LDA of Michigan Conference November 16-17, 2009

Learning in the 21^st Century Featured at Learning Disabilities Conference

Lansing, MI September 19, 2009 – Lynell Burmark, Ph.D. and Christopher M. Lee, Ph.D. are the featured keynotes at this year’s Learning Disabilities Association (LDA) of Michigan Conference scheduled for November 16 and 17 at at Kellogg Center on the campus of Michigan State University in East Lansing. The tools of technology (universal design in learning) will take center stage. Lynell Burmark, Ph.D., author and educational consultant, will keynote on Monday with “Visual Literacy: Learn to See, See to Learn”. Also on Monday, there will be a full-day symposium “Educating ALL Students: Utilizing Instructional Technology for a Diverse Population”, in addition to regular conference sessions. Tuesday’s keynote, Christopher M. Lee, Ph.D., is an advocate, author and consultant in adaptive technology, speaking on “Life with Learning Disabilities”. Tuesday also features an orientation and mini-sessions for teens, teachers and parents before attending conference sessions. Governor Jennifer Granholm has officially proclaimed November as Learning Disabilities Awareness Month in recognition of the needs and potential of people with Learning Disabilities.

Scheduled for Monday, Lynell Burmark’s keynote emphasizes the benefits of learning in an image-rich environment. Her book, Visual Literacy: Learn to See, See to Learn, a widely adopted textbook for teacher education and instructional technology programs, won the book of the year award for publisher ASCD in 2002 and is now expanded, updated (2006) and available as an eBook. Lynell is featured in a 30-minute segment on Canter & Associates video for the Masters in Instructional Technology with Walden University. She also has produced a 10-minute video on visual literacy, which is distributed free to educators through 100% Educational Videos.

Also slated for Monday is an all day symposium on Educating ALL Students: Utilizing Instructional Technology for a Diverse Population “Learning in the 21st Century” classroom requires instruction technology supports in order to meet the learning needs of a diverse group of students. Teaching ALL students requires a plethora of research based strategies in order to meet the learning needs of all students. Learning problems are often a result of an inflexible curriculum with teaching methods and materials that are not responsive to the diversity of students represented in the classroom. This full day session will provide participants knowledge on how to design classrooms with universal access to the curriculum for ALL students to be successful. Speakers include Jeff Diedrich (Michigan Integrated Technology Supports), Kenneth Graham (Premier Literacy), the RTI Team from Cesar Chavez Academy, Detroit (The Leona Group, LLC), and Mari Cris McFarland (Livonia Public Schools).

Tuesday’s keynote speaker, Christopher M. Lee, Ph.D., published Faking It: A Look into the Mind of a Creative Learner in 1992, and in 2001, What About Me? Strategies for Teaching Misunderstood Learners, both of which draw on his challenges attending the University of Georgia (UGA). Before joining Tools for Life, he served as Training Director of the Learning Disabilities Research and Training Center (LDR&T center), a collaborative effort of the University of Georgia and the Roosevelt Institute for Rehabilitation at Warm Springs, Georgia. In that role, he directed training activities and supervised national project dissemination efforts. He is experienced in coordinating distance-training activities. Currently, he serves as Director of the Alternative Media,Access Center, a joint project with the University of Georgia Department of Psychology.

Also on Tuesday LDA of Michigan invites teens, teachers and chaperones to join Dr. Pam Bellamy, of Michigan State University for orientation, session selection, and mini-sessions offered on a variety of topics of interest to teens. Join the full conference for sessions following the orientation. Teens are invited to stay for lunch and talk to LDA Conference organizers about their experiences.

Scholarships are available for family members and teens to attend the conference on a first come, first served basis.

Download the conference flyer at http://www.ldaofmichigan.org/LDAconf2009.pdf. A schedule is posted at http://www.ldaofmichigan.org/calendar.htm#sessions. To advertise in the conference program download the form at http://www.ldaofmichigan.org/advertise.pdf. SB-CEUs will be offered.

For further information about the LDA of Michigan’s Annual Conference or scholarships, contact Flo Curtis by telephone at (517) 485-8160 or (888) 597-7809, or by e-mail at ldamich@sbcglobal.net. For more information on the LDA of Michigan, go to http://www.ldaofmichigan.org.

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©2009 Learning Disabilities Association of Michigan. The Learning Disabilities Association is a 501(c)3
 non-profit volunteer organization with offices located at 200 Museum Drive, Ste. 101, Lansing, Michigan 48933. Telephone: (517) 485-8160; fax (517) 485-8462; toll-free: (888) 597-7809; email: ldamich@sbcglobal.net; website: www.ldaofmichigan.org