Thank you to our presenters and delegates for a successful Leadership Summit, we couldn’t have done it without you.

See the photos from the summit online.

The summit report and executive summary are now available.

Friday, February 10th, 2012 – 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. – York University

Location: 280 York Lanes, Map

Leadership to Engage Change and Achieve New Learning Cultures 

The purpose of the ABEL Leadership Summit is to engage education leaders (administrators, superintendents, principals, faculty, teacher-leaders), private and not-for-profit sector leaders in dialogue and discussion about engaging people/systems in the change necessary to achieve new learning cultures that are supported by the effective use of technology.

At the Leadership Summit participants will: 

• Use strategic vision to motivate change and inspire the evolution of new learning cultures 
• Identify approaches that empower staff and students at all levels to participate and engage in learning; 
• Explore how to leverage the sharing of internal knowledge and the gathering and integrating external information to motivate change; and, 
• Develop strategies that challenge the status quo and enable creativity throughout their organization. 

In addition to the one-day face-to-face event, this year's Summit also includes two virtual learning sessions happening in the spring - Understanding the New Learning Culture and Learner Footprint, and Celebrating and Planning the Way Forward. These virtual sessions will be easy to join, and details on how to participate will be provided the day of the Summit.

To view the Leadership Summit 2012 promotional video, please click here.

To view the Agenda for Summit 2012, please click here.

To view the Map, please click here.

Twitter Hash Tag - #ABELSummit 

Speakers/Facilitators 

	Dean Shareski    Dean Shareski (@shareski) is a Digital Learning Consultant for Prairie South School Division in Saskatchewan, Canada and Canadian Community Manager for Discovery Education. Dean works with teachers and students in understanding the power of the Read/Write Web. Dean is strong advocate of design and storytelling and the power of sharing.  He has presented and led many workshops locally, nationally and internationally.  He's been modeling much of this on his own blog (ideasandthoughts.org) for over 6 years, which on the Internet is like 88 years.  His blog is consisently ranked among the top 100 educational blogs. This is one space, among many, where he connects to the world and teaches and learns in ways not possible only a few years ago. Understanding what this means for education, keeps him up at night. He also is an adjunct professor at the University of Regina where he's developed innovative instructional practices for pre-service teachers. Dean lives in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan with his wife, kids and dogs.
	Dr. Alec Couros Dr. Alec Couros (@courosa) is a professor of educational technology and media and the Coordinator of Information and Communications Technology at the Faculty of Education, University of Regina. Alec has given hundreds of workshops and presentations, nationally and internationally, on topics such as openness in education, social/networked learning, instructional design, digital citizenship and critical media literacy.
	George Couros   George Couros (@gcouros) is the Division Principal of Innovative Teaching & Learning for Parkland School Division, Alberta, Canada. George resides at the Centre for Education working closely with the Future Team, Lead Team, Learning Services Department and Information Technology Department where he pushes the leading edge in implementing Alberta Education’s new Goal Two – Educational Transformation. George is a leader on the effective use of social media to improve and engage student and staff learning while also connecting organizations in an open and transparent way. He is a sought after speaker on the topic of advancing student learning and engagement. George is the creator of the Connected Principals group and also shares his learning at georgecouros.ca.

Virtual Sessions

Following the face-to-face event on Feb. 10th, delegates will continue their learning by participating in two virtual sessions. Our speaker/facilitators will be hosting the virtual sessions.

1. Understanding the New Learning Culture and Learner Footprint 

This session will explore the specifics of citizenship in a digital context. Rather than focusing upon prevention, participants will develop ideas to create and contribute to purposeful, engaged citizenship while learning online. These ideas will be explored and shared within the context of digital literacy, job-embedded learning, and engagement with parents, family and community.    

*Choice of session dates include Wednesday, March 21st at Noon to 12:45 p.m. EST, Thursday, March 22nd at 4:30 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. EST, Wednesday, March 28th at Noon to 12:45 p.m. EST, and Thursday, March 29th at 4:30 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. EST 

2. Celebrating and Planning the Way Forward  

This session will provide delegates with an opportunity for “show and tell”. Sharing their successes and challenges in implementing new learning cultures. This session is about reflecting upon your own professional growth and learning from fellow participants’ strategies that engaged systems in change and learning more about the road ahead.   

*Choice of session dates include Wednesday, April 25th at Noon to 12:45 p.m. EST, Thursday, April 26th at 4:30 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. EST, Wednesday, May 2nd, at Noon to 12:45 p.m. EST, and Thursday, May 3rd at 4:30 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. EST 

Accommodations

Delegates are responsible for coordinating their own accommodation for the ABEL Leadership Summit. The following hotels are about a 10-minute taxi ride from York, or a 30-minute walk.    

Marriott Courtyard – Vaughan 

150 Interchange Way

905-660-9938 

Holiday Inn Express  

30 Norfinch Drive 

416-665-3500 

Travelodge Toronto North York  

50 Norfinch Drive 

416-663-9500  

2011 ABEL Leadership Summit

On February 25th, 2011, Advanced Broadband Enabled Learning (ABEL) successfully hosted its second annual ABEL Leadership Summit, Activating Whole System Reform to Achieve Higher Order Results. The event welcomed more than 100 delegates from across Canada including directors of education, superintendents, principals, Ministry of Education officials, Faculty of Education staff and private and not–for–profit sector participants. The one-day summit provided a forum for leaders to discuss the role that technology plays in activating whole system reform, and the reform that addresses 21st century teaching and learning.To read the 2011 Leadership Summit Report, please click here. To view last year's web page, please click here.

Sponsors