Get your school noticed! We’ll look at each step in the process of generating a winning grant application. Join us for an overview of various grant programs and learn effective strategies for winning more grants for your school. Discover libraries of resources that will help you identify federal, state, and corporate grant opportunities. Explore some fantastic fundraising websites and locate downloadable free resources that lead you through the preparatory steps of grant writing. See how to craft your funding request so that it matches the grant’s funding objectives. Avoid common mistakes made when applying for grants, and get guided tips from the former judges. Wrap up with a look at a teacher grant that provides $3,500 in digital resources for your classroom. Attendees get a great grant writing manual, and list of available funding opportunities.

Digital Camera and Multimedia

Technology Tornado!

Target Audience: All levels

Platform: Mac/Win, 1 hour

Level: All

Get ready to explore some of the most amazing technology innovations for education. After this entertaining romp, you’ll remember why you got into technology in the first place! We’ll connect a standard microphone to the computer and use our speaking voices to control the movement of game characters. Use vocabulary, pitch, and tone to build puzzles, shoot the space invaders, and blow up a balloon. We’ll continue by using the same microphone to build a podcast. The audience will contribute to a theatrical script and watch as we bring a dramatic scene to life in minutes. Then using a standard digital camera, we’ll turn on the super-macro feature, and take an extreme close-up of insects. You’ll be fascinated by images of bugs, flowers, and simple everyday objects projected to 8 feet high in vivid detail. Then switch the camera to panorama mode and shoot a series of 10 photographs in a 360° circuit. Transfer the images to the computer and stitch them together into one amazingly long image for your website. Time permitting, we’ll show you how to photograph a clay-animated sequence, and assemble the photos into a looping cartoon. Prepare for a fast-paced surprise-filled learning adventure! Each attendee receives a free copy of MultiMedia Lab V (worth $99), plus a subscription to Elementary Zone.

School Newspaper with Digital Cameras and Podcasting

Target Audience: All Levels and Special Education

Platform: Mac/Win, 1 hour

Level: Basic and Intermediate

Get your students involved in developing your school’s newsletter, and watch your public outreach grow! We’ll pass out digital cameras and walk through some great hands-on tips and tricks for taking better photographs. Explore sports mode and learn how to reduce blurring in action shots. Discover panorama mode where we’ll shoot a series of photographs in a 360° circuit. Transfer the images to the computer and “stitch” them together into one incredibly long image for your newspaper’s banner. Switch over to the computer and create a one-page newsletter. Develop the masthead, set up columns, and add digital photos. Learn how to craft advertisements using angled text and graphics. Next, we’ll plug in a standard microphone and turn our newspaper into a podcast. We’ll use our speaking voices to create a podcast that announces upcoming events, then invite parents to tune in and listen. Attendees receive a manual packed with project ideas, a trail copy of Tool Factory Workshop (worth $199), plus a subscription to Elementary Zone.

Databases for K-8 with Digital Photos, Video, and Sound

Target Audience: Grades 2-12 and Special Education

Platform: Windows/Mac, 1 hour

Level: Basic

Introduce database skills at any level, elementary to high school. Using a comprehensive library of clip art, teachers will create their own databases, based on their current teaching themes. Explore strategies to conduct research on the internet, gather information and pictures, and then build databases from the source materials. We’ve broken the database building process into 4 unique steps, and we’ll show you an effective way to introduce each step in the teaching process. Instructors will guide you through the process of building a sample photographic address book. Set up fields for name, address, and phone number, then lay them out with captions and color. Enhance the directory with digital photographs, video, and even add voice clips. Browse and sort your records. Organize information, create advanced searches, and explore multiple options for sorting and charting data. Wrap up with lively discussion on effective ways to introduce database skills at key grade levels throughout elementary, middle, and high, and across the curriculum. Receive a trial copy of Tool Factory Workshop (worth $199), plus a subscription to Elementary Zone.

Digital Camera Workshop

Target Audience: All Levels and Special Education

Platform: Mac/Win, 1-8 hours

Level: Basic and Intermediate

Get fantastic tips on taking higher quality photographs for your student projects, newsletters, and yearbooks. Take the sports challenge and find out how to take better action shots. The instructor will guide you through a series of photography assignments covering panorama, zoom and super-macro. Then together we’ll explore an extensive photographic library and build some of our favorite curriculum projects. Construct a report that includes narration and sound effects. Use a paint program to enhance your images by creating frames and adding special effects. Smudge out a frame, stamp down a border, and email your creation to your pen pal. The instructor will walk you through some impressive projects that can be done with simple mouse clicks. We’ve loaded each computer with a great library of photographs to get you started. Learn about a great online showcase that allows you to easily share your work with peers! Get strategies on implementing a system-wide training program for your school or district. Learn how to procure digital cameras through training budgets, and lower your “total cost of ownership” across district by standardizing the technology. Attendees receive a step-by-step photography manual packed with project ideas, a trial of Tool Factory Workshop (worth $199), plus a subscription to Elementary Zone.

Take The Stage and Create Your First Podcast!

Target Audience: Grades 1-12 Teachers and Special Education

Platform: Windows, 1 hour

Level: Basic

We’ll plan, write, and perform a theatrical podcast in one hour, so bring your dramatic flair! Participate in a motivational writing project and learn to podcast along the way. Create a historical re-enactment, or a cartoon-voice scene…or even try your hand at Shakespeare. First we’ll split into groups and plan out episodes and characters. Write a short script, then use your most expressive voice to record the characters. Search a copyright-free library for music and sound effects, and enhance your podcast with rich audio. Publish the project on the internet, and then subscribe and listen to your podcast. Wrap up by sharing the best podcasts with your classmates. Attendees receive a simple guide to podcasting, plus a subscription to Elementary Zone.

Banners, Posters, Bulletin Boards, and Newsletter

Target Audience: Grades K-8 Teachers

Platform: Mac/Win, 45 minutes - 2 hours

Level: Basic

If you love paper and tape, then this is the seminar for you! Follow along with the instructor to develop a simple one-page newsletter. Combine pictures and captions, create an advertisement and get easy tips for text and photo rotation. Next we’ll develop a wide format newspaper with digital pictures, multiple columns, and headlines. Make decisions on layout, page size, and explore a myriad of publishing options. Consider having students develop a “Front page of the New York Times” that can be printed it out on a conventional 8.5”X11” printer. We’ll show you how to “piece together” a wide-format printed project. Apply these same skills to develop wide banners and larger posters. Combine your favorite digital photos with the school’s logo to create a rousing banner for the lobby, or have the students participate in a poster contest. If you are planning to make hallway displays, we’ll show you some tricks for creating colorful and attractive bulletin boards. Experiment with paint tools that emulate felt tip, water color and pastels. These same tools can be used to create stunning backgrounds for slide shows, websites and banners. Create gradient backgrounds in sunset colors, with simple bucket fill tools. Create a watermark from a photograph, and smudge together fantastic backdrops for your PowerPoint slide shows, with just a few mouse clicks. Attendees receive a comprehensive lesson plan packet with loads of publishing ideas, a free subscription to Elementary Zone, plus a free trial of Tool Factory Workshop (worth $199).

Claymation Creations

Target Audience: 4-12

Platform: Mac/Win, 1-3 hours

Level: Intermediate

Using only a ball of clay and a digital camera, we’ll show you how to make a clay character come to life. The instructor will demonstrate how to shoot a sequence of digital photos, and then use them as the frames of a mini clay-animated sprite. Get instruction on the best camera settings and find those features on your camera. Bring a friend or make new ones. We will break the class into animation teams. Groups of 2-3 people will work together to design and build a short claymation sequence. Get your hands right into the clay and mold characters. Set up your stage with nothing more than a cardboard box for a background. Use your coat for a curtain, then lock down the camera and start shooting. Transfer images over to the computer, and assemble the frames into a looping cartoon. Get loads of laughs as we share each finished project with the class. Beware, if you make a great claymation project, we may just showcase it on Tool Factory’s website! Bring your creativity, a digital camera, and a tripod. Loaner cameras will be available. Each attendee receives a free copy of MultiMedia Lab V (worth $99), instructive manual, plus a subscription to Elementary Zone.

Literacy

On Track for Reading Success

Target Audience: PK-6, Special Education, and ESL

Platform: Windows/Mac

Level: All

Chart a course for district-wide improvements in reading! When coming across an unknown word, students must call upon a variety of reading skills in harmony: phonics (sound), graphic and word recognition (sight), syntax (grammatical knowledge), and semantic (contextual understanding). Experiment with a progressive research-based software series designed to break down the reading process into its essential building blocks. Begin with activities for visual discrimination and pre-letter learning. Explore 45 isolated phonemes and try activities that help students learn to deal with the lack of one-to-one correspondence between sounds and symbols. Place sounds within the meaningful context of a word, and word sets within the context of a sentence. Students will learn to track letters and words by selecting the proper item from the group, in the proper order. Take steps towards fluency with 2 different storybook reading programs. Adapt each program for use with inclusion students who have specific learning difficulties. Review storybook software with a different story for each letter of the alphabet, and 4 h-digraph stories. Then explore activities for reading comprehension, sequencing, visual memory and writing, targeting older learners. Closing discussions will center on implementing a comprehensive research-based reading program with inclusion students. Attendees get one program from the On Track Series (worth $69), plus a subscription to Elementary Zone.

Early Learning

Beep and Honk Your Way Into Learning - PreK-2

Target Audience: Grades K-2 Teachers and Special Education

Platform: Windows/Mac, 1 hour

Level: Basic

Trade places with your students for an amusing romp through critter-land as we explore loads of resources for the early learning classroom. Experiment with activities that develop critical IT skills such as mouse control and keyboarding. Learn to click while making friends with funny characters who respond differently to each mouse click. Hone your click-and-drag skills with painting and easy animation projects. Learn timing and targeting while chasing animals in the animal parade. In the literacy spectrum, we’ll look at activities for visual discrimination, letter learning, and phonics. Try your hand at pattern-making in a field of flowers, or develop matching and identification skills for early mathematics. Then play through actual science simulations designed specifically for grades K-2. Internet permitting, we’ll wrap up with a visit to Elementary Zone and discover 100 activities for English, science, and math. Get a wonderful overview of a myriad of software programs that are available for your littlest learners. Attendees get a free software program (worth $69), plus a subscription to Elementary Zone.

Special Education

Technology for Special Education, Strategies and Software

Target Audience: Grades K-8 Teachers and Special Education

Platform: Windows/Mac, 1-3 hours

Level: Basic

Identify powerful new strategies to reach your struggling learners. Join us for a hands-on exploration of software for special education, early learning, and inclusive teaching. Investigate a switch-adapted reading series and try out a series of increasingly complex activities for letter recognition, phonics, spelling, and reading. Play the Touch It games to develop targeting, tracking, and timing skills. Then connect a standard microphone to the computer and use your speaking voice to control the movement of characters in a game. Use early vocabulary, pitch, and tone to build puzzles, shoot the space invaders, and blow up a balloon. Wrap up with a confidence building adventure into artwork. Find your creative streak and construct stunning drawings with nothing more than simple mouse clicks and movements. Tailor the software interface of any program to match the level of your learner. Discuss situations where each tool can make a big difference in achievement. Play games, make music, and practice literacy skills! This is a great session to get a general overview of many available software programs. Free switch-accessible phonics software (worth $70) for every attendee, great printed manual, plus a subscription to www.elementaryzone.com.

Longer Seminars and Pre-Conference Seminars

School Newspaper with Digital Cameras and Podcasting

Target Audience: All Levels and Special Education

Platform: Mac/Win, 1-3 hours.

Level: Basic and Intermediate

Get your students involved in developing your school’s newsletter, and watch your public outreach grow! We’ll pass out digital cameras and walk through some great hands-on tips and tricks for taking better photographs. Explore sports mode and learn how to reduce blurring in action shots. Discover panorama mode where we’ll shoot a series of photographs in a 360° circuit. Transfer the images to the computer and “stitch” them together into one incredibly long image for your newspaper’s banner. Switch over to the computer and create a one-page newsletter. Develop the masthead, set up columns, and add digital photos. Learn how to craft advertisements using angled text and graphics. Next, we’ll plug in a standard microphone and turn our newspaper into a podcast. We’ll use our speaking voices to create a podcast that announces upcoming events, then invite parents to tune in and listen. Attendees receive a manual packed with project ideas, a trial copy of Tool Factory Workshop (worth $199), plus a subscription to Elementary Zone.

Digital Camera Workshop, Camera Tips and Curriculum Building

Target Audience: All Levels and Special Education

Platform: Mac/Win, 1-8 hours

Level: Basic and Intermediate

Come to this rowdy seminar and find out what you never discovered about your digital cameras! Get fantastic tips on taking higher quality photographs for your student projects, newsletters, and yearbooks. Take the sports challenge and find out how to take better action shots. The instructor will guide you through a series of photography assignments covering panorama, zoom and super-macro. Then together we’ll explore an extensive photographic library and build some of our favorite curriculum projects created by teachers in these training labs. Construct a report that includes narration and sound effects. Use a paint program to enhance your images by creating frames and adding special effects. Smudge out a frame, stamp down a border, and email your creation to your pen pal. The instructor will walk you through some impressive projects that can be done with simple mouse clicks. We’ve loaded each computer with a great library of photographs to get you started. Learn about a great online showcase that allows you to easily share your work with peers! Get strategies on implementing a system-wide training program for your school or district. Learn how to procure digital cameras through training budgets, and lower your “total cost of ownership” across district by standardizing the technology. Attendees receive a step-by-step photography manual packed with project ideas, a trial copy of Tool Factory Workshop (worth $199), plus a subscription to Elementary Zone.

Animation, Claymation, and Moving Creations

Target Audience: Grades 4-12 Teachers with Good Computer Skills

Platform: Windows, 1-3 Hours

Level: Intermediate

Get new strategies for animation in this vibrant workshop! We’ll look at various types of animation, then re-construct each one. Follow along with the instructor and construct a path animation by inserting a character and giving it a multi-point path to travel around the screen. Add sound effects and dialog to create a whole story scene. Use the “Sprite” builder to create a self-running montage or build a virtual flipbook to bring your static characters to life. Draw three frames of animation and assemble them into a looping Disney-style cartoon. Then using only a ball of clay and a digital camera, we’ll show you how to make a clay character come to life. The instructor will demonstrate how to shoot a sequence of digital photos, and then use them as the frames of a mini clay-animated sprite. Get instruction on the best camera settings and find those features on your camera. Get loads of laughs as we share each finished project with the class. Finally, bring all these projects together as a website using MultiMedia Lab V. This is a wonderful seminar for portfolio-building. Each attendee receives a free copy of MultiMedia Lab V (worth $99), instructive manual, plus a subscription to Elementary Zone.

Databases for K-8 – With Digital Photos, Video, and Sound

Target Audience: K-12 Teachers and Special Education

Platform: Windows/Mac, 1-3 hours

Level: Basic

Introduce database skills at any level, elementary to high school. Using a comprehensive library of clip art, teachers will create their own databases, based on their current teaching themes. Explore strategies to conduct research on the internet, gather information and pictures, and then build databases from the source materials. We’ve broken the database building process into 4 distinct steps, and we’ll show you an effective way to introduce each step in the teaching process. Instructors will guide you through the process of building a sample photographic address book. Set up fields for name, address, and phone number, then lay them out with captions and color. Enhance the directory with digital photographs, video, and even add voice clips. Browse and sort your records. Organize information, create advanced searches, and explore multiple options for sorting and charting data. Wrap up with lively discussion on effective ways to introduce database skills at key grade levels throughout elementary, middle, and high, and across the curriculum. Receive a lesson plan packet, a free trial of Tool Factory Workshop (worth $199), plus a subscription to Elementary Zone.

Only Available by Fee

Digital Camera Workshop for Special Education

Target Audience: Grades K-8 Teachers and Special Education

Platform: Windows/Mac, 45 Minutes-8 hours

Level: Basic

If you are working with visual learners, you’ll know that photographs can provide an incredible way to reach selected students. Discover a myriad of ways to use digital images in special education. Take photographs of all the people, places and things that bring a positive response from your students, then build learning activities that utilize these images. Begin at a lower cognitive level with Picture Builder. Browse for a single photograph, then touch the screen to make it slowly reveal. Anticipate what’s coming next and hold discussions on the content of each photograph. Build a puzzle from a digital image to hone matching and ordering skills, then increase the difficulty to progress. Place a photograph on the face of a slider puzzle to work on problem-solving skills. We’ll show you how to activate a “sound switch”. Students who can only make simple vocal utterances, will be able to play a myriad of learning activities that develop the use of voice through extended sounds, tone, pitch, and volume. Explore cause-and-effect activities that develop timing skills and targeting. Using a collection of photographs, we’ll play the Touch It game, where photos fly across the screen in pre-selected speeds and directions, giving students the opportunity to capture them with a touch. Travel up the cognitive spectrum and build a mnemonic memory aid for difficult spellings. Browse for a photo, write your own mnemonic, and even record your voice speaking the mnemonic in rhythmic tones. Wrap up with some confidence building activities using a paint program. Open a photograph, then use blurring, blending and smudging techniques to create vivid images with simple mouse strokes. Frame a photograph, stamp down borders, and even create wrapping paper from photographs. Wrap up by building a photo-rich report with speech feedback and narration. Your visual learners will excel! Get a great manual and free trial of Tool Factory Workshop (worth $199).

Explore the Universe of Assistive Technology!

Target Audience: Grades K-8 Teachers and Special Education

Platform: Windows/Mac, 1-3 hours

Level: Basic

Experience a hands-on exploration of assistive technology. Journey into a wide array of hardware and software programs, and identify powerful new ways to reach your students with special needs. We'll demonstrate a myriad of input devices, designed to work in tandem with software for skills building and literacy development. Try out pressure-adjustable switches, then explore a switch-adapted reading reinforcement program for phonics development. Plug in two types of trackballs and feel what it’s like to access the computer with only the tips of your fingers. Look at a touch screen overlay and then play the Touch It games to develop targeting, tracking, and timing skills. Grab a mini-mouse and imagine you have small hands. Then try out a paint program that develops click-and-drag skills and decision-making. Learn about mounting devices that make computer usage possible for students with motion issues. We'll even show you how to use a microphone to control character movements during game play. Learn how to set up each device, discuss when to use each one, then experience firsthand the software that complements each assistive device. Discuss situations where each tool can make a big difference in achievement. Play games, make music, and practice literacy skills! This is a great session to get a general overview of many available software programs and hardware devices in context. Find out how and when to best use assistive technology. Free switch-accessible phonics software (worth $70) for every attendee, great printed manual, plus a subscription to www.elementaryzone.com.

School of Photography

Beginning School of Photography -- Photography Basics and Building Projects (Fee: $499/person)

Target Audience: K-12 Teachers, Special Education, and New Camera Users

Platform: Mac/Win

3-8 hours

Level: Basic

Each attendee receives an Olympus FE series, 8 megapixel digital camera (worth $250) ideal for daily classroom shooting. This camera features 12X zoom, macro mode, panorama, and video. Plus receive a detailed digital photography book, lesson plan packet, and a free copy of Tool Factory Workshop (worth $199).You'll be taking quality photos for yearbooks, newspapers, flyers, lab reports, worksheets, presentations, bulletin boards, and much more! Construct a report that includes narration and sound effects. Use a paint program to enhance your images by creating frames and adding special effects. Smudge out a frame, stamp down a border, and email your creation to your pen pal. The instructor will walk you through some impressive projects that can be done with simple mouse clicks. Come and explore various camera features, learn about storage formats, and decipher the often-cryptic terminology you’ll encounter when learning about a digital camera. We’ll cover the basics of digital photography, and practice using resolutions, zoom and macro. Learn about the rule of thirds, leading lines, and foreground interest. Complete a series of mini-photography assignments, transfer the pictures to the computer, and touch them up. Edit your images, improve lighting, and eliminate red-eye. Then we'll show you how to create a one-click slide show, and build impressive worksheets with your digital photos. Add captions to photographs, and turn a photographic scene into a background with clip art characters for story writing. For math and science, we’ll create a photo-enhanced database and spreadsheet. Finally, we’ll build a more serious report that integrates photographs, text, video, and sound effects. Come prepared to experiment!

Beginning School of Photography -- Photography Basics, Field Trip and Building Projects (Fee: $499/person)

Target Audience: K-12 Teachers, Special Education, and New Camera Users

Platform: Mac/Win

6-8 hours

Level: Basic

Each attendee receives an Olympus FE series, 8.1 megapixel digital camera (worth $250) ideal for daily classroom shooting. This camera features 12X zoom, macro mode, panorama, and video. Plus receive a detailed digital photography book, lesson plan packet, and a free copy of Tool Factory Workshop (worth $199).You'll be taking quality photos for yearbooks, newspapers, flyers, lab reports, worksheets, presentations, bulletin boards, and much more! Construct a report that includes narration and sound effects. Use a paint program to enhance your images by creating frames and adding special effects. Smudge out a frame, stamp down a border, and email your creation to your pen pal. The instructor will walk you through some impressive projects that can be done with simple mouse clicks. Come and explore various camera features, learn about storage formats, and decipher the often-cryptic terminology you’ll encounter when purchasing a digital camera. The instructor will guide you through a series of mini-photography assignments covering resolutions, zoom and macro. Get up to speed on camera basics and get answers to questions as they arise. Transfer the pictures to the computer and edit your images, improve lighting, and eliminate red-eye. The instructor will guide you through building a “one-click” slide show. Then create impressive worksheets with your digital photos. After lunch, we’ll take a field trip to (organizers select field trip location) where we’ll take photographs of (field trip events). (Insert descriptive sentence of the place we visit). Learn firsthand about the rule of thirds, leading lines, and foreground interest as the instructor shows you quick tricks to improving photo composition. We’ll return to the training lab and wrap up by building a final project using the photos we just shot. Submit your final project to the online showcase (optional) and share your work with your peers after the workshop! Come prepared to experiment, and bring your walking shoes!

Advanced School of Photography-Advanced Photography, Field Trip, and Animation Workshop (Fee: $799/person)

Target audience: K-12 Teachers With Good Computer Skills

Platform: Windows

6-8 Hours

Level: Intermediate and Advanced

Each attendee receives an Olympus 8 Mega Pixel digital camera (worth $650) ideal for the yearbook or photography department. Camera features include: 15X zoom, super-macro mode, panorama, video, audio, and sequence shooting modes. Attendees also receive a detailed digital photography manual, lesson plan packet, plus a free copy of MultiMedia Lab V (worth $99).

If you want a high-end camera for the yearbook or photography department this is the seminar for you. We’ll explore the difference between digital and optical zoom, then demystify resolution versus compression, and explore nuances of macro photography. Get composition tips, and complete a series of mini-photography assignments as we explore each camera feature. Transfer the pictures to the computer, and touch-up your photographs. Get tips on cleaning up red-eye, eliminating imperfections, and cropping images. After lunch, we’ll take a field trip to (organizers select field trip location) where we’ll take photographs of (field trip events). (Insert descriptive sentence of the place we visit). Get photographer’s tips on the rule of thirds, leading lines, and foreground interest as the instructor shows you real time tricks to improving photo composition. We’ll return to the training lab and use our photographs to build websites and photo-rich animation projects. We’ll show you how to import a photographic backdrop. Then construct a path animation, by inserting a character and giving it a multi-point path to travel around the scene. Insert more paths to create a moving photography montage. Use the “Sprite” builder to create a virtual flip-book out of photographs. Shoot 3 frames of animation and assemble them into a looping Disney-style cartoon. We’ll even manipulate clay figures along with a digital camera, to create a mini clay-animated sprite. Finally, we’ll show you how to bring all these project together using MultiMedia Lab V and post them on the internet. No beginners please.

School of Podcasting (Fee: $349/person)

Target Audience: K-12 Teachers, Special Education, and New Podcaster

Platform: Win

3-6 hours

Level: Basic

Each attendee receives an Olympus WS series Digital Voice Recorder (worth $100) ideal for daily classroom or field trip recording, Olympus Noise Reduction Microphone (worth $20), Tool Factory’s Simple Guide to Podcasting Book (worth $20), Clip Art Station subscription account (worth $35) and Tool Factory Podcasting software (worth $100). Learn create podcasts and use all the necessary equipment that will get your students jumping out their chairs for more! The Tool Factory trainer will give the basics of how to podcast using Tool Factory’s Podcasting software and in minutes you will be creating your very own podcasts! More detailed training will include instructional use of the microphone and digital voice recorder. Later, using Tool Factory’s Simple Guide to Podcasting book, the trainer will cover aspects, unknown to most podcasters, such as copyright information and acceptable use policies. Come with curriculum objectives in mind and leave satiated with podcasting classroom applications!