Learning for the Digital Age is a professional development initiative for Ohio's K-12 administrators and teachers that explores the role of technology in supporting critical thinking, problem solving, teamwork and communication -- the skills students need to be effective in today's classroom and tomorrow's workplace. This statewide collaboration of Ohio's Educational Technology Agencies, Educational Television Stations, and eTech Ohio provides high-quality interactive training for educators to help students use technology to master these essential skills for success throughout life. Thanks to support from eTech Ohio, employees of public schools may attend for free. The cost for employees of private schools is $125 per person.

Learn how to take advantage of E-book collections for your students and your school. This workshop will explore options for obtaining E-books. You'll also gain an understanding of how E-books are created. Then, you'll get a chance to create your own E-book! Learn to add video, audio. artwork and graphics to E-book text to shape your very own E-book for classroom use.

($125)

This workshop emphasizes high-quality, instructional resources available from proven sites such as Ohio iTunes U, the Ohio Resource Center, Thinkfinity, and the new PBS LearningMedia collection. There is much more to finding digital resources than a Google search - let our experienced teachers and presenters show you how! ($125)

Digital storytelling is a creative process in which a traditional story (or assignment) is combined with personal digital technology such as a computer, video camera and sound recorder. Students thoroughly enjoy the opportunity to creatively tell their stories with technology. Educators in this workshop will learn the importance of story planning and use a variety of free websites where students can create and share their tales. Bring your story ideas and have some fun! ($125)

The term ‘cloud’ has become the popular buzzword in computing circles, referring to the users’ ability to access their own files from an Internet connection. Cloud computing also makes it easy for colleagues to work simultaneously on a collaborative project, and to share access to online resources with everyone. Google Docs allows you to work together in the cloud to create word processing documents, slide presentations and spreadsheets. Google Calendar can be shared for others to see your schedule or add theirs. We’ll also explore other collaboration tools and strategies; all are essential for doing project-based and problem-based learning in the classroom. ($125)

Have you been thinking about trying out computer or video game strategies for engaging your students? Let the staffs of CET and Hamilton County Educational Service Center show you how. Serious Games for Serious Learners requires no expertise in game play or game design. We'll spend the first day introducing you to some different schools of thought about educational game design theory and practice. You'll learn where to find educational games in your content area, and discover strategies for using them in your classroom. Then we'll let you go hands on with several highly-popular and inexpensive software packages: Scratch, Alice and Gamestar Mechanic. On Day Two, you'll start designing your own, simple learning game based on a template. By the end of the day, you'll walk away with a draft of your very own game for learning, plus the software and template you used to design it. Workshop length: Two days (10 hours); completion certificate provided. Cost: $150 (includes downloads of free software for game design) Students under 18 may attend for free.