“I think this conference is unique in that all the sessions are educator-led, rather than vendor-led. It’s a conference for teachers by teachers. Think of it like education’s version of a Star Wars convention. That’s the level of passion and engagement we see,” said PR Specialist Beth Cherry for CUE.
As national conferences grow and fade, like stars in an ever-evolving educational cosmos, it’s been interesting watching the rock star-esque growth in popularity of the CUE conference, billed as a conference specifically dedicated to teacher and administrator professional development.
According to CUE, the aim of the PD-packed conference—held this year March 15-18—is to provide edtech professional development to schools, districts, and local educators on the infusion of emerging technologies to better prepare students for college and careers ahead. And the best way to provide PD is to encourage educators to learn from the best experts: their peers.
“When you come to CUE, it’s like jumping into an educator’s playground, and all around are your peers waiting to play with you,” explained Cherry…and it doesn’t hurt that this playground is located in California’s Palm Springs.
And the playground, it seems, is going to be packed this year: with an annual average of six thousand attendees, registrants for this year’s CUE conference is already at seven thousand—and that’s just teachers and administrators.
Content to Experience This Year
This year’s lineup of dynamic Keynote Presenters includes:
Taylor Mali, poet, former teacher and author of What Teachers Make. Mali is considered the most successful poetry slam strategist of all time, having led six of his eight national poetry slam teams to the finals stage and winning the championship a record four times before anyone had even tied him at three. A native of New York City, Taylor was one of the original poets to appear on the HBO series Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry. He is a vocal advocate of teachers, having performed and lectured for education professionals all over the world. Mali will share stories and poems from the classroom including “The Impotence of Proofreading,” “Miracle Workers,” and “What Teachers Make.” Be reminded why you chose to do what you do by one who has been there and survived. For more information, visit www.taylormali.com.
Mali’s TED talk on What Teachers Make
(Next page: 3 other rock star keynoters at the CUE conference)
