For many years, the Minnesota Literacy Council has been bringing together volunteers, learners, and practitioners to share ideas and celebrate accomplishments in an annual spring conference. We are very pleased to announce that Thomson Reuters has generously offered us space for our conference and awards luncheon again this year.

Please join us, and spread the word to your learners and volunteers, who share the power of learning every day. Early registration is encouraged.

What: At "Sharing the Power" you will:

-Be proud of learners and volunteers who are recognized for their achievements and contributions.
-Gain fresh new ideas for programs and teaching sessions.
-Offer your own knowledge and experience to others in ABE.
-Network with peers from around Minnesota.

When: Saturday, April 24, 2010, 8:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.

Where: West/Thomson Reuters, 610 Opperman Drive, Eagan, MN.

Click here for map and directions.

Cost: $40.

How to register: Click on the Registration link in the sidebar to the right.

For more information:  Call 651-645-2277

Agenda:

8:30 - 9:00 a.m.                  Registration and Continental Breakfast

9:00 a.m. – 10:15 a.m.        Concurrent Sessions

10:30 a.m. – 11:15 a.m.     Concurrent Sessions

11:30 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.    Concurrent Sessions

12:15 p.m. –                     Awards Luncheon

Sessions Confirmed as of 3/16/10:

The Social Media Landscape for Volunteers – Susan Wettenkamp-Brandt

Social Media tools like FaceBook and Twitter are coming to dominate the online landscape.  Have you ever wondered what social media can do for you as a volunteer?  Or how you might use social media to benefit your adult literacy program and the learners you work with?  Whether you’re a FaceBook addict or a Twitter novice, come join us for an introduction to some popular social media tools and a lively discussion of their potential roles in adult literacy

Stories of Service – Allison Runchey

What inspires you as a volunteer?  What’s your favorite classroom activity?  What keeps you coming back week after week?  Listen to the stories of volunteers from various programs as they share funny anecdotes, lessons learned, and heartwarming experiences.  Then, you’ll have the opportunity to share your own! 

Going Beyond the Textbook – Jonna Meidal

Do you ever feel frustrated with your textbooks, wishing you could adapt exercises or extend beyond them? If so, this workshop will provide you with helpful examples of how you can go beyond the textbook in everyday lessons. Real examples will be used from several Life skills textbooks.

Great Web Sites for Learning and Life – Jason Brazier

Access to computers grants us incredible and ever-changing opportunities for classroom and life-skills learning. This session will bring to light a variety of websites and free software students and teachers can use to increase their literacy and life skills.  

Warm Ups and Wrap Ups Set the Tone – Gail Irish

It’s time for class to start.  How do you get your students ready to learn?  How can you tie today’s lesson to yesterday’s?  How can you provide much-needed review for your learners?  In this session, we’ll try some warm up activities that require little or no preparation, yet give learners a chance to practice grammar and/or vocabulary in different ways.

Do you ever plan a wrap-up activity?  Whether you have ten or two minutes at the end of your lesson, make the most of that time to reinforce what you’ve been working on in class. Even very short activities can leave students, and you, with a feeling of accomplishment and purpose. 

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly – Gail Irish

In this session, you will play the role of the learner as you participate in a badly taught language lesson.  Then we’ll debrief, review best practices, and try again.  It’s a fun way to think about mistakes that we (well, most of us) have all made in our teaching, yet be reminded that some very simple, sensible principles can guide us to do even better work as tutors and teachers.

Multi-level Instruction – Burgen Young

If you have two or more students, then you probably have a multi-level class. Come learn strategies to give lower level students the support they need and keep higher level students engaged.

User-Friendly Objectives – Burgen Young

Well written objectives can make your job as a volunteer much easier. With good objectives you can make decisions about what to teach, what not to teach, and how to teach it. Come learn how to identify objectives that aren’t included in a lesson plan and how to make an objective more user friendly.

Writing Across the Curriculum – Heather Herrman

Learn how to incorporate writing into all of your GED and Pre-GED classes, including Science and Math.  Encouraging students to write daily not only takes the fear out of the process, but helps students obtain and retain information.  From the creative to the functional, you’ll walk away with easy, multi-level assignments ready for you and your students to enjoy.