The Digital Classroom will have a Steelcase
eno interactive whiteboard like the one shown here

Regular conference goers will see a new feature at the International Reading Association 59th Annual Conference in New Orleans: the Digital Classroom.

In partnership with Steelcase Educational Solutions and myON Reader, the Digital Classroom is a small presentation space away from the formal meeting rooms and sessions, smack right in the middle of the excitement of the Exhibit Hall (Booth #1010 to be exact)—and with good reason. Digital Classroom sessions are not your typical fare. They are short, 20-minute presentations focusing on technology tools for the classroom.

The Digital Classroom is playing host to a myriad of presentations across the three days that the Exhibit Hall is open (Saturday, May 10 to Monday, May 12). Session topics are varied, from a daily presentation of digital tools on IRA’s own ReadWriteThink.org site to exploring the classroom potential of myON Reader to learning how the Literacy Learning Exchange can help build team collaboration.

Short and sweet, these sessions are designed to inform and inspire. Many of the sessions are presented by actual classroom teachers who want to share their successes and their resources with fellow educators. This space is designed to combine the learning potential of the conference session with the energy and excitement of the exhibit hall to create an enticing, fun experience for all attendees.

Sessions

The Digital Classroom has a full and varied schedule through the days the Exhibit Hall is open. Keeping track of all the events and sessions can be a challenge, but don’t worry, just grab the IRA 2014 Conference App (downloadable for iOS and Android devices) to help keep you organized.

Open the app, click on “Sessions,” and then sort by day. Type “digital classroom” into the search field; this will filter the list to make it easier to find the session you want. All of the Digital Classroom sessions are labeled as such just before the session title. Clicking on the star icon to the left of the session title will add that session to your itinerary. (Note: These short sessions can only be added to itineraries in the app, not on the online iPlanner).

Here is a list of all the Digital Classroom sessions and times. Full descriptions of sessions can be found in the Conference App.

Saturday

• 10:00–10:20 Using ReadWriteThink.org Tools to Engage Your Students
• 10:40–11:00 Kipp Academy Students Share Reading Success 
• 11:20­–11:40 eno...Giving You Even More Teachable Moments
• 1:00–1:20 Jumpstart Your In-School PD With the Literacy in Learning Exchange
• 1:40–2:00 Learning About Natural Resources Through Technology:  Bridges to Understanding
• 2:20–2:40 Lift Off to Literacy: International Literacy Day 2014
• 3:00–3:20 Connect Digital Reading to Instruction
• 3:40­­–4:00 What's in Your Classroom Library?
• 4:20-4:40 eno...Giving You Even More Teachable Moments

Sunday

• 10:00–10:20 Using ReadWriteThink.org Tools to Engage Your Students
• 10:40­–11:00 Where Will You Take Your Reading?
• 11:20–11:40 Twitter-a-ture: Creating Content and Connections Using Twitter
• 1:00–1:20 Jumpstart Your In-School PD With the Literacy in Learning Exchange
• 1:40–2:00 Tech-enomics:  Technology Connections in an IRA Bridges Economics Unit for Grades 3–5
• 2:20–2:40 Lift Off to Literacy: International Literacy Day 2014
• 3:00–3:20 Getting to the Core of Instruction Through Close Reading
• 3:40–4:00 myON: MAGIC INSIDE-METRICS INCLUDED!
• 4:20-4:40 eno...Giving You Even More Teachable Moments

Monday

• 10:00–10:20 Using ReadWriteThink.org Tools to Engage Your Students
• 10:40–11:00 Personalize the Reading Experience
• 11:20­–11:40 eno...Giving You Even More Teachable Moments

Our Sponsors

The Digital Classroom is a joint project through IRA’s partners Steelcase Educational Solutions and myON Reader.

Steelcase has been an industry leader in furniture and technology for over 100 years and has a robust line of educational solutions, which brings their understanding of efficient and effective workspace design into the classroom setting. They are providing a Polyvision eno Interactive Whiteboard for use during the Digital Classroom sessions, a working example of technology integration into the educational setting. To learn about the digital whiteboard specifically, come to any of the eno sessions in the Digital Classroom.

myON is a complete literacy solution that reinvents student reading. Offering over 7,000 books online, myON tracks student reading, offer suggestions based on previous experiences and recommendations, and tracks student progress through a variety of metrics. To find out more about myON Reader, come by the Digital Classroom for one of their presentations. You can find their sessions and times by filtering the session list using the term “myON” (one word, no quotes).

Wes Ford is an associate editor at the International Reading Association.