Conference Quick Look
Promise to Practice 2014 will take place from Sunday, August 3 – Thursday, August 7 at Foxcroft Academy in Dover Foxcroft, Maine. Building on the success of last year’s From Promise to Practice: Learning with iTunes U conference–which drew teachers, technology coordinators, and administrators from Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Maryland, and China–this year’s conference will once again help educators leverage iPads in the classroom. Additional focus will be offered this year for participants to create engaging, interactive digital textbooks with iBooks Author, and multiple strands will be offered on iTunes U for novice and experienced users.
All facilitators at Promise to Practice 2014 are Apple Distinguished Educators, recognized nationally and globally as leaders in using iPads in the classroom. Foxcroft’s Mia Morrison, an English teacher & Technology Integration Specialist, and Julie Willcott, Science teacher, will return, along with Tony DiLaura, from Zeeland East High School in Zeeland, MI, Mathematics teacher and founder of iBookhack.org. New this year is Matt Baier, Social Studies teacher & Technology Integration Leader from Cathedral Catholic High School in San Diego, CA, where he does innovative work including leveraging iTunes U for professional development. Dr. Reshan Richards, Director of Educational Technology at Montclair Kimberley Academy in Montclair, NJ, and co-creator of the popular iPad education app Explain Everything, will give the keynote address and serve on the facilitation team.
See some feedback from last years participants here.
Registration information available here:
Registration for this summer’s conference is now open and is limited to 75 participants. To register or seek more information, please access promisetopractice.foxcroftacademy.org or contact Jonathan Pratt by email at jon.pratt@staff.foxcroftacademy.org or by phone at 207-564-8351.
Other Information from Foxcroft Academy
Hosted on the campus of Foxcroft Academy at the peak of the beautiful summer season in central Maine, participants will learn with experienced facilitators who have a strong record of successfully using these technologies to improve student learning in the classroom. Learning sessions will take place in the morning, with facilitated work sessions scheduled in the afternoon so that participants can work toward building resources to use with their students at the beginning of the 14-15 school year. Although down-time is minimal, many recreational opportunities abound at the Academy and in the greater community, including four tennis courts, an eight-lane track, indoor and outdoor swimming, and multiple hiking trails. On-campus conference lodging opportunities have increased to 40 available rooms in both of FA’s modern, air-conditioned dormitories. Along with recreation to fuel creativity, meals are provided and the last dinner will include a classic Maine summer favorite: fresh, steamed lobster. As it did in 2013, Promise to Practice 2014 will culminate with participant presentations on stage in front of the big screen at Dover-Foxcroft’s historic Center Theatre.
Foxcroft Academy became the first high school in Maine to implement a 1:1 iPad initiative in 2011, and there are currently more than 40,000 iPads used by students and educators in the state. In year two of FA’s iPad initiative, a handful of teachers–including Apple Distinguished Educators Mia Morrison and Julie Willcott–began developing courses for iTunes U, a platform created by Apple in 2007 to manage and distribute educational content for college students and then updated in January 2012 to include K-12 courses. In less than two years, the nine iTunes U academic courses created by Foxcroft Academy teachers have been viewed more than 1.3 million times and have amassed more than 275,000 subscriptions from students and adult learners around the world.
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