The Celebration of Teaching & Learning Commemorates Fifth Anniversary, Continuing Conversation With More Educators Than Ever

THIRTEEN & WLIW21 open registration and launch social media tools for Celebration 2010, the nation's premier professional development conference for educators, to be held on March 5-6, 2010 in New York City

• Press Release
• Source: WNET.ORG
• On 12:50 pm EST, Thursday November 5, 2009

NEW YORK, Nov. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- THIRTEEN & WLIW21, New York's flagship PBS stations, have launched online registration for the fifth annual Celebration of Teaching & Learning, the two-day premier professional development conference for preK-12 educators on March 5-6, 2010 in New York City at the Hilton New York. Once again, the Celebration anticipates over 8,500 teachers, school administrators, business leaders and policymakers to attend, collaborate, learn and help shape the future of our nation's schools.

Celebration 2010 is expanding the dialogue on education by enabling even more pathways for collaboration on core issues including: Early Childhood Education, English Language Arts, Instructional Technology, Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM), Social Studies, Special Education and Whole School Issues. At the 2010 conference, attendees will hear from dynamic, nationally acclaimed speakers Steve Spangler, "the science guy" from THE ELLEN DEGENERES SHOW; David Rose, founder and CEO of the Center for Applied Special Technology; Diane Ravitch, historian and education author; Franklin Chang Diaz, former NASA astronaut; and Alan Blankstein, founder and president of the HOPE Foundation. This year's plenary speakers include Lisa Henson, Chief Executive Officer of The Jim Henson Company and Bobby McFerrin, ten-time Grammy Award winning composer, vocalist and conductor. Educators will also have access to rich, thought-provoking panel discussions, over 100 "In the Classroom" workshops, as well as an extensive exhibit hall with the latest technologies used in the classroom.

At www.thirteencelebration.org, educators can register and will find new additions to the Celebration community, which aim to extend the experience throughout the entire year. Visitors can engage with the Celebration now through the Web site, the Celebration's Twitter, Flickr and Facebook sites. Educators can join the conversation early by contributing to the EdBlog, checking out photos and videos from past events as well as uploading their own, searching the Celebration's schedule to plan their own experience and accessing valuable public television resources.

"It is an honor to mark the Celebration of Teaching & Learning's fifth anniversary of connecting global experts, activists, academics and thinkers with educators to share the best in education practice and infuse creativity and curiosity into K-12 classrooms," said Neal Shapiro, President and Chief Executive Officer of WNET.ORG. "The growth of our online community is a testament to the importance of maintaining a robust conversation about the Celebration throughout the year."

WNET.ORG, parent company to THIRTEEN & WLIW21, founded the event with its mission to recognize and celebrate teachers and the teaching field by offering quality professional development opportunities. THIRTEEN and WLIW21 gratefully acknowledge sponsorship support from Founding Sponsor: Chase; Premier Sponsors: National Education Association (NEA), New York State United Teachers (NYSUT), SMART Technologies, United Federation of Teachers (UFT), Walden University; Major Sponsors: The Council of School Supervisors and Administrators and Executive Leadership Institute (CSA/ELI), Educational Testing Service (ETS), Fordham University Graduate School of Education, Hilton Hotels, New Jersey Education Association (NJEA), Pearson Education; Presenting Sponsors: Hofstra University; Event Sponsors: Barnes & Noble, NYSSAC; and Media Sponsor: Education Week.

For more information on the Celebration of Teaching & Learning, please visit: www.thirteencelebration.org.

Follow the Celebration on Twitter, @Celebration2010.

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About WNET.ORG

New York public media company WNET.ORG is a pioneering provider of television and web content. The parent of THIRTEEN, WLIW21 and Creative News Group, WNET.ORG brings such acclaimed broadcast series and Web sites as Worldfocus, Nature, Great Performances, American Masters, Charlie Rose, Wide Angle, Secrets of the Dead, Religion & Ethics Newsweekly, Visions, Consuelo Mack WealthTrack, Wild Chronicles, Miffy and Friends, and Cyberchase to national and international audiences. Through its wide range of channels and platforms, WNET.ORG serves the entire New York City metro area with unique local productions, broadcasts and innovative educational and cultural projects. In all that it does, WNET.ORG pursues a single, overarching goal -- to create media experiences of lasting significance for New York, America and the world. For more information, visit www.wnet.org.

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