From now through the end of 2009, NAGC (the National Association for Gifted Children) will be offering free webinars on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of each month (plus a monthly “Parent Night.”) It looks like they have a wide range of topics lined up (everything from perfectionism to advocacy to program evaluation and much more), along with some great presenters. I have never attended a webinar before, but I just signed up for my first one! Should be a good learning experience in more ways than one. Here are the titles and dates for the webinars announced thus far:
August 26, 7:00 p.m. EST - Classroom Indicators of Giftedness with Mary Slade, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Virginia. (I met Mary at Edufest a couple years ago. She’s a riot!)
September 9, 12:00 p.m. EST - Differentiation Overview with Jennifer Beasley, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas.
September 16, 7:00 p.m. EST - Parent Night - Back to School. Back to Gifted. with Robin Schader, NAGC Parent Resource Advisor.
September 23, 7:00 p.m. EST - Things Administrators Should Know about Gifted Education with Joyce VanTassel-Baska, College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia. (Joyce presented a keynote at Edufest this year, and I loved her down-to-earth sense of humor!) I’m hoping I can get at least one administrator from my district to sign up for this one. I think gifted education has good (and in some cases great) support here in my district, but there’s always room for learning more :o)
October 14, 12:00 p.m. EST - Pre-Assessment: What are the Tools? (no presenter is listed yet for this one)
October 28, 7:00 p.m. EST - Examining the Myths and Truths of Gifted Education (no presenter is listed yet for this one, either)
Registration for each webinar opens two weeks before the event and closes when all the “seats” are filled. (They don’t appear to be announcing just how many “seats” are available, but it is apparently limited so as to allow for “active participation.”)
Want more info? Check out Webinars on Wednesdays.
Love Webinars? The SENG organization (Supporting Emotional Needs of the Gifted) also offers webinars on gifted topics. (There is a $40 fee for participation in SENG webinars, but that’s a rather good deal for having a gifted education expert right there in your computer, live, for 90 minutes! Plus the fee includes unlimited access to a recording of the session.)
The next SENG webinar is tomorrow (Wednesday, August 19) at 7:30 p.m. EST - Social and Emotional Intelligence: The Path to a Gifted Child’s Success and Well-Being with Steven Pfeiffer, Florida State University. (I won’t be attending that one because I will be digging a giant hole in my backyard tomorrow - I’m building a garage and at this very moment a Caterpillar is sitting out there waiting to move a few hundred yards of dirt for me :o)
Another upcoming SENG webinar will take place Sunday, September 20, at 4:00 p.m. EST - Grandparents and Gifted Children with James T. Webb, Great Potential Press.
Happy Learning! :o)
P.S. If you haven’t yet answered the five easy questions of my survey, please do so! Thanks :o)