The Future is in Your Hands
Fall Conference 2010 - October 14-15
MSTA Conference Days
Clarion Hotel & Conference Center
901 Dual Hwy - Hagerstown, MD 21740

Jamie McKenzie is the Editor of From Now On - The Educational Technology Journal, a Web-based "ZINE" published online since 1991. In this journal, he has argued for increased commitment to professional development along with networks to support student exploration and reasoning. He also publishes The Question Mark, a journal devoted to questions and questioning as well as No Child Left, a journal devoted to the repeal or drastic amendment of NCLB/Helter-Skelter. Jamie has been a contributing editor to eSchool News and a guest columnist for the Classroom Connect newsletter. His articles have also appeared in Kappan, Educational Leadership, Electronic School and other educational periodicals.  Jamie has published and spoken extensively on the introduction of new technologies to schools. In recent times he has paid particular attention to information technologies, questioning and powerful teaching, exploring how they might best transform classrooms and schools to support student centered, engaged learning.

Thursday Afternoon Closing Keynote: Gwyneth Anne Jones
Library Media/Technology Specialist, Murray Hill MS – Howard Co. , Graduate Instructor – JHU, EduBlog Award Winner for Library Media Tech Musings

Gwyneth Anne Jones aka The Daring Librarian is a blogger, a tweeter, a plurker, a citizen of Nings and a resident of Second Life, and recently elected to the ISTE Board of Directors.  She’s  a digital immigrant with a longtime green card and a passion for educational technology, school librarianship, and being a change agent within her learning community both geographically and within the æthernets.  Gwyneth  is the Library Media/Technology Specialist at Murray Hill Middle School, Howard County Public School System, Maryland. In that capacity, it has been a goal of hers to encourage math and science teachers to utilize the resources found in the library media center and to provide them with innovative ways to incite students' enthusiasm for their own learning. Gwyneth is committed to the NTTI's "turn-key" philosophy of peer training, mentoring, sharing resources, and teaching technology skills through her school, county, and state-wide programs.

Maryland Author Luncheon Keynote: Mélanie Watt, Author/Illustrator

It was in a design class taught by Michèle Lemieux at the University of Quebec in Montreal that author and illustrator Mélanie Watt created her first picture book, Leon the Chameleon, which was later published by Kids Can Press. Watt went on to create several more books, including the Learning with Animals collection and Augustine, which was named an ALA Notable Children's Book. Watt has also illustrated Where Does a Tiger-Heron Spend the Night? and Bearcub and Mama, which won the 2006 IRA Teachers' Choices Project.  Mélanie's best known book Scaredy Squirrel, has won many awards including the Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children's Book Award for Children's Picture Book and the Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Illustrator's Award. The release of Scaredy Squirrel Makes a Friend, was met with enthusiastic reviews and incredible sales, confirming the arrival of kid lit's newest superstar.

Also featuring: Great Conference Sessions - Vendor Exhibits