Welcome to SummerSpark 2013
A teacher conference based on conversations to kick off your summer.
Dates: June 6 & 7, 2013
Location: St. John's School, Houston, TX
Registration Fee: $60
Participants will receive 12 hours of CPE credit.
Dress: Business Casual
To bring teachers and administrators from independent schools together to 'spark' conversations about how best to educate students for 21st century citizenship.
To be a catalyst for ideas and relationships that will improve all of our schools.
Vision Statements:
We believe that dynamic teaching & learning in the 21st century requires a community of networked professionals to support our individual and collective development.
We believe that all of us are figuring out what it means to be teachers and learners in the 21st century.
We believe that being a 21st century teacher and learner is not about the tools or technology itself.
We believe that being a 21st century teacher and learner is about asking, "What is possible?" (and letting the tools be catalysts).
We believe that such a network must be developed collectively -- within our own school, within our community of schools, and around the globe.
We believe that such a network provides students (and ourselves) with resources and mentoring in a just-in-time, asynchronous manner.
We believe that none of us can be the final 'expert' in our subjects in the digital age (and in the ways information has exponentially exploded).
We believe that our classrooms should expand our abilities to ask the right questions, seeking agile solutions for novel situations in the 21st century.
We believe that our classrooms can no longer be limited to what takes place within our 4 walls.
We believe that the 'teacher' in the classroom can no longer be the single 'audience' for our students.
We believe that our students work must have authentic local & global audiences to share their ideas, work, and projects with as they are developed.
We believe that we must share the 'process' of learning, exploring, experimentation, and revisions, not just the 'ideal' finished product(s).