Thank you for reading along with our blog for the last ever ACTE Annual Convention. We are closing the chapter on 85 years of history as we transition to a new event that will focus on excellence in CareerTech education through more dynamic programming. CareerTech VISION 2012 will be visionary and impactful to everyone in the CTE community, in the United States and abroad. Stay tuned for greatness!

By: Mitchell Shron

I guess as the final numbers of attendees shrinks, you see the hard core who need to see it through the bitter end. The  crowds were smaller but the quality of presentations did not shrink. Many thanks to those who stayed to the end to fill those sessions with insight and humor.

Also a shout out to my fellow bloggers Lee and Wendy. Our collective views on the proceedings brought a series of perspectives that added real value for the 3,000 or so folks who participated as attendees, presenters and vendors. Twenty or so people may have even read them.

And a personal thank you to Catherine Imperatore. Every time I turned around I saw this young lady hard at work holding down the media communications end of the Convention.

I was very impressed with the Closing General Session. It would have been easy to let the Convention end with a coast out. Instead, from the truly excellent Parkway Central Middle Honors Orchestra, the on-task address from OVAE Assistant Secretary Brenda Dann-Messier and the very high-energy closing remarks from Eric Chester, I left the Convention hall charged with great ideas and a renewed sense of purpose.

For me, the biggest takeaway will be in the way I see my role in CTE. I have always advocated for my students and my programs, but my view has begun to lengthen. My work on the state level has given me a nice statewide perspective, but the field is much wider. I leave St. Louis with the goal of being an advocate for CTE in every corner. My tech center will always be my first priority but I will reach out to the teachers and students in my county and in my region and let them know there are people out there who can help them with bringing CTE to the forefront of the education reform discussion. What our teachers do every day is great teaching for the present and the future. They need to know the support is there. Many thanks to ACTE for giving me a nice set of tools to help them.

By: Wendy Chalmers

I am just wowed by the talents of the youth whose talents were highlighted at this year's conference...the local talent at the beginning of each general session but also the talents of the CTE youth who submitted their artwork and videos for CTE Month!

Eric Chester, motivational speaker AND past CTE instructor, successfully left me with more energy than I already had! How is that possible? It doesn't matter, it worked! 

Eric asked us who taught us to work? That seems like the most obvious question....but do we think about that when we look at our students? Hmmm...how do they know what work ethic is? I, certainly, was fortunate...both my parents worked, both for money and because things "needed to be done."  But who teaches our youth to work? Perhaps, in some instances, it is us who teaches them work ethic. Makes me think.

Eric goes on to talk about employer demands and how we help our youth meet their demands.  Attitude, reliability, professionalism, initiative, respect, integrity, gratitude. Employers want these seven values...are we integrating this into our curriculum?

Think about this: Work is doing, Ethic is knowing...so Work Ethic = doing AND knowing. Great definition, huh? And maybe you knew this, but I didn't really think of it specifically like that. Seems like a great poster for the classroom.

Along with work ethic, etc., he reminded us of the importance of recognizing and rewarding our students. This may be one of the most valuable way to help students learn the elements of work ethic. Makes perfect sense, huh? What motivates me? Compliments, positive feedback, recognition for my contributions, etc. Makes sense....but do we do it? Do we do it enough? We have a chance to help each student find their niche....we are their mentors. We must lead by example, we must lead the life we want our students to lead....we must do what we ask....live with integrity, be positive, be reliable, be honest.

And let me just end with....awesome rap...our students would really like that!

For more information from Eric, and even the presentation he did today, visit www.RevivingWorkEthic.com/ACTE. You can also find him on Twitter  (@Eric_Chester).

Reflections on the Days

If nothing else I think most attendees can agree we are leaving this conference with a newfound energy and excitement for career and technical education and our professions.  It can be easy to get used to routine. At least in the world of special education, where I work, it can be easy to get bogged down with paperwork and solving immediate issues. It can be a struggle to step back and look at what we are doing and keep focused on the long-range goals, the dreams of our students, the possibilities for the future. This conference not only helps us do this but encourages us to enlarge our vision.I am grateful to have the opportunity to attend this conference and am sure each attendee appreciates this opportunity as well!  I have met several people who just like myself opted to pay their own way to this conference, because we truly recognize the value of this conference. In the world of education today, where budgets are continually stressed and where we are responsible for helping to train the future workers of our communities in a huge time of transformation, this is a great testament to our dedication and commitment to what we do. Each person I met over the last three days has been an exemplary instructor, administrator, staffperson, leader, etc. I am honored to be here with such wonderful people!

By: Wendy Chalmers

I woke up this morning to a beautiful view out my hotel window...sun rising over the river, evidence of a light wind flowing through the trees. With a mixed bag of emotions I headed to the Convention center to begin the last day of the conference. I am excited to return, and utterly exhausted today, but wish there was more time here to learn even more! There are so many more people to meet, so much more networking, so much more to learn! Even more reason to return next year!

I have met more wonderful people from across the nation, activated my creative thoughts, re-energized my teaching. Last night I sat in my hotel room for a while organizing my list of contacts, compiling the exhibitors' information, and reviewing my notes from the two days. I look forward to bringing back all of this knowledge to my school, administrators, instructors, students.

As I reflect over the last few days, the sessions I attended were very popular...technology was huge! I need a whole week to just play with all the great technology ideas I learned.

If you missed this morning's session in room 220....check out some of these technology sites...www.wallwisher.com, www.animoto.com, www.timeglider.com, www.weebly.com and www.voki.com. My personal favorite that I am going to go check out is animoto. It lets you create really great videos or movies that use pictures, words, music. Students can use this for things like end-of-unit projects. Timeglider is a great way to have students create timelines for things like steps to take to create a project or visually represent the stages of child development. Wallwisher lets the teacher pose a prompt and then students can each respond...the responses post on a common wall that the teacher could then share. Another idea would be to use this as a method of quickly checking on the students knowledge by asking them to list three things they learned, or similarly, students could use it to ask questions they may have but not want to ask in front of others. For more great ideas I would suggest contacting the presenter, Tracy Newman at tnewman@stegen.k12.mo.us.

Now, it's off to the closing...I am sure it will leave me energized and excited to get back and share so much with others at my school. But, first, a quick tour of St. Louis!
 

Last but not least! Here are a few highlights from today:

• Identifying Partnerships and Education Programs to Build a Better Workforce: Room 223, 9:15 a.m.
• ACTE Fellowship Program-Advocates for CTE: Room 229, 9:15 a.m.
• Opening General Session with Eric Chester and Secy. Brenda Dann-Messier: Hall 3, 10:30 a.m. - and the big unveiling of the changes we'll be making in 2012! Be there!
• Eric Chester book signing at the ACTE Bookstore: Plaza Lobby, 12:15 p.m.
• Canceled: Giving High School Students the Power to Know, 9:15 a.m.

Thank you so much for joining us! Safe travels, and we hope to see you next year in Atlanta, Nov. 29 - Dec. 1!

We will have presentations and handouts posted online starting next week, so visit us at www.acteonline.org.

Keep up with ACTE Convention updates with:

• This blog (subscribe to get updates in your inbox)
• Convention Web page
• ACTE on Facebook
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• ACTE on LinkedIn

By: Lee Smith

The Annual ACTE Convention and Career Tech Expo is coming closer to its end. It has been fast paced, full of energy and communicating a shift toward a change in what Career and Tech teachers have been used to for 85 years now. I will tell readers that I know why our ACTE leadership and staff are referring to this Convention as the "last one." But to keep from stealing their clout, I will save the delivery until tomorrow. If you are here, you’ll find out in the morning. If you’re not here, read one of the Convention blogs tomorrow.

Whoever books the talent for this conventions has either great taste or great luck. We were greeted in the main Convention center this morning by Up Tempo, a vocal ensemble from Timberland High School near St. Louis. Their music had a unique sound... African, maybe. The tune they greeted us with was about coffee - a great song for the morning and much more enjoyable than the $2.50 cup of bitter, black water I bought earlier.

ACTE President, Jim Comer, handed the podium over to a representative from the CTE Foundation to conduct the session. Our collective aspirations were vicariously fulfilled by watching some of our colleagues collect awards for their hard work and dedication to CTE. Every year, the outstanding teacher, educator, new teacher and community service award winners make us all feel and reaffirm that Career and Technical Education has the best and brightest and the most potential for the greatest impact on students’ lives.

The keynote speaker was Ray McNulty from the International Center for Leadership in Education. His message to us was that we become "Ministers of Disturbance." Just what did he mean by that? My position on his catchy, school reform term is to dismantle the system. Here’s an analogy:

When I was growing up, we had a junk drawer in our kitchen cabinets. Its purpose was to be a place for storing any "unclassified" household materials. You know, extra pens and pencils, water hose clamps, old pocket knives, extra screws, various hardware... you get the picture. Anyway, over the course of a year or two, that drawer would get so full of junk that it became difficult to open and close. So, my parents would dump all of its contents and decide just exactly what was needed for the good of the household and trash everything else. Our educational system has collected a bunch of "junk" over the years... "policies" junk, "traditions" junk, "pedagogy" junk, the list is long. Ray was encouraging us to "dump the drawer."

One of the things he encouraged us to dump was the “Us Against Them” attitude that teachers have toward students. He said, “You learn from people you love.” He’s right. I’ll extend his remark with one of my own... “Respect is something you don’t get unless you give it.” Both of these brotherly love philosophies apply to people of all ages - not just our own.

Ray extended his "Minister of Disturbance" keynote with more language intended to shake things up. He told us to work outside of the rules and regulations and use "Disruptive Innovation," saying that “In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities. In the expert’s mind there are few!” Those that do not question the status quo will drown in it. I’ll bet that many of you have taught yourself much of what you know because your teachers really couldn’t because they were operating under the status quo.

Let’s Get Real

Due to region meetings and the delegate session, I was only able to attend one breakout today and I’m glad I chose the one I did. I used the title "Let’s Get Real" because the session I attended was about performance-based assessments in Mississippi - did I spell that right?

Cathy Davis and Denise Sibley from Mississippi State University presented a pilot project that they were conducting in their state. The performance assessments they developed were called GRASPS. G - Goal for the unit. R - Role of the student. A - The audience to speak or write to. S - The situation or scenario the student is to react to. P - The product that is to be created by the student. S - The standard to which everything will be judged.

Trainers work with teachers to create these unit GRASPS within the state frameworks. The teacher recruited experts from the field to grade the GRASPS based upon a set of rubrics. All student products were collected within an electronic portfolio and the results were an addition to the traditional multiple choice End-of-Course assessment to determine technical skill attainment.

The presenters admitted that there were kinks to work out, but we have been dealing with the difficulty in testing technical skills by traditional means. At least there is a beginning to a solution. Maybe this is a method that the Common Core assessment will incorporate since it uses writing and technology to assess students’ understanding of content. It is very similar to Literacy Design Collaborative (LDC) and the template tasks associated with LDC. You can learn more about LDC here.

By: Mitchell Shron

Well, I am almost too tired to blog. This has been a hectic afternoon, even though I skipped a session to catch up with one of my favorite research guys, Dr. James Stone of the National Research Center for CTE. If you don't know Jim Stone, take the time to look at the wonderful work his center does. My Tech Center hosted Jim a few years ago as he worked with our faculty on some very high-end professional development on academic integration. Of course, the thing he remembers more is the wonderful dinner my culinary instructor and I had with him at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY, just a few miles up the road from our school. It was great to catch up with him and talk about all of the major changes we are feeling in CTE.

I also had a few minutes to chat with our President-Elect, Doug Major. The challenges we face as an organization mirror the challenges our students face as we deal with the shifting world of education reform. My guess after a few minutes of conversation is that if we don't anticipate the curve and lean into it, we face even tougher times, as an organization and as a discipline. I am eager to see how next year's session (can't call it Convention anymore) meets this challenge. Good luck, Doug.

Tell you what, I am more tired today than after a typical Friday in my school. As invigorating as the exchange of ideas has been, I realize the thing that charges my batteries the most is the interaction with my students. It's nice to get out to a national conference and see the things going on across America. But I am really looking forward to getting back home and trying out some of the things I picked up here.

By: Mitchell Shron

I have just left the highest energy presentation I have seen so far at the Convention. Carrying the very long title "How to significantly increase enrollment, retention and graduation rates with the Millennial Generation," Mark Perna presented to a standing-room-only crowd his take on why we need to think differently about engaging today's students and more importantly, how to do it. In a nonstop barrage of relevant and well-designed graphics, humor and proven track record, Mark laid out a very simple plan to help CTE bridge the gap we all hear about. Although we use the word "engagement" an awful lot in education, Mark made some very astute observations about the whys of the Millennial generation and the hows for we baby boomers to understand.

One vivid example is something many of us take for granted. We recruit the students for our CTE centers in the mid-sophomore year and then assume our job is done until they arrive in September. Mark said students who go to CTE centers are often either running from something or running to something. The ones who are running from something will be there in September. The ones who are running to something have been bombarded with dozens of new things between January of the 10th grade and September of the junior year. We need to move the focus to retention. There was so much information given I will need to wait until I get the PowerPoint to sort through it all. This one was a keeper.

By: Wendy Chalmers

Last year was my first time attending the ACTE Convention...I wondered how this year's conference would compare (afterall, it was in Vegas). I remember the impact last year's Convention had with me. mI remember returning with renewed energy and ideas...I have always been an idea person! Suffice it to say...this Convention is just amazing as last year!

I am still energized from yesterday's keynote and now today's keynote has encouraged me to continue to think outside the box in my own job. Ray McNulty brought up some great keypoints about changing how we, educators, strive to improve our schools and the outcomes for students. He made us think! Question! If you didn't attend the keynote, or aren't at the conference, I encourage you to look him up...some great ideas on how to transform today's educational system to close the skills gap in trained workers. His points make sense to me!

Afterwards I took a walk through the exhibition hall....I decided to use my iPhone to take pictures of vendors of interest. I can't possibly collect all the literature and fit it in my bag. Besides, I will save a tree!

The session "Using technology in CTE to enhance teaching and to connect the tech savvy student of today" provided me with a long list of FREE Web sites to use in the classroom. I consider myself fairly knowledgable about technology, but half of these sites I'm not sure I have ever seen. The presenters said the presentation information will be available on the ACTE Web site starting next week...so be sure to check it out.

Now what to do...lunch or attend a session? So many great sessions! I am presenting at 1:15, Room 230: "A perfect fit: how to increase appropriate CTE placements for students with disabilities." I hope to provide some ideas that may work for others...and open up some dialogue, forming relationships through attendees to provide support for one another. Maybe I will see you there? If you are reading this after my presentation and you attended, I would love your feedback.

Today is full of program sessions on a myriad of topics in CTE. Here is just a small sample:

• Putting the Career into College & Career Ready: Room 267, 10:45 a.m.
• Techniques to Show Alignment to National Education Standards (Common Core) and How to Use Them: Room 225, 12:00 p.m.
• Get College & Career Ready with RPOS2: Room 267, 12:00 p.m.
• Baby Steps-Using the RealCare Program to Support Certifications and Assessments: Room 229, 12:00 p.m.
• InterroBang session is now Immersive Learning: Room 240, 12:00 p.m.
• Effectively Communicating the Value of CTE: Room 267, 1:15 p.m.
• ACTE International Consortium: Room 265, 3:45 p.m.
• Eric Chester book signing: Cengage Booth 703, 2:00-3:30 p.m.

Thanks for taking part in our first program session evaluation system! If you didn't have a SmartCard scanner in your session yesterday, don't worry. You will have a chance to add that missed session when you receive your evaluation e-mail.  

This morning is an early start, but a worthy slate of events:

• Opening General Session with Ray McNulty and Excellence Awards Ceremony: Hall 3, 8:00 a.m. 
• Ray McNulty book signing at the ACTE Bookstore: Plaza Lobby, 9:30 a.m. 
• Career Tech Expo: Halls 4&5, 9:30 a.m.
• Program sessions start at 10:45 a.m.: prepare your agenda with ACTEmobile. If you had trouble logging in yesterday, try again today--it was so popular, the servers got a little overloaded. And thanks for participating in our first ever mobile tool!

We encourage you to celebrate your colleagues' dedication and innovation in CTE during the Excellence Awards presentation!

Keep up with ACTE Convention updates with: 

• This blog (subscribe to get updates in your inbox) 
• Convention Web page 
• ACTE on Facebook 
• ACTE on Twitter 
• ACTE on Foursquare 
• ACTE on LinkedIn 

By: Lee Smith

The Thursday edition of the 2011 ACTE Annual Convention and Career Tech Expo has come to an end and I have to agree with this morning’s keynote speaker, Sir Ken Robinson, when he made reference to the swiftness of time a person perceives when he or she is engaged in an activity and enjoys what they are doing. Today’s activities were a pleasant way to become more informed and to stay engaged with Career & Technical Education and the professionals that make ACTE such a beneficial organization.

The room was full at this morning’s session. The program was preceded by beautiful, a cappella, choral music sung by 8th graders from Carr Lane Visual & Performing Arts Middle School located right here in St. Louis. The room was called to order. The colors were posted. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited and our National Anthem made the opening of the session complete. We were greeted by ACTE President, James Comer. He introduced our Past President, Gary Moore and President-Elect, Karen Mason. They each extended their welcome and were followed by ACTE Executive Director, Jan Bray. Jan extended her welcome, as well, and updated the assembly about ACTE’s continuous commitment to shape and guide Career & Technical Education. Both Jim and Jan eluded to this being the last ACTE Convention but did not elaborate on just exactly what that meant.

Oh yeah, Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan greeted us via a pre-recorded video message.

Of course, the best part of this morning’s session was our time listening to Sir Ken Robinson speak about education. We were his type of crowd and he made statements to verify that. He spoke to us, with much pith and humor, about the way that the United States has become "obsessed" with an educational system that focuses on one certain type of ability... he was referring to an academic ability. He reflected to his childhood years and described his brother as a brilliant engineer as early as five years old. This hyperbole was used to point out that children’s talents are there very early in life, along with their creativity. His statement was that his brother could tear an engine apart, put it back together and have it running again with great ease. He went on to explain how he and his brother hated school and found that all of the creativity, enthusiasm and passion they had about their futures was "educated" out of them.

Sir Ken is imploring our nation’s educational leaders to change the system in such a way to nurture creativity and focus on individual talents. He calls No Child Left Behind an incredible piece of irony because our educational system only fits one ability, thus, leaving out students with abilities other than academic. He points out that all of us are responsible for causing this systemic change to take place.

He is very easy to listen to even though he was telling us hard things to accept. The things he was saying, however, are the same things that I have felt since I was a student. I understand, retrospectively, that my steps through high school and then college were guided by the system and a national "group-thinking" among schools that college was the only way to achieve success. The factory-format that schools operate by have killed creativity and have only served to prepare students for one or two tests that determine so much of their future status. Sir Ken did tell us stories of individuals who have succeeded despite their trouble with the system. If you would like to know more about his philosophy and some of the facts that support it, search Sir Ken Robinson on Google and check out a couple of his books. You can also watch some of his speaking events on TED and YouTube.

A CT Teacher’s Toy Store

It’s close enough to Christmas that I can begin my wish list. I saw several things today in the Career Tech Expo that I’d like to have. I don’t think Santa is going to see to it, however.

Truthfully, the expo does incite the same wonderment and imagination that a kid strolling through a toy aisle would have. The expo will give every attendee numerous ideas and conversation pieces. It is years and years of future goals and projects. It’s just hard to describe the learning opportunities that exist for students today. I saw programmable robots, 3-D printers, interactive curriculum, distance learning and industry-supported materials of all kinds. One of the most spectacular hands-on learning/teaching tools I explored was the mobile EMT training lab from Kiamichi Technology Center in Oklahoma. It is an ambulance and hospital room simulator built within a goose-neck trailer. You can see some video of it here on YouTube.

Time to Get Serious

The breakout sessions being offered this year have been organized for all attendees to be able to find the sort of answers of information they are looking for. The first one I attended today was conducted by James Stone of the National Research Center for Career and Technical Education. His session was a continuing report about some longitudinal studies being done on Programs of Study. Even though the studies are not complete, the early indicators show to be promising in that there is significant evidence to demonstrate that students who follow a prescribed program of study that is rigorous, relevant and involves good guidance will cause an increase in academic attainment. That is good news as Perkins V is being written and, locally, programs of study are beginning to mean more to high school administrators who don’t come from CTE.

I was also present at the session titled, “Where Do You Go When You Want To Know? CTE’s Role in Education Reform”. This session was conducted by Gina Benesh from St. Louis Community College. Her message was concerning the demand for curriculum that focused on what industries and employers need. Ms. Benesh described her schools approach to bring in industry professionals and break down the different job duties and tasks that exist within their profession and develop a curriculum that focuses on those skills. The approach she and her colleagues use is very methodical and easy to duplicate. You can read more about the program here. It is called DACUM and it looks to be very useful for community colleges or training centers that are working with new or changing industries in their area.

I hope tomorrow is as complete as today was. Come back to find out more of what’s happening at the 2011 ACTE Annual Convention and Career Tech Expo! Maybe we’ll learn how this is the last one ever.

By: Mitchell Shron

Ah, finally time to catch a breather at the CTE Support Fund Networking Reception. The CTE Support Fund plays a vital role for all of us in CTE, advocating for our needs and the needs of our students.

What a very busy day. After a very invigorating AM keynote from Sir Ken, I spent some worthwhile time talking to vendors on the Convention floor. If you haven't taken the time to go through, find it. You don't have to stop at every booth, but it may be you will find just the thing you need for your program.

As a CTE administrator, I am very appreciative of the efforts ACTE took to set up easy-to-follow strands. The hard part was making the choices. Two outstanding ones were an interactive public relations sessions and a fascinating session on bringing a maritime program to life.

But no doubt, for me, the highlight is talking to CTE educators from all over the country. I've spoken with folks from Arizona, New Mexico, California, Washington, South Dakota, North Dakota, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, my home state of New York, and lots of folks from the Show Me state. The exchange of ideas, and business cards, is what the takeaway will be. At its best, ACTE functions as a clearinghouse of ideas.

We are all facing similar challenges. Our funding is in jeopardy. We face a sometimes indifferent administration that thinks that education is a one size fits all path to 4-year college. We struggle with common core standards and meaningful assessments. But we all agree that what we are doing is worthwhile. I thought about Sir Ken's call for people to be not only good at what they do, but to feel it by being in their element. I think that defines CTE teachers and administrators. We are in our element and no where is that more clear than at the ACTE convention.

And now, I better pay attention to this auction before I accidentally bid on a Snap-on Tool Kit.

By: Wendy Chalmers

The first day of the conference has been packed full of energy, and I am just now finding time to share the excitement from the day!

As always, the start of the day was inspiring and heart warming. Who can't feel the emotion in the air watching the Carlene Visual and Performing Arts MIDDLE School choir perform?! Middle School! Beautiful talent!

Waiting with anticipation of the featured keynote speaker, Sir Ken Robinson, Nai Wang from KP Educational Systems reminded us of the mobile app for the smartphone/iPhone! I am totally loving this feature...if you are hesitant about it, it really is a must have. Instead of continually referring back to the 160-page Convention book...my agenda is on my phone! How great is that? Nai's sense of humor enticed me to attend his session later in the day ("I have an iPad! What do I do with it?")

Finally, the moment I had been waiting for! Sir Robinson! I had seen his YouTube videos several times over the past few years...if you are not familiar with them...look him up! Speaking with passion, demonstrating on an interactive whiteboard, his videos often explain his theory of what needs to change in our educational system today. His keynote presentation did not disappoint! In fact I think everyone in attendance (and the room was filled) remained fully attentive throughout his presentation! Energizing me, setting the tone for the day, Sir Robinson reminded me why I do what I do, why I am passion about career and technical education and youth, and why I am at this conference!

With the energy from this morning's keynote, I had a little time to browse the huge exhibit hall. It is all a bit overwhelming...hundreds of vendors and I know I can't take everything back to share with the teachers at my school...I don't have room in my suitcase!

For conference goers looking for a place for lunch tomorrow...out the south exit of the convention center, across the street from the visitors center is a bank building. Inside is a cafe/deli type restaurant, second floor! VERY reasonable prices and great selection of foods: make your own salads, grill, hot food, deli cold sandwiches, desserts, drinks. I had a fish sandwich and fries for close to $7.

After lunch I attended the Special Populations Division general membership meeting. I found out they have 759 members...and yet not 14 were present and that included the officers. As president of the Pennsylvania Association of Career and Technical Education Special Populations, I was interested in meeting others committed to the field of special education and special populations. I certainly hope others in this Division are here at the conference and I hope I can meet you while I am here! We have so much to share with each other and can really be assets to each other!

The iPad presentation from Nai (after hearing him at the opening, I just had to attend! Oh, and I did get an iPad two weeks ago...so it is relevant!) The room was overcrowded! Amazing introductions to iPads! If you didn't see him, you may want to visit his booth in the exhibit hall. And at his booth, they have a demo key card for KP Compass, described as "...allows teachers and students to access curriculum in the cloud...available online anytime from any device." After this session, I am feeling a bit overwhelmed with technology....but this is the age we are in, and I firmly believe we have to do what we can to keep up with our students!

Maybe tomorrow I can find time away from the sessions to spend more time at the exhibit hall?!

By: Mitchell Shron

The energy started right up this morning with a wonderful presentation from the Carr Lane Visual Performing Arts Middle School choir performing moving and inspirational songs. The program continued with a warm welcome from the head of the St Louis School District, followed by another high energy presentation on ACTEmobile from KP Education Systems' Nai Wang.

The morning's keynote from Sir Ken Robinson hit all the right notes. Using humor and powerful anecdotes, Sir Ken laid out the challenges we face in Career and Technical Education.Focusing on the narrow definition of academic success will not solve the remarkable challenges we face as a nation and as a planet. We need to change the way we address the economic, cultural and personal challenges to offer our students the greatest opportunities for success. We must encourage students to find their own element where they not only are good at what they do, they love what they do. Sir Ken describes this as a race between education and catastrophe. We can avert the catastrophe by promoting educational diversity. By offering a broader array of educational opportunities, we can create the circumstances that will favor our future. "We create our lives according to the talents we find in ourselves." As educators, it is our challenge to give our students the opportunities to harness those talents. All in all, a very fair representation of what we do every day as CTE educators.

Here are just a few sessions of many that will engage and educate you this afternoon:

• ACTE Legislative Update: Room 267, 2:00 p.m.
• How to be an Effective Advocate: Room 267, 3:15 p.m.
• Reading Strategies for Career Academies and CTE: Room 222, 3:15 p.m.
• Common Core Standards-Making the CTE Connection: Room 275, 3:15 p.m.
• From a Program of Study to a Personal Plan of Study: Room 263, 4:30 p.m.
• Common Core State Assessment Consortia: Room 267, 4:30 p.m.
• Birth of an Integrated STEM Program: Room 227, 4:30 p.m.
• CTE TEACH: Empowering Teachers: Room 224, 4:30 p.m.
• ACTE Town Hall Meeting: Room 124, 4:30 p.m.
• Canceled: Certification in the Classroom

Then, cap off your evening with our Networking Reception & CTE Support Fund Auction, 5:45 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. at the Renaissance Hotel's Landmark Ballroom (just across Washington Ave from the Convention Complex). Expect mingling, munchies, a live auction and our exciting state basket contest. Vote for your favorite basket!

Keep up with ACTE Convention updates with:

• This blog (subscribe to get updates in your inbox)
• Convention Web page
• ACTE on Facebook
• ACTE on Twitter
• ACTE on Foursquare
• ACTE on LinkedIn