eSchool news interviewed ICE 2012 Friday Keynote, William Rankin, for their recent article, Apple unveils interactive textbooks, revamped iTunes U.  You'll want to read what Rankin has to say about the new textbooks that will soon be available on the iPad through the iBooks 2 app, and you'll want to hear him live at ICE in March!  Dr. Rankin will present the Friday, March 2, keynote as well as two spotlight presentations later that day.  There are also seats available for his half-day workshop on Thursday, March 1, Leveraging Mobility to Enhance Engagement in Education.   Don't miss William Rankin or the other great featured speakers at ICE 2012.  Register online today!

...while we are still tweaking and polishing our breakout session schedule, we have posted a tentative list of Session Titles and Times on the Breakout Sessions page of the Conference Website. 

Workshops are filling fast, but there are still lots of wonderful workshop sessions with at least some seats left.  Register now before you miss your chance!  Workshop registration closes February 2, 2012.

You won't want to miss our next Wednesday Webinar, Now That I Hsve an iPad, Where do I Begin?, presented by ICE President, Nadine Norris.  This wonderful professional learning opportunity is offered FREE to current ICE members and will be held from 5:30-6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, January 26.  Don't miss out!  Register online now to hold your spot in this exciting online live event.

Innovate - Collaborate - Educate

ICE Conference 2012 is underway...

Registration is now open for ICE 2012!  Register online so you don't miss that special workshop you've seen in our pre-conference booklet!  Learn more about our keynote and other featured speakers on the Conference Website, including:

Thursday Keynotes, Peter Reynolds and Karen Cator

Friday Keynote, William Rankin

Check back for more details about the conference soon!

Registration is now open for our next Wednesday Webinar, Cache the Excitement: Geocaching in the Classroom, with Cheryl Lykowski. The webinar, free for all ICE members, will be held from 5:30-6:30 p.m. on November 16.  You will not want to miss this great professional development opportunity (CPDUs are available), so register online now!

  
Don't miss James Gubbins in our first Wednesday Webinar for 2011-2012!  James will present Twitter for Professional Development on October 19, from 5:50-6:30 pm.  Register online for this very special event that's FREE for all current ICE members.

Now that school is underway and the year is stretching before us with the promise of a fresh beginning and many months to work with a new group of young learners, it's also time to think about your own learning.  What goals do you have for yourself for this new year? Unless you attach some ACTION to those goals, the year can slip by sooo easily. 

The theme for our upcoming ICE Conference 2012 is stated in three powerful words: Innovate - Collaborate - Educate.  While these words certainly reflect the mission of ICE and what ICE members are striving to do in their roles as educators and as learners, we cannot realize their power unless we can leverage the combined passion and expertise of our membership by encouraging each other to connect and contribute as well. 

Here are four meaningful ways for current and new ICE members to connect and contribute:

• Watch this blog for upcoming webinars (FREE to ICE Members!) on some of the most timely topics from Twitter to mobile learning.  
• Support your local ICE Chapter - check out our events list on the ICE home page and the Chapter Pages for fall mini-conferences and other Chapter events.  Attend a meeting or particpate in a mini-conference and get to know ICE members in your own region.
• Share your best Interactive White Board tips, tricks and stories for our October Newsletter.  Submit your article and any accompanying screenshots, pictures or other documentation to info@iceberg.org.  Articles are due by September 20.  Become a published edtech author!  Go ahead and share what you're already doing!  NEW - we will repeat individual articles from the newsletter as blog posts in this space to provide another way for members to access articles as well as add to the learning through comments.
• Consider submitting a proposal to present at the February 28-March 2 Conference.  Reprise that workshop you presented for your school or district or share a classroom strategy in a breakout or poster session.  Deadlines are coming up - October 1 for breakout sessions and November 1 for poster sessions.  Proposals are now being accepted in our online proposal system.

Your learning is in your hands.  ICE is here to help, but you need to act upon your goals.  We hope to see you soon!

The online proposal system is now open for those interested in presenting at ICE Conference 2012! We are currently accepting proposals for full-day workshops, half-day workshops, general conference breakout sessions, exhibitor breakout sessions, and poster sessions. If you would like to submit a proposal, go to our online proposal system.

Deadlines:

September 7, 2011: Half-day and full-day workshop proposals
October 1, 2011: Conference breakout session proposals
November 1, 2011: Exhibitor breakout session proposals
November 1, 2011: Poster session proposals

If you are planning to attend the ISTE Conference in Philadelphia later this month, you are cordially invited to attend a special reception on Monday, June 27, at the Philadelphia Marriott hotel across the street from the convention center. There will be no charge for ICE members or spouses, and the reception will feature appetizers and snacks as well as a cash bar. This year we are trying something new by hosting this event in a joint effort with two other ISTE affiliates--MACUL (Michigan) and MSET (Maryland). We hope this will provide a way for you to see your ICE friends and meet some new people from the other organizations at the same time.

Here are the details of the reception:

Location: Philadelphia Marriott--Ballroom A
Address: 1201 Market Street
Date: Monday, June 27
Time: 4:30-6:30
Cost: Free to ICE members and spouses

Since we need to get an accurate attendance count so that we may place food orders, if you are planning to attend this reception, please take a moment right now to go to the very brief online form that we have created to gather the RSVPs:

http://tinyurl.com/icereception

We have scheduled this event so that you will be able to join us after the Monday conference events are over but before the many special dinners and other events are scheduled to begin. If you are attending the ISTE Conference at the end of June, please plan to join us for this reception. See you in Philadelphia!

It was clear to anyone who attended ICE Conference 2011 at the end of February that mobile devices such as iPads, smartphones, and other small tablet computers and netbooks were of high interest to all. Beginning with several workshops on Tuesday through the final "Cool Tools" showcase at the end of the day on Friday, people who attended the conference were learning more about the latest and greatest apps that they could use in their classrooms, for their personal learning networks, or simply for fun.

Since the next issue of the ICE Cube newsletter will be devoted to articles and other features related to these new mobile devices, we are having a contest to encourage all ICE members to send in short descriptions of their favorite apps along with short explanations as to why they feel the apps are useful to them. We plan to include these descriptions in the newsletter, and we will hold a random drawing in the ICE Office to pick several prize winners among those members who submitted entries.

Overall, the newsletter will focus on the emergence of the many new and powerful mobile devices that are changing the way that we use technology in our schools and in our personal lives. We are hoping to spotlight innovative educational uses for devices such as iPads and other hand-held tablet computers, netbooks, smartphones, iPods and MP3 players, portable GPS units, and other mobile devices. We will also focus on the ways that mobile technology is changing the ways that educators develop and maintain their personal learning networks as they collaborate with colleagues and other educators around the world. The deadline for submitting articles and materials is Tuesday, March 15, 2011, and the issue should be printed and mailed in early April, 2011. You can e-mail your submissions along with any related pictures, screenshots, or other documents to info@iceberg.org. Please consider sharing an article or a short description of your favorite app for the next issue!