by Susan Garber, Executive Director, MD A.T. Cooperative
When Synections, the professional development division of Don Johnston, Inc. held it's "first annual" Technology and Literacy conference in Chicago August 9-12 it offered much more than standard "conference fare." A well-blended mix of inspirational and instructional keynote addresses, breakout sessions, hands-on labs and "community of practice" sessions melded to produce a far more interactive experience than most conferences.
An exceptionally well balanced array of technology tools were highlighted, not just products from Don Johnston, Inc. However, participants could avail themselves of the opportunity for an in-depth look at the new edition of DJ's popular word prediction program, Co:Writer 4000 as well as a sneak peak at a new product. Scheduled for introduction at the Closing the Gap conference in October, Draft:Builder is designed to assist struggling students with the writing process. It has similar functions to Inspiration but with a significantly lower cognitive load, making it ideal for students with learning disabilities.
The "community of practice" sessions afforded attendees an opportunity to interact and joint problem solve with others who shared a common "passion" for a particular issue, such as training, or systems change. With skillful facilitators guiding the process, the groundwork was laid for a continuing electronic dialog, via a Forum section on the company's website, www.donjohnston.com
The conference demonstrated the quality of Synections' training products and Don Johnston's continuing commitment to improving learning for struggling students. It also demonstrated that they "know how to party!" The evening "Technology Tools Party" was a wonderful contrast to a conventional exhibit hall where one frantically ducks in for a few quick minutes between sessions. When you combine the exhibits with fabulous food (that was definitely not standard conference fare), an open bar, and tons of door prizes every 20 minutes-- it truly was a party! Since the number of entries you could put in the door prize drawing was dependent on the number of teaching strategies you could generate for various products exhibited, it truly was a "painless" learning and sharing process as well.
Mark your calendars now for the 2nd annual conference to be held November 7 to 10, 2001. For more information on the conference or to arrange training locally go to www.synections.com
