Iditarod Teaching and Learning Conference-  February 27– March 2

Monday:  February 26, 2018:  Pre Conference Social courtesy our Education Sponsor, ExxonMobil, 7:00 PM,  , Anchorage 

• Plan on arriving in Alaska in time to join us for this event.  We’ll be stepping on the runners of the sled together at this meet and  greet.  We will  share our goals for the week to come.  This will start us off on the week’s adventure!

Tuesday, February 27, 2018 *  – Hilton – Birch – Willow Conference Room, Ground Floor.

• Theme of the Day:  Get on the Sled with us!
• Focus: Integration of “The Last Great Race on Earth®” into Your Existing Curriculum.

7:30 – 8:00 – Registration, Goal Setting,  and Light Breakfast

8:00 – 8:30 – Welcome to our Conference.  Get on the sled with us.  Let’s call this our ‘first’ rookie meeting!  Introductions and Information.  Welcome: ExxonMobil, Diane Johnson, and Myth Busting with Katie Mangelsdorf, Author, Historian

8:30 – 8:45:   Jen Reiter -Technology Check In: Get on your devices and check in with your classroom or school. Explore:  Utilize: Facebook live the conference, Instagram, and other aps that are tools for educators and classrooms.

8:45 – 9:00:  Linda Fenton

9:00 – 10:30 – Key Note Presenter:  Jen Reiter, 2014 Iditarod Teacher on the Trail™ and national presenter. Idita-vation Innovation on the Iditarod Trail.

10:40  – 11:40 – Sara Lamont: Overflowing with Iditarod Science and Math Ideas

11:40 – 12:00 – Website Exploration – and Information – Introducing the 2018 Iditarod:  An Education Tool:  Our website and other important tools for you to use. *You will need your devices!  (Lap top, tablet, smart phone, to access the Education Portal) Diane Johnson/Heidi Sloan Iditarod Teacher on the Trail™.  

Lunch 12:00 – 12:45

12:45  – 1:00 The Teacher on the Trail ™ Program Introduction    Diane Johnson

• Program Introduction and Celebrating 20 Years of Iditarod Teacher on the Trail™ .
• The educators who have been selected as finalists for the 2019 Iditarod Teacher on the Trail™ will each provide a presentation. In April, one of these three will be selected as our next Iditarod Teacher on the Trail™ and serve as our lead teacher from June 2018 – June 2019.  Learn more about Teacher on the Trail at this link.

1:00 – 2:45:  Meet the finalists for the 2019 Iditarod Teacher on the Trail™

1:00 -1:45:  Finalist Presentation:  Brian Hickox

2:00 – 2:45: Finalist Presentation: Teresa Campbell

3:00 – 3:45-  Meet the K-9 Journalist Team: Panel and Discussion

• Zuma’s Paw Print:  Donna Finner, Linda Fenton – Terrie Hanke –  Nancy Wendt – Diane Johnson

3:45 – 4: 15   Terrie Hanke:  Character – What’s on the Inside Really Counts!

 4:15 – Linda

Wednesday, February 28, 2018:  Field Trip Departs by 8 AM from the Hilton

•  Get on the Bus!  Place Based and Project Based Experiential Learning Day!

AM:  Iditarod Headquarters:  Visit the Headquarters and see our veterinarian team in action! Observe the ‘Vet Check’ –  Iditarod mushers will be arriving all morning for final exams conducted by our veterinarian team. Ask veterinarians, race staff, volunteers, and mushers questions, photograph, record, and facetime or go live with your classroom using your smart phone to bring this experience to your students.  Discover important information on the science behind these sled dogs!

Lunch:  Settler’s Bay

PM:  Visit the home and kennel of Iditarod veteran musher, Matthew Failor. This opportunity provides a behind the scenes view of what it’s like to raise, train, and race in Iditarod.  Bring this event to your classroom using your smart phone or record and photograph this for use in your classroom.

*Our estimated return is 5:00 PM, the day’s adventure and weather are determining factors.

Wednesday Evening:  7:00 – 9:00:  Hilton-

• Blynne Froke:  Etching a team
• Iditarod AirForce Special Guest, Joe Pendergrass, Pilot
• Iditarod Teacher on the Trail ™ Program and Celebration with the Teacher on the Trail Alumni Panel 

Thursday,  March 1, 2018

• Theme:  Get on the Runners with Iditarod in the Classroom
• Focus:  Practical application for your classroom:
• SLED:  STEM, Literacy, Experiential Learning, and Differentiated Instruction.

8:00 – 8:15 – Linda

8:15 – 9:00 – Nancy Wendt:  Mushing Forward with the Iditarod: A ‘Team’ of Ideas

9:00 – 9:15 – Linda Fenton

9:15 – 9: 45 – Kathy Cappa – Educator, MatSu Valley, and Race Volunteer

9:50 – 10:30 -Terrie Hanke:  Iditarod Has an App for That!

10:30 – 11:30 – Jane Holmes:  Togiak, Alaska –  STEM – Literature – And Togiak

11:30 – 12:00 – Using the Race: Small Group.

12:00 – 12: 45 – Lunch

12:45 – 1:00:  Linda

1:15 – 1:30:  Linda Fenton

1:30 – 2:30 –  Erin Montgomery:  Podcasting the Iditarod

2:30 – 3:15 –  Heidi Sloan, 2018 Iditarod Teacher on the Trail™

3:15 – 3:30 – Wrap Up

*Meet and Greet and Banquet Event, starts at 4:00

Friday, March 2, –  Speaker Day:

8:45 – 9:45 – Katie Mangelsdorf:  Author, historian, Educator, Focus:  Joe Redington Sr., Father of the Iditarod and the history behind the race

10:00 – 10:30 – Iditarod: the First 10 Years

10:30 – 11:30 –  It’s all happening in Shaktoolik, Alaska.  Meet Shaktoolik Educators Signe Balluff and Lynda Bekoalok, and Elementary School Student, Ray Sagoonick.  Find out what goes on in school and the community yearly as Iditarod visits their village. 

11:30 – 12:00 Linda Fenton

12:00 pm – Lunch Provided for You

1:00 – Stu Nelson:  Chief Veterinarian – Facts and Information about the Sled Dogs –  The science behind the amazing k9 athletes.

2:15 – 3:15:  Behind the Scenes of the Last Great Race (What do our volunteers and staff do to stage this race from Anchorage to Nome and back?  This session explains it all.)

3:15 – 3:30 – Wrap up – You are now officially at the ‘starting line’ for the Last Great Teaching Race!