is used, at some point, we had to learn how to use different kinds of technologies.  We wanted to focus on how we can use what we know to help others and inspire others to try new things.  We heard many comments from teachers about things they learned throughout the day that they couldn't wait to start using in their classroom.

Some of the highlights from this year:

• Keynote:  This year we added a keynote address to the schedule.  Our keynote was presented by our District Media and Technology Supervisor, Daniel Townsend.
• Amazing Donations:  We had many businesses and organizations that donated items, supplies or food to support our professional development event.  To see a full list of all of our sponsors, please check out Sponsors page.
• Photo Booth: In efforts of trying to combat the "My brain is starting to fill because of all of the learning and awesome food I just ate" feeling, we set up a photo booth for teachers to stop in and take a picture after lunch before heading back to their afternoon sessions.  We had some very energetic teachers stop by and took some great pictures.  To see the full gallery of pictures, check our our Photo Booth album.
• "Lottery" Tickets: Our Tech & Media Team put together some custom scratch-off "lottery" tickets to give away incentive prizes.  We wanted a fun way to engage people in the learning taking place in their sessions so it wasn't a "sit-and-get" kind of professional development day.  Presenters gave these away in their sessions and our teachers were so excited when they had a winning ticket.
• What did our teachers think of Rebel U?

To see more pictures from our day, please check out our photo album.

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