1. art and entertainment
2. shows and events
3. conference

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ HOUSTON, TEXAS | THE OFFICIAL ANNUAL CONFERENCE NEWSPAPER | www.ascd.org/conferencedaily ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
CONFERENCE DAY 3
MONDAY,
March 23,
2015
Connectivity whisks away the
boundaries of isolation to extend
learning across the globe.
FRIED EGGS
&OMELETS
SARAH MCKIBBEN
“What you really want to learn is learning itself,”
related Nicholas Negroponte during the Second General Session. “All the other stuff is somewhat incidental.” Founder of the MIT Media Lab, Negroponte has
had his finger on the pulse of technology and learning
for nearly 40 years. His predictions over that time
have been hauntingly precise: he foretold the interactivity of touch screens, the ubiquity of e-books, and
even the advent of wearable technology.
But throughout his career, Negroponte’s work has
been underpinned by a nagging curiosity about the
way we learn. In the 1960s, his colleague Seymour
Papert discovered that the process of writing computer programs (or coding), is the “closest approximation that [children] can get to learning about
learning.” When you write a program, explained
Negroponte, you “create an algorithm and reduce it
to a set of instructions.” Such programs rarely work
on the first attempt, however. If 5-year-olds are trying
to generate a circle on a screen and are unsuccessful,
they have to “observe the behavior of the computer”
then “go back into the lines of code, find the bug,
change it, and execute it again.”
This creates a sort of fascination with errors. When
observing students in Harlem, Negroponte and Papert noticed that the children who wrote computer programs were better spellers. Why? “When you write
a computer program, the fun part is the debugging,”
marveled Negroponte. This desire for investigation
prompted students to “joke with each other about the
words they [misspelled],” and they weren’t ashamed
to call out their mistakes. They were “enjoying the
errors” as part of the learning process.
It wasn’t until decades later that the intersection of
technology and learning truly came to a head for
CONTINUED on page 15
Read These Stories and MORE
ONLINE
 Learning First, Technology Second
 “Granting” Success: Writing a
Competitive Proposal
 Teaching and Living More Efficiently
Visit www.ascd.org/conferencedaily for more
in-depth conference coverage.
An Evening with
PETER YARROW
  
INSIDE

10
Exceeding
Expectations

13
Carla Hall

14
Tweeting for
Transparency
SCHEDULE
CHANGES
Monday
Corrections
3311: “Low-Tech Disruptions
in an Age of High Tech” has
moved to Level 3, Room
362BC.
3340: “Unleashing Student
Superpowers “ has moved
to 8:00–9:00 a.m., Level 3,
Room 330B.
Presenter Change
3212: “Social Emotional
Learning: Systemic Innovation
for Improved Outcomes”:
Paul Cruz is an additional
presenter.
Peter Yarrow, formerly of Peter, Paul, and Mary
and cofounder of Operation Respect, presented
a free concert for ASCD’s third General Session
Sunday evening. Check out our photo gallery at
www.ascd.org/ac15yarrow.
Annual
Conference
at your Fingertips
Go to www.ascd.org/acapp or scan CODE TO DOWNLOAD
ASCD ON SOCIAL MEDIA: #ASCD15 |  @ascd |  @officialascd |  facebook.com/ascd.org |  pinterest.com/officialascd |  youtube.com/officialascd
2 ★ CONFERENCE DAILY ★ www.ascd.org/conferencedaily
Join over 48.9 million
teachers and students
on the world’s leading
K-12 platform
Visit Edmodo at booth 300
to learn more.
edmodo.com
www.ascd.org/conferencedaily ★ CONFERENCE DAILY ★ 3
EXPLORE THE ASCD CENTER
Open today from 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in Booth 484 in the Exhibit Show.
Engage in Author Book
Signings
Benefit from Your
Membership
Meet some of your favorite ASCD authors who are
featured at the conference. Come to the ASCD Bookstore to get your ASCD books signed by select authors
between 9:15 a.m. and 12:15 p.m. Detailed schedules
are available at the bookstore.
In appreciation of your membership with ASCD and
your attendance at this year’s Annual Conference, we
invite you to take part in the many activities we have
planned for you. Visit us at the Member Services desk to
• Learn about valuable ASCD member benefits.
• Visit our “Social Selfie” photo booth.
ASCD Forum on
Accountability
Katie Freeman
On Sunday, Annual Conference attendees participated in a
face-to-face continuation of the ASCD Forum’s dialogue on
accountability. The forum, a conversation on ASCD EDge®
that began on February 2, invites educators to envision
a next-generation accountability system that promotes a
whole child approach to education.
ASCD President Nancy Gibson opened the discussion
by heralding the need for ongoing discussion on this
topic. “Accountability can mean a lot of things to a lot of
different people,” she said, and participants proved that
point in the breakout discussions that followed.
• Learn about special renewal offers.
Audience members explored four topics: defining student
success; multiple measures of accountability; student,
family, and community engagement; and accountability
for continuous improvement.
The ASCD Center is offering these free user
workshops in the ASCD Theater.
Raffle Winners
Despite the variety of definitions given for accountability,
participants agreed on several common themes.
ASCD Principal Leadership Development:
Meeting Needs and Making a Difference
9:30 a.m.
Sunday’s raffle winner was James Carlovsky
of New Ulm, Minn. Saturday’s raffle winner was
Anthony B. Harper of Dallas, Tex.
• P
repared students are successful students: Most of
the brainstormed definitions related to preparation in
some way—for college, career, life, and citizenship.
Classroom Formative Assessment: The Key to
Student Understanding
11:30 a.m.
Congratulations! Come to the Member Services
desk by 1:00 p.m. today to claim your prize.
• E veryone is accountable: Students, parents, teachers,
and community stakeholders are all accountable in
different ways. In particular, parent accountability must
have multiple measures to better accommodate their
availability and engage them in meaningful ways.
Participate in Educator
Workshops
• Collect your Membership Ribbon.
Personal demonstrations are available on request
in the ASCD Professional Learning Zone. See how
ASCD’s video library, for example, brings successful
teaching practices to life through the PD In Focus®
on-demand system.
Share Feedback and Insight
Visit the ASCD Research Row to share your insight
and feedback with our research experts through a
brief, interactive survey. All participants will receive
a free gift while supplies last.
• A
ccountability isn’t one-size-fits-all: Schools and
districts must be able to define accountability measures
according to their specific goals. Measures created at
higher levels lose meaning.
Ready,
Set, Selfie!
Grab a friend and stop by the selfie booth
in the ASCD Center to take a photo with fun
ASCD-themed props.
 8:30 a.m–12:30 p.m.
• R
eset the focus: Too often, we start by defining
measures. Instead, we should specify goals, then create
measures to support them. “Because it’s easy to meet”
isn’t a good reason for a measure.
• S tudents should come first: Students are often
marginalized in accountability discussions, when they
are actually the best at defining their own success.
The ASCD Forum continues the vigorous discussion until
April 15. Join us at www.ascd.org/ascdforum or on
Twitter using #ASCDForum.
Because of ASCD...
We’re always looking for new ways to insert ASCD
voices into our conversations. With this in mind,
we’ve asked a set of questions to ASCD members,
who come from all walks of life and are happy to
share their stories.
conferences are where I have an opportunity to
connect with other passionate colleagues to learn,
reflect, and have fun. Over the years, it has also
been nice to be able to spend time with educators I
remain connected with. It feels like a family reunion!
Meet Dawn Imada Chan, ASCD Member
and Emerging Leader
What are your favorite ASCD resources,
publications, solutions, or events, and why?
Complete this sentence:
“Because of ASCD . . .”
I continue to grow as an educator (through the
wealth of resources that ASCD provides) and have
grown as a leader through my participation in the
ASCD Emerging Leaders program.
What is your favorite ASCD moment?
My favorite ASCD moments have been at events like
Annual Conference or the L2L Conference. These
My favorite ASCD resources include
1. E ducational Leadership and ASCD newsletters
(Express, Smartbrief) help me to stay on top of current
educational trends and dialogues. EL provides me
with a deep dive into a specific theme, while the
ASCD newsletters provide me with quick sound bites
to reflect upon and discuss with colleagues.
2. As a Twitter user, I have found #ASCDL2L, @ASCD,
and @WholeChildASCD to be valuable sources of
information that I can share with my PLN.
3. I am quickly becoming a fan of the ASCD AriasTM
series. I like that these are quick reads with practical
solutions. I like that they can be implemented in
your school or classroom the next day.
Why are you an ASCD member?
As a member, I can count on ASCD to provide me
with the most reliable, up-to-date content about the
best teaching and learning practices. ASCD products,
its Annual conference, and other online ASCD
resources like the free webinars and the #ASCDL2L
Twitter chats are just some of the many helpful
resources that allow me and my colleagues to grow.
Read more stories on Inservice at
http://inservice.ascd.org. Explore ASCD
membership at www.ascd.org/learnmore.
Hello, Superkids.
Zaner-Bloser is pleased to announce that we
have acquired Superkids Reading Program
from Rowland Reading Foundation.
Superkids joins Zaner-Bloser’s exciting portfolio of language arts
programs to offer educators and students a passport to literacy.
Get free coffee—on us! Let’s talk about language arts and
reading. Saturday and Sunday only, pick up your passport in either of our booths
and find out how to get your language arts and reading stamps to earn a free
coffee gift card. Quantities are limited.
Zaner-Bloser booth #308 • Superkids booth #629
www.zaner-bloser.com • 800.421.3018
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www.ascd.org/conferencedaily ★ CONFERENCE DAILY ★ 5
More Great Events from ASCD
If you have loved your Annual Conference experience,
be sure to take advantage of our upcoming conferences.
Some highlights from the upcoming
program include
• “ The Teenage Brain: Does It Really
Exist?” presented by Tom Lindsay
• “ Understanding the Minds of Boys:
Critical Information for Increasing Student Success” presented by
Dakota Hoyt
ASCD’s Conference on Teaching
Excellence takes place June 26–28,
2015, in Nashville, Tenn., at the Gaylord
Opryland Resort & Convention Center.
This conference is designed to help
teachers, teacher leaders, teacher mentors, coaches, and other leaders learn
how to integrate best practices into
daily instruction. With more than 150
sessions to choose from, you will have
a chance to discover new ideas to take
back to your school.
• “ How to Improve Feedback in the
Classroom” presented by Jane E.
Pollock
• “ Pre-Assessment 2.0 in K–12 Classrooms” presented by Jessica Hockett
• “ GRIT: An Important Factor in
Improving School Achievement”
presented by Nicholas Brown
• “ Project-Based Learning: Bridging
the Gap Between the STEM Content
Areas” presented by Joy Dubinski,
Nancy D. Weber, and Larry Kelly
This year’s conference will feature some
of the best minds in education presenting on numerous education topics that
will improve your teaching abilities.
• “ UbD and GANAG for Unit and Lesson Planning” presented by Jane E.
Pollock and Jay McTighe
Explore bold new directions
in teaching practice.
• “ Innovative Classroom Practices
That Support the Whole Child and
Increase Achievement” presented by
Michael Rulon
This is your top opportunity to explore
the best new teaching practices. In just
three days, you get a whole career’s
worth of new strategies and solutions to
use in any grade level or subject.
• “ Achievement Gap? No Problem!
Using Common Toys to Depict Mental
Models for Writing” presented by
Nancy Herta
Learn what's working in
classrooms and schoolwide.
• “ Seven Principals Share Strategies
for Closing the Gap: Risk, Motivation,
and Results” presented by Dionne
McLaughlin
You know that trying new ideas and
experimenting with your craft is the
heart and soul of teacher growth and
professional development. But you
don't have to “reinvent the wheel”
every time you want to add to your skill
set. Get secrets from other teachers
and teacher leaders at this event.
• “ Differentiating the Flipped Classroom” presented by Eric Carbaugh
and Kristina Doubet
• “ Making Generational Differences
Work for You: Millennials, Gen X,
and the Baby Boomers” presented by
Deborah Boyd
Bring a team.
Learning together and collaborating
with your colleagues is the best way to
advance your practice. So use this
opportunity to jump-start that process
by bringing a team to share and explore
has to
E all
N this
C Eimportant
P R E Vevent
IEW
A offer.
ND R
E
• “ High-Tech, High-Touch, HighThought Classrooms for Our Future
Citizens” presented by Robin Fogarty
G and
I S Brian
T R APete
TION MATERIA
“The [2014] Conference
on Teaching Excellence
was great! I was able to
bring 20 of my teacher
leaders from my county.
We debriefed the following
week and everyone was
excited about what they
had learned.”
—Lynette Lewis, Instructional Specialist,
Office of Talent Development
Prince George’s County, Md.
• “ Using Formative Assessment and
the CCSS to Drive Standards-Based
Instruction” presented by Donnell
E. Gregory
Many more exciting sessions are
planned for this summer. For more
information and to register, visit
www.ascd.org/CTE.
Search for sessions, get news alerts, rate
sessions, and access social media with
the 2015 ASCD Conference on Teaching
Excellence App. The App will be available in the App Store and Google Play in
LApril
S 2015.
Save the
Date for CEL
The 2015 ASCD Conference on Educational
Leadership will take place October 30–November
1 in San Diego, Calif. Pre-Conference sessions
will take place on October 29. Bookmark
www.ascd.org/CEL and check back for
more information as it becomes available.
Join Us
in Atlanta
in 2016
April 2–4, 2016
Georgia World Congress Center
Atlanta, Georgia
We hope you’ve had a wonderful
learning experience in Houston—so
much so that you can’t wait to join
us again next year. In 2016, ASCD
heads to Atlanta, Ga., for Learn,
Teach, Lead: The 71st ASCD Annual
Conference and Exhibit Show. We’re
unveiling our new “evergreen”
conference brand, which emphasizes
the expansive offerings encountered
at every ASCD Annual Conference and
serves as a powerful reinforcement of
ASCD’s mission.
Whatever your role in education,
wherever you are in your path to
excellence, the Learn, Teach, Lead
Conference will give you the tools
you need to put it all together.
The proposal process is open now
through May 15 at www.ascd.org
/acsubmit. Registration opens in
Summer 2015. Keep an eye on www
.ascd.org/annualconference for
more information.
Visit Booth #1029 in the Exhibit
Show to learn more from the Atlanta
Convention and Visitors Bureau.
See you next year!
6 ★ CONFERENCE DAILY ★ www.ascd.org/conferencedaily
Exhibitor
Directory
#DontLetThemDrop......................873
A
Achievement Loop.........................543
ACT Inc...........................................1018
ActivEd Inc......................................661
Adobe................................................401
Advanced Learning
Concepts LLC............................ 943
Air Watch By Vmware..................418
Algebra Readiness
Educators LLC........................... 860
Amazon Education.........................955
American Reading Company......617
American School............................842
Amplify.............................................601
Apex Learning............................... 642
Apperson Datalink........................216
Arizona State University
Online...........................................937
Art in Action.................................. 659
Ascend Education..........................752
Atlanta CVB.................................. 1029
Audio Enhancement Inc.............. 444
Ayn Rand Institute........................438
B
Backpack Gear Inc.........................339
Benchmark Education.................. 101
Big Ideas Learning LLC................927
Blended Schools Network and
Urban Planet Mobile.................247
Booksource......................................919
Borenson and Associates Inc......839
Box Cars & One Eyed Jacks........533
Brainchild.........................................242
brass\Money Side of Life
­STUDENT Program............... 1024
BrightBytes..................................... 439
Buck Institute for Education...... 664
Build Your Own Curriculum.......835
C
C.A.R.E Core Augmented Reality
Education....................................658
Cambridge Educational
Services....................................... 670
Cambridge International
Examinations..............................457
Capstone/MyON............................723
Center for School
Transformation......................... 654
Claire Lynn Designs..................... 546
CompuScholar Inc........................ 864
Conscious Discipline................... 665
Corwin............................................. 509
Cover One........................................ 581
Crayola LLC.....................................923
Curriculum Associates LLC..... 1005
D
Danielson Group............................678
Diamond Council of America.....544
Digitalis Education Solutions
Inc................................................. 309
Dinah-Might Adventures, LP..... 846
District Administration
Magazine.....................................337
Drawp for School............................825
DreamBox Learning..................... 709
E
EAI Education.................................347
Edisonlearning................................363
Edlio...................................................238
 In addition to being exhibitors, some companies are also sponsors. Their names appear in color.
Knowledge Delivery Systems..... 741
KnowRe............................................. 561
L
Edmentum........................................523
Edmodo............................................ 300
EDTRAININGCENTER................958
Education Week............................ 924
Edulastic...........................................443
EduTect.............................................679
Engineer Your World from the
University of Texas.................. 960
Engineering Is Elementary........ 940
ESR.....................................................823
Examview By Turning
Technologies..............................657
Excel Math...................................... 646
Exemplars........................................454
Exibi...................................................344
Explore Learning............................228
EZ - Robot Inc.................................870
F
FAST - The Formative Assessment
System For Teachers ...............478
Findaway......................................... 956
Florida Institute of
Technology.................................577
Follett................................................729
Foot Pain DBA Happy Feet..........255
Forde Ferrier LLC.......................... 862
Free Spirit Publishing...................433
Frog Publications.......................... 942
FSP Cool Lockers...........................461
G
Gilder Lehrman Institute of
American History......................634
Glogster EC Inc..............................570
Great American
Opportunities Inc......................747
Great Expectations
Foundation..................................542
GT Ignite..........................................861
H
Handwriting Without Tears........827
Harvard Education Press............ 209
Harvard Graduate School of
Education................................... 462
Heinemann......................................301
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.........534
Houston Independent School
District....................................... 1011
I
I Think School................................ 656
Insight Public Sector................. 1026
Institute For Excellence in
Writing.........................................575
International Baccalaureate....... 680
IPEVO............................................... 909
IRIS Connect.................................. 465
Istation..............................................563
itslearning Inc.................................324
J
K
Kaeden Books..................................635
Kagan Publishing & Professional
Development..............................845
Knopf Doubleday........................... 341
Knovation........................................ 808
R
N
Naiku.................................................338
National Council of Teachers of
Mathematics.............................. 640
National Library of Medicine.... 405
Neufeld Learning Systems
Inc................................................. 208
Neuhaus Education Center.........554
Nextlesson...................................... 459
Nightlock Lockdown..................... 471
Northwest Evaluation
Association................................. 318
Norwood House Press..................441
Nudging the Imagination........... 644
Nystrom Education.......................219
observe4success............................562
Observer Tab.................................. 809
Oneida Indian Nation.................. 244
ORIGO Education..........................623
OSC World.......................................225
Otto Trading Inc............................224
Overdrive.........................................819
P
Qualtrics........................................ 1020
Questar III Boces...........................475
Read Naturally Inc.........................326
Reading Horizons......................... 220
Real OT Solutions Inc...................453
Realityworks Inc............................. 771
Really Great Reading....................776
Renaissance Learning.................. 400
Responsive Classroom................ 446
Revolve Robotics......................... 1059
Rezilient Kidz................................1021
Richer Picture/Ideas
Consulting...................................552
Routledge Eye on Education.......740
Rowman & Littlefield
Education....................................843
Royal Fireworks Publishing....... 908
Royal Roads University................245
Rubicon International...................653
Russian Blue Diamond...............1027
S
Mackin Educational
Resources....................................767
Mark Elliott Designs.....................677
Marshall Cavendish
Education....................................538
Marzano Research.........................327
Mastery Ed...................................... 766
MasteryConnect............................ 944
MathFest Inc....................................574
Math Teachers Press Inc............1033
MathLine at Howbrite
Solutions......................................638
McREL International.....................778
Measured Progress........................227
Measurement Incorporated........422
Media-X Systems Inc....................874
Membean, Inc................................. 880
Memorial Healthworks! Kids
Museum.......................................841
Mentoring Minds, LP................... 926
Microsoft Corporation.................529
Mindrocket Media Group............379
MTGTS SMARTBoard
Training.......................................878
My Learning Plan Inc....................447
O
Jensen Learning Corporation... 205
Jones International
University....................................572
Just ASK Publications &
Professional Development...... 517
Q
Lamar University.......................... 880
Language Magazine......................559
Lead Your School.......................... 947
Learning A Z....................................681
Learning Bird..................................557
Learning List.................................. 540
Learning Sciences
International...............................753
Learning Sciences
International...............................852
Learning Theater...........................372
Learning Theater.......................... 360
Learning Focused Solutions........222
Learning.Com................................. 662
LEGO Education............................ 866
Lexia, A Rosetta Stone
Company..................................... 609
Library of Congress...................... 962
Lightspeed Technologies Inc..... 246
Lions Quest.....................................556
Listen Current................................ 945
Little Caesars Pizza Kits............. 560
Lone Star Learning........................558
lynda.com........................................ 426
M
Penguin Random House.............. 424
Pitsco Education......................... 1008
Positive Action...............................922
PALS Marketplace........................ 409
Pearson.............................................701
Saint Joseph’s College................. 340
Sanford Education Center at
National University................. 760
Sanford Harmony Program........ 939
Scantron........................................... 717
Scholastic Inc................................. 900
School Datebooks......................... 564
School Improvement
Network.......................................501
School Innovations &
Achievement..............................735
School Mate.....................................762
School Technology Resources
Inc..................................................232
Schoology.........................................535
Schoolwide Inc...............................641
Scribesense.................................... 1017
Seacliff Educational Solutions....859
Second Step/Committee for
Children.......................................855
Sesame..............................................765
Seton Hall University..................1022
Shader Productions.......................754
Shout! Media...................................359
Sibme.................................................674
Silver Strong & Associates..........578
Singapore Math Inc.......................547
Skyward Inc..................................... 541
SMARTTraining NOW.................545
Smith System..................................652
Snooty Hooty Too, LLC.................779
Solution Tree.................................. 429
Spirit Lala.......................................1053
Springboard.................................... 440
STAAR Master/Testsmart Common
Core/Novel Units Inc...............810
Staff Development for
Educators.....................................252
Stenhouse Publishers....................553
Stop Summer Learning Loss!......437
Studies Weekly............................... 417
Sumblox Group LLC......................758
Superkids by Zaner Bloser......... 629
Sweet Treats.................................... 671
Swivl..................................................342
T
Tardy Calculator............................473
TeacherMatch................................ 676
Teacher's Discovery...................... 781
Teachers College Press................322
Teaching Channel..........................210
Teaching Tolerance.......................323
Teachscape......................................223
TestDividers....................................579
Textbook Warehouse................... 480
The Arts & College Prep
Academy..................................... 663
The Cooper Institute.................... 936
The DBQ Project............................746
The Great Books Foundation..... 647
The Learning Connection
TLC................................................733
The Markerboard People.............834
The Master Teacher.......................445
The New Book Press LLC...........1055
The New York Times.....................925
The School Planner
Company......................................226
The Virtual High School............. 660
Thinking Maps Inc....................... 648
Thomas Edison State College.....863
Tiggly................................................672
Tobii Dynavox/Boardmaker.......479
Touchstones Discussion
Project..........................................458
Townsend Press..............................763
Treetop Publishing/Bare
Books............................................ 761
Tutto/Mascot Metropolitan
Inc................................................. 954
U
V
W
Z
Universal Publishing.....................354
University of Houston Victoria,
School of Education and Human
Development..............................345
University of Nebraska High
School...........................................941
University of Pennsylvania, Mid
Career Doctoral Program........857
University of Texas at San
Antonio........................................463
University of West Georgia.........236
Vantage Learning...........................243
Variquest Visual Learning
Tools.............................................355
Velazquez Press............................. 840
Vocabulary Spellingcity.Com..... 319
Vocabulary.Com.............................455
VS America......................................423
W A Y Widening Advancements
for Youth......................................918
Walden University.........................343
WestEd..............................................325
WIDA Consortium........................ 436
Wiley.................................................201
Wilson Language Training
Corporation................................237
World of Wicked............................775
World Savvy–Global Competence
Certificate..................................1023
WRiTE BRAiN BOOKS.................978
Writerkey.Com...............................732
WriteSteps.......................................336
Zaner Bloser................................... 308
zSpace...............................................756
Get Credit!
Academic credit is
available for attending
ASCD’s Annual Conference.
Speak with Kim Nielsen in the
registration area (Level 1, Hall
E) for information on credit
with the Institute of Graduate
Studies or visit www.ascd
.org/academiccredit for
information on credit with
other schools.
www.ascd.org/conferencedaily ★ CONFERENCE DAILY ★ 7
Sustaining Gold-Standard
Project-Based Learning
Project-based learning has transformed
schools around the nation by introducing
students to a new way of learning that
allows a deeper understanding of a
subject, but how do those schools sustain
an implementation so that it results in
lasting change?
• Student Voice and Choice: Students and teachers reflect on the effectiveness of their inquiry and
project activities, the quality of student work, and
obstacles and how to overcome them.
In their Saturday session “Leading Schools and Districts to Sustainable Project-Based Learning,” John
Larmer and Jennifer Cruz from the Buck Institute for
Education discussed the essential elements of “gold
standard” project-based learning.
Schools and districts must realize that project-based
learning is the “main course, not the dessert,” said
Larmer. It takes time, around 2 to 3 weeks, to implement a
successful project. Schools also need to focus on moving teachers from compliance to commitment through
collaboration and community support. “You must bring
your community along,” added Cruz, who shared a story
of “angry Texas mommas” who had issues with a school
that implemented project-based learning. They “flew
their helicopters onto the field” to find out why their
children were learning differently. To avoid such confrontations, Cruz said, schools must involve parents, faculty,
and students in the transition to project-based learning
and make sure they realize it can take 3 to 5 years.
• Student Learning Goals: The project is focused on
key standards-based knowledge, understanding, and
skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, collaboration, and self-management.
• Challenging Problem or Question: The project is
framed by a meaningful problem to solve or a question to answer, at the appropriate level of challenge.
• Sustained Inquiry: Students engage in a rigorous, extended process of asking questions, finding
resources, and applying information.
• Authenticity: The project features real-world context,
tasks and tools, or impact, or it speaks to students’
personal concerns, interests, and issues.
Kelsey Hodges
• Critique and Revision: Students give, receive, and
use feedback to improve their process and products.
• Public Product: Students make their project work
public by displaying or presenting it to people
beyond the classroom.
Getting teachers to change their lessons plans and
teach differently is a big challenge, Cruz explained.
Project-based learning allows for hands-on learning
rather than general classwork, and teachers or parents
are often slow to jump aboard such a change. But Cruz
reasoned that if “you think about the teaching force
as learners,” they can be coached, and with the right
communication, parents will be open to change.
Cruz also discussed differences between schools and
districts and how leaders should analyze the most common form of communication in their areas to find the
best way share information about an implementation.
Districts with poor Internet access, for example, should
consider alternatives to online communication, while
those with premium access can focus on web resources.
To close, Larmer and Cruz presented some videos
to illustrate how project-based learning is affecting
schools around the nation and insisted that students
benefit when it is implemented properly.
John Larmer is the coauthor of the forthcoming ASCD
book Setting the Standard for Project-Based Learning:
A Proven Approach to Rigorous Classroom Instruction.
Read more about the Buck Institute for Education and
project-based learning at www.bie.org. Follow the presenters on Twitter: @JohnLBIE and @JencBIE. 
YOUR CURRICULUM CONTENT
ON ANY DEVICE
Learn how we can help you transition
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• A central platform tailored to your district’s needs
• Informational texts and literary nonfiction, class sets,
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• Expert assistance for deep implementation
VISIT OVERDRIVE
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FOR A DEMO
overdrive.com/schools
eBooks | audiobooks | streaming video | music
schools@overdrive.com
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8 ★ CONFERENCE DAILY ★ www.ascd.org/conferencedaily
TH A NK Y O U TO O U R S P ON S O R S
Emerging
Leaders
Share Career Advice
Lead Sponsors
ASCD emerging leaders led a career chat
session for Annual Conference attendees,
including ASCD student members, on
Saturday afternoon. During this session,
participants learned how emerging
leaders, many of whom are now in
positions to hire educators, first got
started in education.
Sponsoring Partners
Over the course of the session, ASCD
emerging leaders Karen Baptiste, Mark
Estrada, Allison Hogan, and Jason
Toenges shared helpful advice and
insider tips from the perspective of
the interviewer and answered a variety
of questions from the audience. In
some cases, these conversations have
led to opportunities and interviews,
with ASCD serving as the connection
between members.
Platinum Sponsors
Gold Sponsors
Silver Sponsors
Featured Sponsors
Supporters
ASCD’s Emerging Leaders program is
designed to prepare younger, diverse
educators for potential influence
and ASCD leadership. A new cadre of
emerging leaders is selected annually;
we are currently accepting applications
until April 1. Learn more at www.ascd
.org/emergingleaders.
Win an iPad
Visit the EduTect team
at booth 679 for your
chance to win an
iPad
®
The EduTect Unit Planner offers a whole-school, web-based,
comprehensive and integrated curriculum planning and
reporting tool for educators.
Unit Planner is accessible at anytime, anywhere
through an elegant web-based or native iPad app.
Unit Planner supports the Understanding by Design®
framework based on the work of Jay McTighe and
Grant Wiggins to encourage a common language and
consistent curriculum format.
The intuitive nature and flexibility of Unit Planner
encourages teacher collaboration and sharing, within
and across schools.
©
The curriculum mapping function enables horizontal
and vertical curriculum alignment.
ENROLL FOR A 14 DAY FREE TRIAL
www.edutectinc.com/ASCDMarch2015
1-844-338-8328
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www.ascd.org/conferencedaily ★ CONFERENCE DAILY ★ 9
Maryland School Receives
Whole Child
Award
ASCD is honored to name Magnolia Elementary School in
Joppa, Md., as the 2015 Vision in Action: The ASCD Whole
Child Award winner. This award acknowledges those schools
that have changed the conversation about education from a
focus on narrowly defined academic achievement to one that
promotes the development of the whole child, ensuring each
child is healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged.
“ASCD applauds the work Magnolia Elementary School has done to support each
and every child they serve, and it is our pleasure to present the school with the 2015
Vision in Action Award,” said Judy Seltz, ASCD Executive Director. “The faculty
and staff at Magnolia Elementary consistently demonstrate an exemplary commitment to nurturing learners who are healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged, and we are looking forward to sharing their impressive practices with the
education community.”
A Focus on All-Around Student Health
Magnolia Elementary serves 497 students from grades preK–5 and runs programs
to enhance the physical and social-emotional health of each one of them. The
school keeps students healthy by participating in a harvestable school garden
program that lets them grow vegetables on school grounds and incorporate them
into school lunches. Because many of the students’ home neighborhoods are not fit
for safe outside play, the school has also reworked its master schedule to allow for
more physical education periods and added movement periods to its after-school
intervention program.
The school also has a mental health cohort that meets six times each year to
evaluate the level of support the school is providing to teachers, staff, and
students. Cohort members include a school psychologist, guidance counselor,
social worker, and health readiness counselor, and the school focuses on
promoting healthy social-emotional skills and conflict resolution strategies,
among other key areas of emphasis.
Community and Character Are Key
As a Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) school, Magnolia
Elementary believes in emphasizing positive behaviors and teaching students
character. To build a greater sense of school community, the school has created
five houses on campus, each aligned with a specific character trait: responsibility,
respect, cooperation, encouragement, and perseverance.
IN ACTION
The ASCD Whole Child Award
Students from each grade and every
staff member in the school—support
staff and faculty alike—are a part of the
house system. As part of the system,
students have participated in numerous service learning projects, including
making and sending cards to veterans,
packing meals for students in need, and
cleaning the school grounds.
Ensuring Sustainable Success
The school’s three-part mission statement—which includes developing students as well-rounded citizens, partnering with families and the community, and
believing in one another—is integrated
into each part of the school improvement
plan. The plan focuses on data analysis,
health and wellness, and technology, in
addition to academics. To accomplish
each part of the school improvement
plan, and to ensure that the entire school
is accountable for whole child support,
leadership is divided between four quality improvement teams, which meet
monthly and collaborate on each element
of school success.
School staff members also participate
on other important teams: the assessment team, which analyzes data from
formative and summative assessments;
the community collaborations team,
which facilitates events that include
families and the community; and
the integrated instructional strategies team, which uses the whole child
approach to provide professional
development training based on staff
needs. By aligning each of the school
efforts—professional development,
classroom instruction, assessments,
and community engagement—with the
mission statement, and prioritizing
whole child support in that mission,
Magnolia Elementary has set up a successful and sustainable environment
for student growth.
“Our vision and actions at Magnolia
Elementary School lay a foundation
that will help all our children develop
healthy choices, safe practices, and a
mind-set of perseverance as they face
the academic and social challenges of
life,” said Magnolia Elementary School
principal Patricia Mason.
ASCD congratulates the Magnolia
Elementary School community on
earning this award.
Learn more about Vision in Action:
The ASCD Whole Child Award at
www.ascd.org/wholechild. 
ASCD Affiliates
Honored for Excellence
Located in the United States, Canada,
the Caribbean, and East Asia, ASCD
affiliates are separate education
organizations that work collaboratively
as part of the ASCD community to foster
common values and goals essential to
the way educators learn, teach, and lead.
Affiliates influence education policy and
provide a forum for the exchange of highquality education practices.
Affiliate Recognition
Awards
local region while actively collaborating
within the ASCD community.
ASCD affiliates are a great way to meet and
learn with local educators in your region.
Through affiliate membership, you have
the opportunity to explore state and local
education issues, hone your leadership
skills, and participate in professional
development opportunities.
ASCD values each affiliate’s contributions
in advancing ASCD’s mission. To honor
ASCD affiliates’ exemplary service to the
education community, ASCD annually
considers applications for Affiliate
Recognition Awards. The 2015 awards were
presented on Sunday at the Leadership
Appreciation Luncheon.
One affiliate, Virginia ASCD, received
the 2015 Overall Excellence Award. This
award is given to affiliates that exhibit the
characteristics of an exemplary affiliate,
which includes using data to meet member
needs and demonstrating an influence on
education practice and policy within the
The Area of Excellence Awards recognize
affiliate achievement in a specific area of
affiliate work. This year’s award recipients
are New York ASCD and Pennsylvania ASCD
for excellence in Programs, Products, and
Services; and New Hampshire ASCD for
excellence in Communications.
Exceptional Progress Awards recognize
affiliates that have made significant
progress in a specific area of affiliate work.
This year, ASCD presented two awards.
Colorado ASCD and Minnesota ASCD both
received the Exceptional Progress Award in
Leadership and Governance.
For more information about ASCD affiliates,
go to www.ascd.org/affiliates. 
10 ★ CONFERENCE DAILY ★ www.ascd.org/conferencedaily
Room 56:
Exceeding Expectations
and Defying Statistics
Laura Checkley
In a building surrounded by a chain-link fence, in a world
where weekly visits from the police, gang violence, and
substance abuse are the norm, Los Angeles students
have found a safe haven. In room 56 of Hobart Boulevard
Elementary School, 5th grade teacher Rafe Esquith has
cultivated an environment that encourages students to
flourish in unexpected ways. In his compelling Sunday
session “Real Talk for Real Teachers,” Esquith shared some
of his classroom experiences, as well as his strategies for
motivating, engaging, and inspiring students.
At Hobart, 92 percent of the students live below the poverty line. All receive free
meals, most speak English as a second language, and only 32 percent graduate high
school. Upon entering his classroom, many of Esquith’s students were far behind
their peers academically. Esquith saw an opportunity to level the playing field for
his 5th graders. By the end of the year, his students were reading literary classics,
such as Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, William Golding’s Lord
of the Flies, and John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men. They have performed history
After his session, Esquith signed
his books for excited attendees.
recitations and plays by Shakespeare,
which they inform with music. Now
known as the Hobart Shakespeareans,
the students have performed at Arlington National Cemetery and in front of
the United States Supreme Court, and
have even wowed renowned actor Sir
Ian McKellen. Making content relevant,
Esquith stated, was the key to motivating
his students to work toward a higher goal,
whether it be reading a book or working as
a team to produce a play.
Those who have observed Esquith
in action are often astonished by his
students’ good behavior. In his session,
he revealed which classroom strategies
yield positive behavior from his students. Esquith believes that respectful,
conscientious behavior is best taught
by example, so first and foremost, he
provides a role model. He expects students to work hard, so he is the hardest
worker in the room, and by treating
students respectfully, he gives them
When Kids Feel Good on
the Inside, They Succeed
on the Outside
a reason to be polite. Second, Esquith
does not focus on end-of-year assessments. The real test, he argued, is
where students end up in 20 years and
whether he has given them the tools
they need to succeed in life. Finally,
Esquith teaches his students Lawrence
Kohlberg’s “Six Stages of Moral Development.” His goal is to bring students
out of the lower stages, such as behaving well to receive an award, and into
the sixth stage, where they develop
personal codes of behavior for the rest
of their lives.
Esquith left teachers pondering the
question, “What do you love to do?” He
encouraged his colleagues to take what
they love, whether it be cooking, running marathons, or performing Shakespeare, and bring that to the classroom.
In an era where people say it’s impossible to get students to focus, Esquith
believes there is a way, and it’s often
right under our noses. 
Seton Hall University
graduates enjoy successful
careers as Superintendents,
Central Office and Building
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and 7 countries.
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To learn more, visit us at
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www.ascd.org/conferencedaily ★ CONFERENCE DAILY ★ 11
1. ASCD author Baruti
Kafele signs books in
the ASCD Center.
2
1
2. Networking at the
President’s Reception.
3. Attendees stream from
session to session.
4. Enjoying delicious food at
the President’s Reception.
5. Having fun with the Selfie
Station in the ASCD Center.
6. A percussion ensemble
from Jersey Village High
School performs at the
Sunday General Session.
HIGHLIGHTS from
7. Members of the Whole
Child Network of Schools
show ASCD spirit.
DAY TWO
3
4
5
6
7
6
The K–12 Open Interoperable Platform
VIDEO STREAMING LIBRARY
LEARNING OBJECT REPOSITORY
SEARCH
Audrey Kim | Log Out
Room 8E
Owl Middle School
IPTV & LIVE MEDIA STREAMING
DIGITAL LEARNING PLATFORM
SAFARI Montage provides K–12 school
districts with an open interoperable Digital
Learning Platform, including a Learning
Object Repository, Video Streaming
Library, IPTV and Live Media Streaming,
designed to handle video efficiently.
MONDAY SESSION
MIDDLE SCHOOL
Building Collaborative Partnerships to
Create Effective Digital Curriculum
Discover how the Curriculum and Technology departments
at Keller ISD have worked together over the past decade to
create an innovative digital instructional model. Hear insights
from the district’s success, including tips for developing a
collaborative approach to solving problems and encouraging
innovative ideas and strategies.
Learn more about SAFARI Montage
SAFARIMONTAGE.COM
TWITTER.COM/SAFARIMONTAGE
FACEBOOK.COM/SAFARIMONTAGE
SAFARIMONTAGEHDNETWORK.COM
PRESENTED BY
Joe Griffin, Chief Technology Officer, & Deana Lopez, former
Assoc. Superintendent of Curriculum & Instruction,
Keller Independent School District, TX
DATE & TIME
Monday, March 23, 2015, 10:00–11:30 AM
LOCATION
Room 370C, Level 3
www.ascd.org/conferencedaily ★ CONFERENCE DAILY ★ 13
You Now Have Permission to
Play with Your Food
Having fun
with food in the
classroom helps
awaken students’
curiosity about the
world around them.
Kathy Checkley
Best known for her vivacious presence
on Top Chef and The Chew, Chef Carla
Hall has now turned her boundless
energy to ensuring that educators know
how to help students experience food in
entirely new ways.
In her engaging and interactive session, “Making
Sense of Food and Nutrition: Touch, Smell, Taste, See,
Feel,” volunteers participated in the kinds of food
games that Hall says will be a hit with students, while
opening their minds—and palates.
In a game that is often played by fellow chefs on The
Chew, appropriately titled “Name That Crunch,” Hall
told volunteers to hold the microphone close to their
mouths while they crunched on a mystery vegetable.
She then asked audience members to identify the item
being noshed. In one scenario, she asked the audience to decide if the volunteer was crunching roasted
almonds, raw almonds, or roasted cashews. With
answer in hand, Hall then demonstrated the different “crunch” made by each nut. The differences were
almost imperceptibly subtle, which was intentional,
Hall said. Through this activity, students begin to
understand nuance. “They learn to be present,” to
focus. (The participant, by the way, was crunching on
raw almonds, which has slightly softer crunch than
roasted almonds or roasted cashews.)
In another game, volunteers again kept their eyes
closed and listened while Hall stirred items that she
had poured into a bowl. Participants then touched
the food stuffs. The absence of scent, sight, and taste
proposed a challenge as volunteers had to rely on their
own food experiences to correctly identify the items.
lemon thyme by their unique, but distinctly lemony
scents. Most often used with Mediterranean and Asian
cuisine, these herbs are still used rarely among a
majority of people, despite the explosion of interest
in food brought about by shows like The Chew and the
slew of programs from The Food Network. Introducing
students to these “foreign” foods and spices can open
the door to discussions about culture and food, as well
as geography.
In one case, the participant had never prepared red
lentils on his own—and that was just fine with Hall.
Many students will also not have had exposure to certain foods; introducing unusual foods through such an
exercise may embolden students to vary their diets.
Hall, herself, did not grow up a foodie. Her mother’s
main dishes, she said, ranged from Hamburger Helper
to tuna casserole. (In one of her cookbooks, in fact,
Hall pays homage to her food traditions by titling one
recipe “Hamburger Help Me.”) Hall fell in love with
food when she visited Paris—and a celebrity chef was
born. She said that, for her, recipes were like puzzles
she could solve.
Hall’s favorite food games involve smell. “Smell can
evoke such emotions in people,” she said—of Sunday
dinners with loved ones, of picnics and barbeques.
Smells can be tricky, though, as Hall demonstrated
when she asked a volunteer to identify lemongrass and
Hall is happy to help introduce the foodies of tomorrow to those puzzles. Having fun with food in the
classroom helps awaken students’ curiosity about the
world around them. “And that’s everything, y’all. That’s
everything.” 
Carla Hall holds the microphone close to her mouth while
crunching a mystery vegetable.
ASCD Annual
Report
Celebrating Learning:
Stories of Teaching and Leading
ASCD’s 2014 Annual Report celebrates the power
of learning and features ASCD stories of teaching
and leading. From the very start, ASCD has
focused on improving the learning experience
for children, and over the years, our commitment
has only strengthened.
ASCD’s storied history is documented in this
year’s 2014 Annual Report through an interactive
PDF dedicated to sharing the association’s
successes of how members are teaching and
leading. The report is full of photos and stories
that illustrate ASCD’s sustained core values as
well as the ways that ASCD has transformed
teaching for yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
Take a peek and celebrate the educators who are
continuously making a difference. Download the
report at www.ascd.org/ar2014.
Free Webinars
Bring Experts to You
ASCD’s free webinars bring education experts to you.
Addressing timely issues such as student engagement, school
culture and climate, technology, and teacher leadership,
these thought-provoking presentations provide practical
strategies for educators at all levels.
Register for Coming Webinars
Join us in April for two webinars
from presenters here at ASCD’s
Annual Conference:
April 23, 3:00 p.m. eastern time:
“Using PD Online for Blended
Professional Learning” with Ann
Cunningham-Morris
April 9, 3:00 p.m. eastern time:
“17,000 Classroom Visits Can’t Be
Wrong” with John Antonetti
Register at www.ascd.org
/pdowebinars.
Antonetti is presenting“Shifting the
Focus: From Teaching to Learning”
(Session 3312) on Monday, March 23.
You can access recorded webinars
for anytime professional development.
See the whole catalog at www.ascd.org
/webinararchives.
Register at www.ascd.org
/member-only-webinars.
Watch Recordings On Demand
14 ★ CONFERENCE DAILY ★ www.ascd.org/conferencedaily
Tweeting for
Transparency in Schools
Jocelyn Quintanilla
Many educators know about Twitter, but that doesn’t
determine whether they have a good “@handle” on it. In
their Sunday session “Creating a 140-Character Culture:
Schoolwide Twitter Adoption,” Elana Leoni, Chris Casal,
and Joe Manko shared their tips for implementing
successful Twitter strategies in schools.
Leoni, who has led Edutopia’s Twitter strategy for more than six years,
introduced some Twitter basics.
She showed how to share tweets by
retweeting (“RT”) and explained how
to use a hashtag to filter tweets. Leoni
invited participants to use the hashtag
#ASCD2156 to ask questions and share
perspectives during the session.
After her crash course in Twitter use, Leoni offered some tips on making the most
of it in professional learning networks:
• G
et to know the platform to decide
whether it’s for you.
• I t’s not about the number of followers;
it’s about what you do with the ones
you have.
• S
hare, help, and have conversations;
don’t just megaphone your own story.
• U
se what you want, how you want;
Twitter is ever-changing.
Computer teacher Chris Casal started
a Twitter account for PS 10, his former
school in Brooklyn, N.Y., so that teachers
could share information and engage with
the school community quickly and professionally. Student families, community
members, and even Brooklyn city council-
Alison Gomez
Fred Ende
Monique Chatman
Anjanette Murry
Gina Saenz
Myke Collins
Audrey Fisch
Heather Lageman
Myrna Wolfbrandt
Baxter-Smith Demetra
Holly Lee
Paula Koehler
Cecilia Roe
Jennifer Bourgeois
Richard Meyer
Chiara Perry
Jusmar Maness
Rose McIntyre
Courtney Foster
Katie Holding
Sarah Jane Undiemi
THANK YOU
VOLUNTEERS
Dana Ellis
Kyra Bowerman
Scott Brown
Dan Jares
LaTonya Davenport
Stephen Oberst
David Points
Leslie Kinard
Steve Engebretson
Dawn Ferreyra
Letetia Foong
Susan Chenelle
Debra Torres De Lira
Lindy Perkins
Tasha Jones
Denise King
Melody Marriner
Tenisha Deloatch
Dion Dubois
Michael Cubacub
Toni Lorrie
Erin Hugus
Michelle Ferrell
Tonja Bryant
Frank Gallishaw
Mitzi McLaurine
man Brad Lander followed PS 10’s Twitter
feed and connected with the school environment by sending supportive tweets,
contributing to school bake sales, and
participating in other school activities.
Joe Manko, an elementary school principal and former Twitter naysayer, was
an infrequent tweeter until he met Leoni
at a conference. She encouraged him to
engage parents with an hour-by-hour
commentary on a school day’s happenings. Manko launched a Twitter initiative
at a staff meeting and helped teachers create accounts and send their first tweets.
“The whole initiative has really taken
off,” Manko said. “What had started as
a way to frame the school and to brand
the school has really had so many additional benefits.”
Manko showcased some tweets from
his teachers that captured school projects, activities, and best practices of the
school. Teachers use Twitter to overcome
classroom isolation and interact with one
another. Manko also visits classrooms to
capture amazing class moments of understanding and tweets positive, informal
feedback that not only helps administrators and other teachers, but also shows
the school in a positive light. “Teachers
are the social media ambassadors of your
school community,” summarized Casal in
a tweet to his followers.
The presenters shared some cautions
about Twitter and school transparency.
It is not an easy decision to become
transparent, but shadowing a school that
practices this well is a good start. If the
account gets spam, simply report the
users and Twitter will work efficiently to
remove them. And a designated moderator and a clear policy on what should be
posted are key.
To join the conversation, ask questions, or simply browse, use the hashtag
#ASCD2156 on any social platform or
follow posts from different media on
http://tagboard.com/ascd2156. For
more resources, access the session
handout at http://tinyurl.com
/ascd2156doc. 
ASCD Express
Is Free and Here to Help
ASCD Express is packed with tips and strategies from
educators and experts. Join more than 170,000 subscribers
and sign up today for this free, informative e-newsletter at
www.ascd.org/express. Our new,
mobile-adaptive design means
you can quickly and seamlessly
browse ASCD Express e-mails
wherever your work takes you.
In brief articles on themes such as new
teacher needs, building academic vocabulary, minds-on learning, and effective feedback, ASCD Express offers insight from
practicing educators, award-winning
book authors, researchers, and education
experts. If you have a challenge, ASCD
Express will help you find a solution.
Fired up about something you learned
at Conference? ASCD Express is always
seeking contributors to share strategies
and successes in tackling everyday education challenges. Visit www.ascd.org
/writeforexpress to browse upcoming
themes and submission guidelines.
www.ascd.org/conferencedaily ★ CONFERENCE DAILY ★ 15
Fried eggs & omelets continued from page 1
Negroponte. In 2005, he founded One Laptop per Child (OLPC), a nonprofit that
provides rugged low-cost laptops to children in developing countries. Nearly
three million kids have received laptops through OLPC, and another 50 million
received laptops who wouldn’t have otherwise, he told the audience.
The program was built upon the belief that “connectivity is a human right;” it is
a means to ending the isolation of the last billion people. The program has long
been targeted by critics who contend that “the bottom billion need food and
water, not laptops.” But swap the word “laptops” for “education” and it becomes
a much different story, offered Negroponte. “Education is part of the solution” to
global challenges like poverty, food scarcity, and climate change, he reinforced.
Before OLPC’s work began to “wind down” (it now exists as national enterprises),
Negroponte responded to the criticism that you can’t “give a kid a laptop and
walk away.” A team from MIT provided tablets to children in a small village in
Ethiopia where there was zero literacy—“no words, no road signs, no school.” Having shown only one adult how to assemble the solar panel on the device the day
before delivery, the boxes were left at the edge of the village with no instruction.
The results of the experiment were mind-boggling: within two hours, the first
child learned how to turn on the tablets. Within five days, the children were each
using 50 apps and spending seven hours a day glued to the tablets. “Within 10
days, they were singing ABC songs, and within six months they hacked Android.”
Not all learning happens that way, Negroponte admitted, but the experiment
is a testament to the power of connectivity. Negroponte likens the shift away
from isolationism to the dichotomy of fried eggs and omelets. “When I grew
up, life was a fried egg. There was a white and a yolk and a crisp line between
them.” Whether that division was between work and home, or play and learning,
boundaries “were much crisper 30 or 40 years ago.”
“Today, life is an omelet; there’s much more of an integration.” While we may
complain when we receive work e-mail at home, for instance, we also receive
e-mails from our kids while we’re at work.
We need to continue to envision the world as an omelet, conveyed Negroponte. “We would like to see the end of isolation . . . in as far-flung places as
humanly possible.” 
MEET OUR
INTERNS
Laura Checkley
is a junior at Texas State University studying elementary
education. She plans to begin her career as a public
school teacher after graduation.
Kelsey Hodges
is a senior at Jersey Village High School and the editor
of her school newspaper. She is still deciding which
college to attend, but plans to pursue a degree in
journalism and business marketing.
BULLETIN
BOARD
No Standing
Room Only
You show up at a session and find it already filled
beyond the room’s capacity. You’re uncomfortable
but willing to stand for an hour to hear this
speaker. Only a moment later, someone wearing
a volunteer badge asks you to leave the room.
What’s up with that, you wonder. Sound familiar?
What’s up is the regulation in most public venues
that gives the fire marshal the authority to close
down sessions that are filled beyond designated
room capacity. ASCD staff members work to
ensure that sessions are in appropriately sized
rooms, but we’re sometimes taken by surprise.
If that happens, please be kind to the volunteer
and understand that safety must come first. We
offer many concurrent sessions, and none of the
sessions are ticketed, so please choose another. We
apologize for the inconvenience.
ASCD Wants
Your Feedback
We want to hear from you! What are your
challenges? What resources do you need to do your
job? ASCD wants to help you to solve problems;
so, tell us what you need. Come to the ASCD
Research Row, located in the ASCD Center, to take an
interactive survey and receive a special gift.
Conference Evaluations
Session participants can evaluate each session’s
presenters and materials directly via the Annual
Conference App (available at www.ascd.org
/acapp) or online at www.ascd.org/evaluations.
You will also receive an e-mail reminder at the end
of each day regarding the evaluations. We greatly
appreciate your feedback.
A Word About Wi-Fi
AC15 SSID: ascd15
No password required
To support the goal of providing a positive
experience for all participants, we ask that you
make good choices when using shared resources
at the conference. With this in mind, we ask all
participants to
• Avoid using a Mi-Fi device or mobile hotspot.
• Use the established wireless network SSID for
this conference (ascd15).
• Be mindful of the parameters of shared
bandwidth.
Jocelyn Quintanilla
is a University of Houston senior majoring in public
relations. She wants to first teach English in Korea
before pursuing a PR career.
CONFERENCE
•W
hen possible or in areas with high network
traffic, use only one device at a time to access
the web.
• A void downloading large files on-site; please
download items overnight at your hotel or
before you arrive on-site. Presentation materials
are available to download for four weeks after
the conference either through the AC App or at
www.ascd.org/mydownloads.
Conference Daily is dedicated to
providing ASCD Annual Conference
and Exhibit Show attendees with
the latest news and information to
enrich their conference experience.
ASCD Staff
Judy Seltz,
Executive Director
Gary Bloom,
Senior Director, Creative Services
Mary Beth Nielsen,
Managing Editor
Reece Quinones,
Art Director
Andrea Wilson,
Senior Production Specialist
Katie Freeman,
Senior Associate Editor
Donald Ely,
Graphic Designer
Sarah McKibben,
Staff Writer
Chris Richards,
Advertising Manager
Additional Editorial Staff
Amber Medin
Cate Nielan
Megan Barnett
Kathy Checkley
Photography
Kyle Steichen
Kevin Davis
Anne Marie D’Arcy
Reporter Interns
Laura Checkley
Kelsey Hodges
Jocelyn Quintanilla
Contributing Editor
Carole Hayward,
Clear Message Media
1703 N. Beauregard Street
Alexandria, VA 22311-1714
1-800-933-2723 or
1-703-578-9600
www.ascd.org
© 2015 by ASCD.
All rights reserved.
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