We've added more content to our Friday and Saturday General Sessions. Read on!

Friday General Session
The CTE Foundation and Apple want you to think about learning in the CTE classroom and beyond. What does learning look like? Where does it occur? How can we create learning environments to support the way our students learn? Bring your thoughts and ideas to explore this topic with an interactive panel of teachers and students. Through the use of video, live participants, and the audience, attendees will dive into these themes and more! Audience members will be encouraged to submit questions electronically.

The Friday General Session will also include the official announcements of the ACTE National Awards. Come to see, support and cheer for the best in career and technical education.

Saturday General Session
Hear from John Hofmeister, founder and CEO of Citizens for Affordable Energy, as he shares his insights on the need to educate citizens and government officials about pragmatic, non-partisan affordable energy solutions, efficiency, infrastructure, competitiveness, quality of life and more. Hofmeister, author of the recently published Why We Hate the Oil Companies: Straight Talk from an Energy Insider, is the former president of Shell Oil, and speaks with extensive insider knowledge. Stay afterward and have your book signed (you'll be able to purchase the book on site)!

Matthew Crawford, philosopher, motorcycle mechanic and author of Shop Class as Soulcraft, will also be joining us on Saturday!

If you haven't already registered, you have until October 29 to register online (or via our print form) at advance rates--an approximately 20 percent discount! Keep up with ACTE Convention updates by visiting this blog (subscribe to get updates in your inbox) or our Convention Web page.

Tim Sanders, who served as Chief Solutions Officer and Leadership Coach at Yahoo! will welcome nearly 5,000 career and technical educators to Las Vegas as he opens the 2010 ACTE Annual Convention and Career Tech Expo. His presentation will focus on the value of creating, growing and nurturing strong business relationships. Sanders’ insights are extremely valuable to career and technical educators as they prepare their students for the world of work while at the same time they engage and work with the business community. Sanders has written three books that cover the topics of knowledge sharing and networking; the concept of emotional talent and creating an engaging experience; and corporate social responsibility. He will definitely set the stage for an intense, engaging and rewarding three days of professional development and you won’t want to miss him!

If you haven't already registered, you have until October 29 to register online or via our print form at advance rates--an approximately 20 percent discount! Keep up with ACTE Convention updates by visiting this blog (subscribe to get updates in your inbox) or our Convention Web page.

The deadline for early-bird rates has passed, but you can still save approximately 20 percent off of basic registration when you register for the ACTE Annual Convention and Career Tech Expo by October 29. It's a significant discount, so don't let the date pass you by!

Also, we have more details on our exclusive tour of Cirque du Soleil for attendees. The tour, held Wednesday, December 1, from 1:30-4:00 pm, will focus on automation and electrics as part of the Southwest Technical Academy Entertainment Engineering program. It's limited to 50 attendees, so let us know if you want to attend by indicating your interest when you register or by calling ACTE at 800-826-9972.

Almost every week we're adding more fun activities to the ACTE Annual Convention! This week it's a sure-to-be-delicious student-catered lunch from one of the nation's highest-rated culinary arts and hospitality programs, UNLV Harrah's Hotel College. You will also tour the school, including lecture halls, culinary kitchens, a gaming lab, conference rooms and back-of-the-house areas. The tour will take place on Wednesday, Dec. 1, from 11:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. Transportation to and from the Convention Center is included.

In other pre-Convention news, you can now register for the National Research Center for CTE pre-Con Jump-start Workshops. These unique, interactive sessions, "Math-in-CTE" and "Authentic Literacy-in-CTE," will help you gain a deeper understanding of the science behind these tested curriculum integration models, and practice key aspects of the models. Jump‐start workshop sessions will be specific to integration of math or literacy, so you must choose and register for one or the other. Because NRCCTE uses a team approach, it is recommended that state agencies, regional consortia or districts send select teams of teachers to gain optimum benefit from the sessions. These sessions will be held Tuesday, Nov. 30 and Wednesday, Dec. 1. The cost is $495 per person before August 15, or $550 on or after that date. Click here for more information, or contact Jennifer Sawyer at jennifer.sawyer@louisville.edu or 502-852-6428.

Most importantly, you can save $125 when you register by Friday, July 9, for the 2010 ACTE Annual Convention and Career Tech Expo! After that, registration fees go up, so lock in now at this lower rate. Find all the info you need about the ACTE Convention by visiting this blog (subscribe to get updates in your inbox) or our Convention Web page.

Remember to register by July 9 to receive the 2010 ACTE Annual Convention and Career Tech Expo early-bird rates!

You can also save with travel discounts! ACTE has partnered with American Airlines to provide you a 5 percent discount. The valid travel dates are November 27-December 7, 2010. Use the promotion code 76N0AG. This special discount is valid off any applicable published fares listed for American Airlines, American Eagle and American Connection. Telephone reservations can be made at 800-433-1790 (please refer to promotion code 76N0AG). International originating guests will need to contact the local reservation number and refer to promotion code 76N0AG. There is a $20.00 ticketing charge for all tickets issued by phone.

We've also partnered with AVIS Rent A Car for discounted auto rentals. Use the Avis Worldwide Discount number J991598 when making a reservation by phone (800-331-1600) or online. The discount is effective seven days before and seven days after the Convention.

And we've added a tour of Cirque du Soleil: more details coming soon!

Find all the info you need about the ACTE Convention by visiting this blog (subscribe to get updates in your inbox) or our Convention Web page.

You can earn up to two graduate credits for attending the premiere professional development event for career and technical educators: one credit for attending the ACTE Annual Convention and an additional credit if you also attend the NOCTI, ACTER or IVETA pre-Convention activities. You will have a Penn State University instructor assigned to you, and you will be responsible for preparing to come to the Convention, attending the Convention and demonstrating the implementation of new concepts learned during the Convention.

Choose one of the Penn State credit options when you register online (or using our print form). For general questions about the program, contact Peter Magnuson (703-683-9341). For questions about registering as a non-degree student at Penn State, contact Erin Garthe (814-865-9654). For information regarding academic requirements, contact Robert Clark (814-867-2652).

We also are proud to unveil the accepted concurrent sessions that you will see in December. Check out 200+ sessions, listed by Division or by topic area, and get excited about this year in Vegas!

Find all the info you need about the ACTE Convention by visiting this blog (subscribe to get updates in your inbox) or our Convention Web page.

For the first time ever, the ACTE Annual Convention is offering attendees the opportunity to join together in a Day of Service.

On Saturday, December 4, in the afternoon, registered attendees will assist Habitat for Humanity in building homes for needy families in Clark County. The Home Builders Institute’s generous support of this event will provide participant meals and transportation.

Register online for this activity (or use our print form), or call ACTE at 800-826-9972. Space is limited, so please only register if you are committed to participating. Remember, your travel plans will need to allow you to stay in Las Vegas through 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, December 4, 2010.

Get all the info you need about the ACTE Convention by visiting this blog (subscribe to get updates in your inbox) or our Convention Web page.

Watch and share this video on what you can expect at the 2010 Annual Convention and Career Tech Expo:

Share the link to this video, or embed this video on your school or organization's Web site by going to SchoolTube and copying and pasting the Embed Code into your code.

The tentative agenda for the 2010 Convention is now available!

In addition, we have a couple new pre-Convention activities for you: 
•  NOCTI will be hosting a pre-Convention session, "Successful Programs, Successful Schools." This session will focus on how programs around the country are improving their students’ technical competence, improving their instructional programs and becoming leaders in the educational community through their use and analysis of assessment data.
•  High Schools That Work will be hosting a pre-Convention session, "Designing High-quality Career Technical Courses That Contribute to Whole School Improvement," a full-day session that will address designing career technical courses that engage students around challenging authentic workplace assignment and assessments in which they develop 21st-century skills related  to teamwork, accountability and problem solving.

Register online (or print form) by July 9 to get early-bird rates. 

Get all the info you need by visiting this blog (subscribe to get updates in your inbox) or our Convention Web page.

It's time to start preparing for the 2010 ACTE Convention, December 2-4, in Las Vegas! We'll be adding more info on speakers, sessions, exhibits, tours, workshops and more throughout the year, but here is what you need to get started.

Registration: Now open! (print form). Early-bird rates end July 9.

Housing: ACTE has arranged for discounted rooms at the following hotels in Las Vegas:

Las Vegas Hilton (print form)
3000 Paradise Road
Las Vegas, NV 89109

Renaissance Las Vegas (print form)
3400 Paradise Road
Las Vegas, Nevada 89169

Riviera Hotel and Casino (print form)
2901 Las Vegas Blvd South
Las Vegas, NV 89109
Headquarters for the 2010 NAAE Convention

General Sessions: Matthew B. Crawford, author of Shop Class as Soulcraft, will speak Saturday.

Concurrent Sessions: Proposals are no longer being accepted for sessions at the Convention, but you can vote on potential sessions with our survey (deadline March 31).

The Association for Career and Technical Education Research (ACTER) is accepting submissions for its 2010 CTE Research and Professional Development Conference in Las Vegas, November 30-December 2.

Tours: See how the companies for which you prepare your students operate and rely on a trained workforce with tours at Switch | NAP, the world's most powerful data center, and Zappos.com, the ultimate online shoe provider. Or tour schools and see your colleagues' best practices in action at Veterans Tribute Career and Technical Academy and Southwest Career and Technical Academy. 

Pre-Convention Sessions: "How to Enrollment- and Retention-rich with Millennials." More to come!

Exhibit Hall: Interested in exhibiting at the Career Tech Expo? Information is available here.

Get all the info you need by visiting this blog (subscribe to get updates in your inbox) or our Convention Web page.

The 2009 ACTE Convention is over and life is returning to semi-normalcy. Many thanks to everyone who participated in the conference or followed from afar using ACTE's online resources. Special thanks to our official bloggers Chris Droessler, Tracey Newman and Barry Brantley.

This blog will be on hiatus until the spring, when we'll start running announcements on the 2010 Convention in Las Vegas, December 2-4! Until then, check out ACTE online tools such as:

• CTE Policy Watch Blog
• ACTE on Twitter
• ACTE on Facebook
• ACTE's LinkedIn group
• ACTE discussion forums
• Career Tech Talk podcast

By Chris Droessler

This introvert is totally exhausted after four long days of social networking at the ACTE Convention, but it's a good kind of tired. I've met new colleagues and renewed acquaintances with those that I see only at these conventions.

I've learned a lot from others and had an opportunity to share a little of what I know. This is truly a great professional association whose members are committed to helping each other become better educators.

In order to stay connected between conventions, come join me and your colleagues at the ACTE discussion forums. I frequent the School-to-Work, Tech Prep, Career Guidance, and other discussion forums. It's a great place to share with colleagues between conventions.

I hope to see you all in Las Vegas in 2010.

 
From Chris Droessler

Stedman Graham gave the same talk that he gave recently at the NCPN Conference. His talk was a seemingly disconnected collection of stories. What was the overall point he was trying to make? What was he hoping that we would take away from his presentation?

This was the second time that I have seen this same presentation, and I'm still trying to figure out the essential message that he was trying to convey. If you found the message, please add it here.

 By Chris Droessler

I've been noticing throughout the conference that I'm usually the only one in a session who is typing my notes on a laptop computer. But here in this session on social media, all four of the people sitting at my table are typing away. Two have little HP computers and two of us are on Macs.

Blogs, twitters, FaceBook, discussion forums, photo galleries; which is the best for you to communicate your message? Which formats is your audience already using?

by Tracey

Well, I guess I can't call them all the best session ever, but I really did hit the session jackpot this year--all I attended were full of excellent resources I can use in my classroom. The most recent was a presentation from the guidance division by Steve Beutler who demonstrated the My Life Junior online simulation he created to help students understand the relationship between lifestyle and spending choices and the career needed to support such a lifestyle. Anyone who teaches careers or personal finance has probably been searching for this type of resource--I know I was. Here's the website if you would like to check it out:
http://pages.minot.k12.nd.us/votech/File/mylifejunior.htm

On Saturday, November 21 from 2:15-3:15pm in Governors Chamber C, Evan Sveum from the University of Wisconsin-Stout will present “Determining and Comparing the Computing and Internet Skills and Learning Experiences of Freshmen and Senior Education Majors at the University of Wisconsin-Stout.”

You can view a preview of this presentation, or read about this session’s learning objectives:

Session Learning Objectives
1.    Challenge the notion, through performance data, that students from the 'digital generation' possess a basic computing and Internet literacy.  Destroy assumptions of students possessing basic computing and Internet skills.
2.    Understand that preparation for students to use computing and Internet technologies in the public school system is marginal at best; inconsistent at worst. Students do not have enough quality formal and informal learning experiences connected with developing computing and Internet technology skills.
3.    Based on the results of this study, speak to the need of providing future educators with planned, appropriate formal learning experiences and to encourage every student to develop their own 'self-directed' informal learning system.

Learn more about this presentation.