ACTE :: 2008 Convention and Career Tech Expo

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Racing Toward Charlotte - December 4-6, 2008 - Charlotte Convention Center, NC

More than 4,000 career and technical educators and exhibitors took over the city of Charlotte, North Carolina, for the 2008 ACTE Annual Convention and Career Tech Expo. It was the first time that the premiere professional development event for career and technical educators had come to Charlotte and the city did not disappoint. In fact, Charlotte proved to be the perfect place for ACTE to unveil a number of great additions to the Annual Convention, as well as launch new initiatives that will benefit all of career and technical education.

Insightful Keynote Presentations
The ACTE Convention is noted for bringing in high-quality speakers who really push attendees to think about what they are doing in the classroom and how they can improve as educators. This year was no exception as ACTE welcomed to the stage Daniel Pink (Interview), author of A Whole New Mind (available at the ACTE store); Neil Howe (Interview), expert on Millennials in the classroom and workplace; and Bill Daggett (Interview), noted education-reform expert who is recognized worldwide for his proven ability to move education systems toward more rigorous and relevant skills and knowledge for all students. (Daggett's books are available in the ACTE Store here and here) Each one of these speakers left the audience thinking about how to improve career and technical education and prepare students (and themselves) for the changes that will be coming. For more information on what these speakers had to say, please read the accompanying sidebar.

In addition to the great speakers, ACTE was fortunate to have a number of state CTSO officers on hand to welcome attendees to each of the three General Sessions. Having these students on hand reinforced for the attendees the importance of the CTSOs and reminded the educators why they do what they do. With the help of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School District, ACTE was able to showcase a number of schools during the General Sessions. Those schools were:

Ardrey Kell High School - the JROTC from Ardrey Kell presented the colors, led the Pledge of Allegiance and sang the National Anthem.
Harding University High School - the jazz band provided great music as educators started the Convention at the Thursday General Session.
Providence High School - the school's brass quintet welcomed attendees to the Friday General Session.

Exceptional Programming
With more than 300 sessions, workshops and meetings, attendees had plenty to choose from. If you attended this year, you would have learned:

How to use Apple software products in your classroom for digital portfolios.
What a smart home is.
How California is building its CTE teacher pipeline.
How to motivate students.
About the 100 years of career guidance and what the future looks like.
About safety and liability issues for career and technical educators.
How to structure and run a career fair.
How to begin or enhance a career academy.
About promoting media literacy.
How to use wiki technology in your classroom.
What is happening on Capitol Hill and how it may impact your classroom or school.
How to start a culinary competition program.
About biodiesel fuel, fuel-cell technology, wind power and other green technologies.
How to recruit and retain top-notch staff.
The importance of marketing your CTE programs and how to get the most out of them.

While that sounds like a lot, it is only a fraction of the great classroom and workshop information and ideas that occurred during the ACTE Annual Convention. In addition to these sessions, the Association asked a few of its members to share their thoughts in the Convention blog. ACTE has also gathered and posted many of the presentations from the Convention.

High-Octane Exhibit Hall
If there were ever a year to visit the ACTE Career Tech Expo, it was in Charlotte. Not only was the exhibit hall sold out, but the variety of companies and opportunities meant that attendees needed more time to explore. More than 200 exhibitors arrived in Charlotte ready to showcase the latest software, hardware, products and services aimed at helping career and technical educators be more successful. This year, the Expo was full of exciting opportunities. From a number of racecars and motorcycles to dancing robots to the latest in hands-on instruction, no career and technical educator could escape the Expo without coming home with a number of great ideas and resources for their schools.

In addition to the exhibitors, ACTE and Pitsco supported the Kids for Careers program, which is an opportunity for a middle school class to come and get hands-on instruction during a CTE-related lesson. This year, ACTE was fortunate to have students from Lebanon Road Elementary School participate in this event. It was a great opportunity to expose students to the real world of hands-on learning that takes place in career and technical education classes every day.

As each attendee entered the Expo, they were encouraged to pick up a Passport. As they went around the exhibit hall, they could get their Passports stamped at participating exhibitor booths. With a filled Passport, they were eligible for a prize drawing and a spin of the cash wheel. This year's winners were Angela Thomas from Charlotte, North Carolina, who won $500, and Heather Rosplock from Spring, Texas, who won $250.

A sold-out schedule of Exhibitor Workshops gave attendees the opportunity to learn about new products and services from exhibitors. Everything from financial literacy to mind mapping to student background checks were covered in these extremely informative sessions that were often packed with educators. Look for these again this year in Nashville and be prepared to get to these early as seating is limited. The support of the companies and organizations that participate in the Career Tech Expo is invaluable to the industry and to ACTE. The Association encourages its members and attendees to contact and work with these exhibitors to meet your school or program needs. A list of all the exhibitors and sponsors will appear in the next issue of Techniques magazine.

Celebration of Excellence
Following Neil Howe's General Session presentation on Millennials (see sidebar), ACTE presented its National Awards to the best educators and supporters of career and technical education. Assisting in this year's presentations were Sue Burris, ACTE Awards Committee Chair; Jeff Lansdell, President of CEV Multimedia, the sponsor of this year's Awards Program; and Uzo Ogu, the National DECA President. This years winners of the ACTE National Awards are:

ACTE Teacher of the Year: James Scott, Plain City, Ohio
ACTE Outstanding Career and Technical Educator: Linda Laverty, El Reno, Oklahoma
ACTE Outstanding New Career and Technical Educator: Britt James, Springdale, Arkansas
ACTE Outstanding Teacher in Community Service: Carol Dvorak, Stillwater, Oklahoma
ACTE Outstanding Service Award: Terry Price, West Jordan, Utah
ACTE Award of Merit: Amy Wisilosky, Virginia Beach, Virginia; Flint Hills Resources, Corpus Christi, Texas
ACTE Carl Perkins Humanitarian Award: Carolyn Warner, Phoenix, Arizona
ACTE Arch of Fame: Allan Sulser, Heber City, Utah

More information about these award winners is available and will be shared in an upcoming issue of Techniques magazine and through ACTEs podcasts. Applications for the 2009 Awards Program are available here.

Silent Auction, Movie Screening Showcase CTE Support Fund

The CTE Support Fund pulled out all the stops this year to give attendees unique programming and a great networking opportunity. For the fourth year, the CTE Support Fund hosted the Networking Reception and Silent Auction. In Charlotte hundreds of attendees packed the ballroom to indulge in some food, grab a quick drink, race some really cool remote-controlled cars, and bid on some great items in the silent and live auctions. Attendees were entertained by the Northwest School for the Arts Jazz Ensemble.
This year, Snap-On Corporation sponsored the event and even donated two custom-painted toolboxes for the auction. In addition to the toolboxes there were a variety of items, including cooking knives, a SawStop saw, various state-specific gift baskets, signed memorabilia, movies, books and much more. This event was so successful it raised more than $10,000 that will be used to continue ACTEs advocacy activities. ACTE would like to thank all the attendees who participated and all the exhibitors, sponsors and individuals who donated items for this event.
An amazing new addition to this years Convention was a movie screening. ACTE, in conjunction with Participant Media, hosted a screening of the yet-to-be-released movie "Pressure Cooker", which is a documentary that followed students involved in a Philadelphia culinary arts program. About 200 educators saw the free screening, which was followed by a panel discussion with the director Jennifer Grausman and star teacher Wilma Stephenson. The question-and-answer session following the movie was full of praise for the film and for Stephenson. Attendees were asked to sign a petition asking for increased funding for career and technical education programs. ACTE and Participant Media will be screening the film in 2009 for state and federal policymakers to support the need for continued and increased funding for career and technical programs. For more information on this campaign, check out www.takepart.com.

ACTE Goes Electronic
This year's Annual Convention and Career Tech Expo was more electronic than ever. From the Association's first Twitterstream to a number of bloggers sharing their Convention experiences, this year's show was extremely connected.

ACTE partnered with SchoolTube to produce a number of videos about the Convention. Some of those videos include:

interviews with ACTE Award winners;
interviews with attendees;
discussions with CTSO officers; and
a wrap-up montage that was shown during the Saturday General Session.

Check out all the videos at www.schooltube.com/categories/241/ACTE-2008.

For those more on the visual side, ACTE expanded and added to its Flickr photo gallery.

And last but not least, in ACTE's new forums, attendees were sharing the good and bad of their experiences in Charlotte. Check out what they had to say!

Keep checking these resources as ACTE plans for this year's Convention in Nashville. Staying connected through these avenues will ensure that you receive the most up-to-date information on what's happening!

Jammin' to Nashville
With the 2008 ACTE Annual Convention and Career Tech Expo relegated to the history books, it's time to start working toward the 2009 ACTE Annual Convention. But before we do that, ACTE would like to thank the North Carolina ACTE and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School District for their help in making Charlotte such a success. Without their assistance, the Convention would not have been nearly as interesting, inviting or exciting as it was. We are already two months into 2009 and planning for this year's Convention in Nashville is already well under way. If you are interested in making a presentation at the Convention, please submit your presentation here. The Call for Presentations will close March 2.

In addition to great music, Nashville will have a full and exciting exhibit hall floor; sessions focused on the issues with which you are dealing; pre-Convention activities that will provide in-depth information and resources; and much, much more!! Continue to visit for the latest news and information about the 2009 Convention. See you in Nashville!

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Bray: CTE is About Economic Recovery
These are trying times for our nation and its economy, but career and technical education will be an integral partner in getting the United States back on its feet. Jan Bray, ACTE's executive director, told Annual Convention attendees that our nation will not be able to return to prosperity without a strong and skilled workforce; CTE is vital in preparing workers with the education and training they need to be competitive in that workforce.

"CTE is about economic recovery and that's the message we've got to put out to our representatives, to the general public and to all of the external stakeholders," she said.

She noted that CTE professionals provide students of all ages with the knowledge and skills necessary for them to be successful in the career pathway of their choosing, and that is critical in helping the economy recover and grow. She added that ACTE remains a strong association that will continue its efforts to ensure that CTE has a strong voice in any discussions about education reform, and the Association will continue to maintain its presence on Capitol Hill informing legislators about the value of career education in these hard economic times.

Daniel Pink: The Rise of Right-Brain Thinking
Career and technical education offers a powerful infrastructure to deliver the coveted skill sets of the future. A premium has long been placed on the logical, linear and sequential "left-brain thinking" abilities of employees, and they will continue to be "absolutely necessary," according to Daniel Pink. The best-selling author and expert on innovation and the changing nature of work told Annual Convention attendees that there is a shift to right-brain thinking, though, and it can be linked to the rise of Asia, automation and abundance. The need for left-brain thinkers in the United States has somewhat diminished because India, for instance, offers American businesses millions of highly educated workers who can do the jobs that Americans have long done for a whole lot less.

Pink noted that automation has also contributed to an emphasis on right-brain thinking because many jobs that were once performed by humans have been reduced to a computer program - work done at the push of a button. But the U.S. economy is driven by the insatiable needs of consumers, and those with right-brain abilities offer skill sets such as inventiveness, empathy, big-picture thinking and artistry that are instrumental in developing new products, services and ways to do things better. Right-brain thinkers are coveted in fields ranging from health care to business, from engineering to customer services, and all of these fields provide CTE students with innumerable opportunities to showcase their talents and be great successes.

Neil Howe: The Millennials are Here
Born from 1982 onward, there's no generation like the Millennials. They have unique personality traits unlike any of the generations before them, and this poses unique opportunities and challenges for education and the workplace. Neil Howe, a generational expert, said this peer group is the product of unprecedented protection that has redefined what it means to be a young person. Their characteristics are directly linked to how they learn and how they work. Among these characteristics: They are showered with praise and told that they are special by everyone, especially their parents. Howe notes that one of the biggest challenges facing educators today is dealing with parents of Millennials. They are very much involved in the lives of their children, perhaps more than any other generation, sometimes going to the extreme; They are a very sheltered group. Howe noted that one need only look at the number of child protection policies enacted since 1982 to get a sense of how important it has become to keep young people safe; They are confident in themselves and their abilities and believe that their generation can accomplish anything; They are group-minded and are very much interested in work and community service that promotes a greater public good; They are conventional, they want a balanced life that includes family, being good citizens and neighbors; They are pressured. From a mass of homework to higher college admission standards and rising tuition, this peer group faces many challenges; They are achievers. Howe stressed that their performance on standardized tests such as Advanced Placement is one indicator of Millennials' need to achieve.

Among the strategies to employ when working with Millennials: Treat young workers as VIPs. Use technology to reach them and leverage individual goodwill among their parents; Every school and employer must provide a zero-tolerance safety environment. Employers will need to provide a widening array of benefits and prepare for working in smaller groups; Praise them. Stress positive outcomes. Use project-based curriculum to motivate them. Stress an upbeat workplace environment; Mobilize students as groups. Teach them skills they can use. Use immersive orientation. Create strong community links; Emphasize a core curriculum. Enable students to celebrate their progress. Formally teach them soft skills; Stress long-term life planning over short-term opportunities and risks. Keep every student challenged and directed. Integrate networking technology into the curriculum. Promote lifelong learning.

Daggett: CTE and Academic Integration Key to School Reform
The seamless integration of career and technical education and academics is proving an effective strategy in improving student outcomes, even in once poor performing schools, said an expert in education reform. Willard Daggett, president of the International Center for Leadership in Education, told ACTE Annual Convention attendees that academic learning alone cannot adequately prepare students for the demands of the real world - one in which workers must also be able to apply that knowledge to real-world predictable and unpredictable situations. In a time of intense global competition that promises to continue heating up, there is a particular emphasis being placed on rigor.

What is spoken about a lot less, however, is another "r": relevance. Daggett said that CTE is well-positioned to empower students with the relevance necessary for success in rigor.

"Relevance makes rigor possible for most students," he said.

During these harsh economic times, schools are being required to maintain higher standards on a slimmer budget, and it's only going to get worse. For CTE to maintain its relevance and funding, it must highlight its unique ability to help students achieve rigor. To that end, Daggett announced that ACTE and the center will be offering information about best practices; schools that are high performers will be identified and their best practices showcased through the Institute for 21st Century Leadership. The institute will: help create a culture of appreciation for CTE; make research available and data on what students need to know, and how we can teach them; provide strategies and professional development that best-practice schools are using; and network to successful schools across the country. To learn more about the institute, visit the center online.