Institute holds 13th annual Fall Conference

The Institute for Learning Partnership’s 13th annual Fall Conference will continue on Saturday (Oct. 22) at Green Bay Preble High School with a selection of educator workshops.

Nationally recognized technology pioneer and educational leader, John Kuglin will open the morning’s activities at 8:30 a.m., discussing the use of “Cloud Technology to Build Blended Learning Experiences.” Kuglin’s presentation will be followed by a full morning of educator workshops that will be offered from 9:45 to 10:45 a.m. and repeated from 11 a.m. to noon.

A full list of Saturday’s presenters can be found online.

On Thursday, Kuglin delivered a keynote speech to educators and students that emphasized learning with the use of digital technologies. Even though he encouraged participation with laptops and smart phones and notebooks, he insisted that what is most important is not the gadget but the teaching and learning possibilities offered with these devices.

“We need to prepare students for their future, not our past,” he said. “And we’re going to have to do it with less (money).”

The education community and society in general needs to give more focus to so-called STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) initiatives, Kuglin said.

The conference opened Thursday with three pre-conference breakout sessions, followed at 5:30 p.m. by an educators’ showcase.