home

= =

= = =Welcome to the New Literacies Teacher Leader Institute - 2010 Beijing!=

Dear Teachers at Beijing Royal School,

We look forward to visiting your school and conducting the New Literacies Teacher Leader Institute, November 3 - 7, 2010. Designing the Institute has been an exciting experience for us—full of innovative ideas, collaborative practices, and dynamic questions about new literacies in the 21st century. We are eager to continue this ongoing venture as we work and learn with you during the week. We are also very excited about learning **from you**! As Americans we are interested in the Chinese Educational System and your values and strategies for educational excellence.

In preparation for an action-packed week, please complete the following before our first meeting on Wednesday night at 7:00 pm:

1. Join our Ning at []. There you will upload a picture of yourself and write a professional bio (150 words or so) in order to share information with your fellow Institute participants. You can also use this information to find a Project-Based Learning (PBL) partner that you will work with during the week.

2. Join wikispaces.com by creating an account. We will be using this tool during the Institute.

3. As a way to begin thinking about your role as a teacher leader, bring a leadership artifact to the Institute. The artifact can be anything that represents a characteristic of your leadership or that of a leader whom you admire. Think creatively.

4. Bring your wireless, Internet-ready laptop and power cord. If you have a digital camera or a smart phone with a camera application, please bring this along too.

5. The success of the Institute depends on you! We need your physical presence as well as your full creative participation. Remember that the Institute begins on Wednesday night at 7:00 pm and ends on Sunday at 3:00 pm. For your participation, you will receive a Certificate of Participation from North Carolina State University in Raleigh, NC. Come prepared to work hard, be innovative, and, above all, have fun!

Our passion and energy for our work comes from our belief that education transforms lives. We believe that educational systems worldwide must meet the new demands of globally connected life and work in the 21st century. We also believe that emerging technologies play a critical role in contemporary education and that teachers are central to the educational change process. Teacher leaders, along with policy makers and other educational leaders, must be actively involved in creating new visions and pathways for education. The possibilities for being innovative as a teacher are endless, and we believe that all students should have high quality, creative, and engaging educational experiences. That’s why we have chosen as our theme for the week: “Inquire, Collaborate, and Create: New Literacies For New Times." We look forward to your helping us make this theme come alive as we all explore new ways of “doing” education in these changing times.

Best Regards,

The New Literacies Team North Carolina State University

media type="custom" key="7445845"

Image Copyright: http://www.flickr.com/photos/babasteve/3154711381/sizes/s/ http://www.corbisimages.com/images/67/018E8-81B3-4FB5-961D-865F4AEE/42-19350097.jpg **[|http:/]** = =