Colorado State University and Poudre School District Build Bridges

Colorado State University faculty and teachers in the Poudre School District will team up for a one-day conference to explore collaborative opportunities to enhance teaching and learning.  "Building Bridges for Educational Excellence – P-20 Learning in the 21st Century" will be held 3:30-6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, September 17, 2008 at the Fort Collins Lincoln Center, Columbine Room.

"Building Bridges for Educational Excellence" is designed to enhance preschool through post graduate education in Fort Collins by creating active collaboration between Poudre School District teachers and faculty and staff at Colorado State University, along with the involvement of community members and government agencies. "This event will provide an opportunity to bring together educators from PSD and CSU for the common purpose of preparing our students for success in the 21st Century," said Karen Kaminski, assistant professor in the College of Education at Colorado State and event organizer. "This partnership will benefit students at both institutions."

The program will feature a video on the educational uses of social media by Howard Rheingold.  He was the founding executive editor of "HotWired", one of the first online publications of "Wired" magazine and is the author of "Smart Mobs", which explores the potential for technology to augment collective intelligence.  His "Social Media Classroom" project was one of the winners of the 2007 Digital Media and Learning competition sponsored by the MacArthur Foundation.  Rheingold also teaches courses in digital journalism and virtual communities at the University of California at Berkeley and Stanford University.  

The featured speakers for the event are Michelle Pearson, Colorado Software and Internet Association Teacher of the Year, and Jason Malone, a science and philosophy teacher at Poudre High School in Fort Collins. They will discuss the innovative use of technologies that enhance learning in their classrooms.

PSD Partnership/Volunteer Coordinator Kris Cord said the featured speakers will address how technology can be used to creatively enhance both education and communication in P-12 schools and in higher education. "Teachers from Poudre School District will learn a great deal from the featured speakers and have the opportunity to interact with CSU faculty in one-to-one dialogues on improving education in the community."

Attendees will break into small groups based on interest, use of technology in teaching and instructional content areas following the featured speakers. The sessions are designed to foster collaborations between PSD and CSU instructors and enhance the education of students.  

The conference is free, but pre-registration is requested at http://bridges08.wikispaces.com/Registration. The event is co-sponsored by the Partnership and Volunteer Center of the Poudre School District and the Information Science and Technology Center at Colorado State University. For more information, contact Karen Kaminski at (970) 491-3713 or [email protected].

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