NMSA in Action

What's Happening

National Middle School Association's
35th Annual Conference & Exhibit
October 30–November 1, 2008
Denver, CO

The world's largest conference for those who work with young adolescents between the ages of 10 and 15 is drawing closer. The conference offers something for everyone and will feature more than 500 sessions on 40 topics. Keynote presentations will include Jim Collins, author of Good to Great, Marlee Matlin, and Alan November. Attendees will also have the chance to visit the 21st Century Classroom to explore and be engaged by teachers and students who successfully integrate cutting-edge technology in their classrooms.

Attendees are encouraged to register before October 1 to receive the discounted registration.

For more information, including a full listing of sessions and topics, visit www.nmsa.org/annual

NMSA08 Conference - 21st Century Classroom Takes Shape

National Middle School Association (NMSA) will feature the 21st Century Classroom at the annual conference in Denver. The classroom will be a physical structure in the exhibit hall that will be "staffed" by teachers and students from Denver area school districts. Currently, students and teachers from Aurora Public Schools and Douglas County Schools are slated to be in the classroom doing current lessons, work, and projects. The teachers and students will be involved in authentic learning during the course of the three-day conference, aided by the latest technologies. This is not intended to be a demo of various technologies; rather, the classroom will show technologies in action as they are employed to foster real teaching and learning.

NMSA has teamed with several companies and organizations to bring the 21st Century Classroom to life. Bennett, Wagner, and Grody Architects of Denver have signed on to the project to do all design work and serve as project managers. Construction of the classroom will be done by Adolfson and Peterson Construction of Aurora, CO. Both companies are doing this work pro bono, as they believe it is an important project that will benefit middle level educators from Colorado and around the world.

Several companies are on board to provide the latest technologies for the classroom and for the attendees to access at various tech "sandboxes" located throughout the convention center. More companies will be added in the next few weeks. Companies now onboard include: Promethean, providing Activboards, Activexpression student feedback handhelds, and Activslates; Tandberg, providing the latest in videoconferencing hardware and interdisciplinary learning; ePals, providing a safe electronic environment for networking students and teachers; CDWG providing PC laptops, laser printers, document cameras, scanners, webcams, and monitors for the classroom; and Apple, providing laptops and iPods for the classroom.

The NMSA Annual Conference is going to provide multiple hands-on, authentic learning opportunities for you to become familiar with new and existing technologies for your classroom.