The 2010 Amarillo FNO Seminar
Monday, December 6 2010

Skills for this Century

Join Jamie McKenzie at the Ambassador Hotel
for a day of hands-on exploration.

3100 Interstate 40 West, Amarillo, Texas 79102
How can we best equip the young with the thinking, problem-solving and inquiry skills they will need in this century?

You can register and pay on line for this conference at
http://fno.org/fnopress/books.html
Register prior to November 1 to qualify for free copy of Beyond Cut-and-Paste

Schedule of Events
Monday, December 6, 2010

8:30 AM - 9:00 Registration (arrive early to test wireless access on your laptop)

9:00 AM  -  10:30

Beyond Cut-and-Paste:
Engaging Students in Making Good New Ideas

In this presentation Jamie outlines the prime strategies suggested in his new book by the same title. He begins with the need to replace topical research with inquiry that matters, challenges that require students to make answers instead of just finding them. He stresses the value of original thinking and proposes ways to grow the synthesis skills of students so they are capable of making up their own minds and inventing smart solutions to irksome issues and problems.

Skills for this Century

Many groups have put forth documents outlining skills they see as especially important during this new century characterized by new technologies and many pressing social and ecological challenges. Jamie presents an overview of key documents such as the New Zealand Curriculum and curriculum statements from Australia, Canada and the United States to highlight the most promising and the most difficult of these new century skills. He also points out important skills and attitudes missed by these documents. Finally, he calls upon the audience to consider the professional development required to help all teachers address such goals successfully.

10:30 - 10:45 Coffee Break

10:45 - Noon

Teaching Media Literacy in an Age of Wikilobbying, Spin, Tabloid Journalism and the Photoshopping of Reality

How do young people learn what is happening in their world when the media has turned dramatically from the reporting of news to a focus on scandal, celebrity gossip and disasters of various kinds? In this presentation Jamie gives examples of spin, Wikilobbying and the photoshopping of reality while providing an overview of how schools might make media literacy an important element in the curriculum.

Noon  -  1:15 PM
Lunch
You are on your own for lunch.

1:15 PM  -  2:45 PM

Studying Complex Concepts such as Beauty, Truth and Courage in Depth

Students are rarely challenged to dig down deep in order to create rich definitions of complex ideas. In this session Jamie shows how teachers can use a series of digital explorations to deepen and extend students' understanding of such concepts. Students learn that dictionaries usually pay short shrift to complex ideas, and they even learn to improve the definitions they encounter.  

Costs

One Day - $ 125.00 USD

This covers the workshop, wireless access and continental breakfast. Participants are on their own for lunch.

Those who register and pay online at http://fno.org/fnopress/books.html prior to November 1 will receive a complimentary copy of Jamie's newest book, Beyond Cut-and-Paste at the workshop. (Retail value = $20 USD)

Additional discount for schools sending 5+ staff members. Email Jamie at


for details.