Various authors have received credit for the observation that it took twenty years for the overhead projector to move from the bowling alley to the classroom. Since the popularization of the personal computer, though, new technologies and related initiatives have begun arriving with alarming frequency: Chrome books, iPads, BYOD, one-to-one capacity, SMART boards, Promethean boards, web 2.0 tools, student response systems, and so many, many apps. In an effort to remain current, many teachers may find themselves in a classic tail-wags-dog scenario; their curriculum is driven by the technology, when it is the technology that should support the curriculum. During this seminar, teachers will receive instruction in how to use digital tools to support and enhance their reading, writing, speaking, and listening instruction.

English language learners and children with diagnosed learning disabilities represent two of the fastest growing subgroups in North Carolina classrooms. This seminar will bring together ELL and EC teachers with experts in the fields of language acquisition, learning disabilities, and leadership capacity. Teachers will be provided with knowledge and skills to improve their students’ reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills. In addition, they will be challenged and supported in addressing systemic or philosophical issues that impact these skills: levels of parental engagement; balancing acculturation with respect for cultural origins; levels of tolerance among faculty and students outside these populations; and understanding and responding to legislation aimed at special populations. Participants are encouraged to come with an action-research project already in mind.

Educational pundit E.D. Hirsch has suggested that, at its core, every test is a vocabulary test. We learn to read and write to make sense of and communicate about everything we encounter. When students write about what they see, they engage with the material in an intentional manner. When they have interesting experiences, they write more and with more energy. Join us as we investigate ways of incorporating the North Carolina State Essential Standards in Science with appropriate reading and writing activities all aimed at strengthening our students’ facility in both areas. Taking advantage of the numerous ecosystems in close proximity to the center, we will use literacy activities to enhance our engagement and understanding of several field activities. Teachers will have the opportunity to adapt the activities to their local ecosystems and students’ literacy levels. This seminar is primarily targeted at pre-K through 3 teachers but is appropriate for all grade levels.

As we aim to bring delayed readers up to grade level, we cannot allow other students to languish. Nor do we want to organize our instruction in such a way that our struggling students feel stigmatized or labeled. How do teachers balance the emotional and instructional needs of all their students? That is the question we will attack in this program. Teachers will spend several days immersed in a variety of differentiation activities and then craft specific plans and activities for differentiating in their own classrooms. (This seminar is designed to help teachers and schools navigate the requirements of the Read to Achieve Act.)

There are a great many free or low cost tools available on the Internet that can be used to help engage your students more fully. Whether you are a late adopter or a person who feels like you just need the time to work with some of the tools, this program will give you the opportunity to polish your technology skills and to work apps, sites, scripts, and extensions into your curriculum next year. During this seminar, teachers will learn a variety of strategies for providing students with access to readily available technology. Learn the best practices for creating digital artifacts, including texts, images, multimedia- and web-enabled communication, and collaboration tools to encourage the literacy development of your students. Join us as we explore digital literacy as one of the methods for bridging gaps in skill and understanding so that our students will be able to face the challenges of the world to come.

Let NCCAT help you meet the challenges raised by the North Carolina Read to Achieve Program (a part of the Excellent Public Schools Act). Join us as we examine literacy initiatives and discover the best practices for developing a welcoming and enriching reading and writing environment for the early childhood classroom. Open to teachers in grades K–3, the program will focus on developing teaching strategies that link literacy and play, develop phonological and print awareness, embed literacy instruction in the basic activities of early learning, create engaging read-aloud experiences, and support emergent reading and writing. NOTE: This is a flipped seminar. Teachers will engage virtually with the material before the residential part of the program. Some follow-up activities also will take place.

In the time between a total implementation of 1:1 technology and the present, many teachers are faced with a charge to integrate technology into the curriculum and the reality that the technology supplied by their schools is not the same sort of technology that their students are using on a daily basis. One answer to this dilemma is that the technology that the students want to bring with them to school can be used as a way to engage them more fully with the materials and the processes. Come and join us to learn more about how a teacher, a school, or a district can more effectively leverage BYOT (sometimes also called BYOD—Bring-Your-Own-Device) in order to meet goals on a budget and to meet your students on common ground.

The NCCAT Research and Development Teams program offers educators an opportunity to meet in a residential setting devoid of distraction to create and advance departmental, school, or district-wide projects. These projects might consist of new programming, research, planning, or curricula. Gather a team together to create or refine your own innovative approaches to early grades literacy or digital learning. Early grades literacy or digital learning projects will be given preference. All projects will be considered. Come prepared to share your knowledge and progress with other teams from around our state.
The application process requires submission of a project proposal from your team, and an NCCAT application from each individual. Teachers, administrators, central office personnel and district coordinators are encouraged to apply.

Experts in early grades literacy agree that the most successful approaches to sustainable literacy include factors inside and outside of school. Involving parents and other care givers in the learning process is an essential part of the challenge of helping children maintain their progress as readers and writers. The major focus of the sessions is on the best practices for engaging parents in the learning process. Participants will be expected to put the information into practice by providing training for teachers in the schools that they serve and school teams are welcome to apply. Some follow-up activities also will take place.