TUANZ Education Conference 2006 in association with 
In 2006 we visited ten locations and held eleven conferences. Each of these conferences featured:
- two inspirational keynote presenters
- a vast array of workshops detailing innovative uses for ICT in the classroom.
- opportunities to network and share ideas
- opportunities to establish collaborative/support groups
International Keynotes:
North island [week one + two]
EMBRACING EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES
ADRIAN BRUCE, CONSULTANT AND TEACHER, BALLINA, NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIA
Having all the great artists' work at your fingertips; being able to find a picture of a three toed sloth at the point of need; being able to take a digital photo of a spider that is living in the room and email it to an entomologist to see if it is dangerous. For Adrian Bruce, possible new uses for ICT in education are popping up daily. Adrian has created a reading and maths games website that is used by his students and 80,000 others around the world, has pioneered podcasting in the Australian school system and has used free software and applications to teach and collaborate with students and teachers around the globe — including Sudan. The opportunities ICT provides are endless. Adrian will provide you with a collection of practical but inspiring ideas and strategies for integrating ICT into your classroom and school. Check out Adrian's website.
South island [week three]
EMBRACING EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES
GARRY PUTLAND, GENERAL MANAGER, EDUCATION.AU LTD, ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA
Kids are using emerging technologies at home and for leisure, so why not embrace these technologies and use them at school? Garry will explore the potential impact of emerging technologies in a teaching and learning environment and the challenges that are faced by teachers in engaging students in a media centric world. education.au recently published a report, 'Emerging Technologies' on this very topic. Garry will report the findings and pose some challenging questions — why not embrace the technology kids are already using and enjoying? Further details of education.au's report can be found on their website.
New Zealand-based keynote: [all three weeks]
NEXT GENERATION ELEARNING
DEREK WENMOTH, DIRECTOR OF ELEARNING AT CORE EDUCATION LTD
E-learning has emerged from being a radical idea — the effectiveness of which was yet to be proven — to something that is widely regarded as mainstream. But just as we are becoming comfortable with the notion of eLearning, we discover that, like the World Wide Web, it is evolving — changing to a degree significant enough to be thought of as 'next generation eLearning'. The change is fundamentally about an attitude not just a technology. It's about enabling and encouraging participation through open applications and services, about the development of social networks and a truly learner-centred pedagogy.
Derek will illustrate some of the dimensions of Next Generation eLearning and the tools and online environments that will enable this to happen. He will also explore some of the ways in which schools may adapt to embrace these new approaches to learning.
For those who attended Derek's sessions at the conferences, further information can be found at Derek's blog.
Venues:
Monday 6 March - Copthorne Hotel & Resort, Waitangi, BAY OF ISLANDS
Wednesday 8 March - Waipuna Hotel & Conference Centre, 58 Waipuna Road, Mt Wellington, AUCKLAND - PRIMARY
Thursday 9 March - Waipuna Hotel & Conference Centre, 58 Waipuna Road, Mt Wellington, AUCKLAND - SECONDARY
Friday 10 March - Mystery Creek Events Centre, 125 Mystery Creek Rd, HAMILTON
Tuesday 21 March - Westpac Stadium, WELLINGTON
Wednesday 22 March - Wanganui Function Centre, Racecourse, Purnell Street, WANGANUI
Thursday 23 March - Hawkes Bay Opera House, HASTINGS
Friday 24 March - Tahatai Coast School, TAURANGA
Tuesday 4 April - The Dunedin Centre, 11 Harrop Street, DUNEDIN
Wednesday 5 April - Riccarton Park, Racecourse Road, Riccarton, CHRISTCHURCH
Friday 7 April - Rutherford Hotel, Trafalgar Square, NELSON