Welcome+Letter



Greetings NLI Participants,

We look forward to seeing you at the New Literacies Teacher Leader Institute at the Friday Institute, July 25- 29, 2011. 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.

In preparation for an action-packed week, please complete the following before you attend the Monday Reception (5:00 - 7:00 pm at the Raleigh Contemporary Art Museum):

1. The Institute begins Monday evening at the Welcoming Reception at the Raleigh Contemporary Art Museum (5:00 – 7:00 pm). The museum is located downtown Raleigh: 409 West Martin Street. Directions are online at: CAMRaleigh.org. As a way to begin thinking about your role as a teacher leader, bring a leadership artifact to the reception. The artifact can be anything that represents a characteristic of your leadership or that of a leader whom you admire. Think creatively!

2. Get Connected: 1) Join our Ning at [|http://newlit.org]. There you will upload a picture of yourself and write a professional bio (150 words or so) in order to get to know your fellow Institute participants. You can also use this information to find an inquiry partner that you will work with during the week, if you don’t already have a partner. We have created a group within the Ning that we would like for you to join: []. 2) Join our Institute website: []. If you have not used Wikispaces before, you will need to create an account, and we will approve you for the site.

3. Bring your wireless, Internet-ready laptop and power cord. For those who do not have a laptop, PC laptops will be provided during the Institute. If you plan on using one of the laptops at the Friday Institute, you will want to bring an external hard drive (e.g., a USB thumb drive), so that you can save some of your offline work for the week.

4. Note that lunch and snacks will be provided each day. Refreshments will be served Monday evening at the opening reception. Dinner is on your own each evening, except for Thursday. Thursday night we will have a banquet at bu.ku Restaurant from 6-9 pm. The restaurant is located downtown Raleigh: 110 E. Davie Street. We will hear Adam Garry, Manager of Global Professional Learning for Dell, speak, eat great food, and have fun in a relaxed, social gathering. Please let us know if you have special dietary needs ( eelyjak@ncsu.edu ). Dress is casual for all events.

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 Monday at 5:00 pm and will end on Friday at 1:00 pm (2:00 pm for students enrolled in ECI 509). Please make your travel plans accordingly. Come prepared to attend fully, 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 our educational system must be transformed to 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—not just a few—should have high quality, creative, and transformative educational experiences. That’s why we have chosen as our theme for the week: “Inquire, Collaborate, Create!” We look forward to your helping us make this theme come alive as we all explore new ways of “doing” education in changing times.

Please confirm your attendance for the opening Reception on Monday July, 25 (5:00 - 7:00 pm) with Erin Lyjak (eelyjak@ncsu.edu).

See you soon!

John, Hiller & Carl & The NLI 2011 Team ##)!*+!,-./0!12+!!