Summer Institute 2021: We Need YOU!

Attention Minnesota Adult Ed colleagues: Are you all ready for summer to be here?? (opening applause fishing)  Of course you are, and there is one more thing to get excited about that is coming up – Summer Institute 2021!  Yes, the Governor lifted the mask mandate for our great state, but we are still well prepared to host another two-day Virtual Summer Institute this August 18 & 19, 2021.  Train in your pajamas, at the lake side or in your own nice cool basement, whatever works for you.

Some things to start getting us ready for this year’s extravaganza:

Register now!

Registration is now open.  We had a fantastic conference last year with record numbers of ABE practitioners logging into our inaugural Virtual Summer Institute in 2020, and we’d love to have an even larger turnout this year.  You can look forward to:

• Lots of great sessions that can help you prepare for next year and reflect on what practitioners had success with this year.
• A fantastic keynote speaker – more info coming soon!
• Time to meet with vendors during the Vendor Fair.
• Restorative movement time (yoga where no one sees you!), affinity groups, and hospitality times (BINGO!).
• The annual MN ABE report from our Department of Education friends.

Please join us for fun, fellowship and fostering of knowledge (I had to get that other “f” in there somehow).  Remember that there is a $50 discount for being a Literacy Action Network member, so be sure to join LAN if you are not already a member.

• REGISTER NOW >>

Workshop and poster session proposals

As always, with all the wonderful things that we have planned, we need help to make it all work.  If you have not submitted a proposal for a Summer Institute session yet, Now Is The Time (workshop proposals are due by May 31, 2021)!  We’re still looking to fill several workshop slots, so please jump in and share your knowledge and experience with the rest of your statewide colleagues; you can prepare a session yourself, or find a buddy (or two or three) to join in on the fun!  The more proposals we receive, the more interesting and useful the conference becomes for everyone (and there is a $20 discount on your registration if you are a presenter).

We’ve got your back! Rest assured that a whole team of ATLAS staff and LAN volunteers are all there to support you to have a successful presentation, so you are not alone. We’ll take care of the tech, so all you need to do is focus on your presentation.  LAN also has a whole page of presenter resources to guide you, and you may find this Screen Sharing & Presenting Guide from ATLAS to be especially helpful.

If you wish, you can also submit a poster session that people can peruse on their own time outside of a session (proposals due by August 5). Please consider submitting a proposal and/or a poster session today!

• SUBMIT A WORKSHOP PROPOSAL >>
• SUBMIT A POSTER SESSION PROPOSAL >>

Zoom co-hosting

With all of the great proposals for presentations that the last paragraph will drive to our committee, we will need some help with co-hosting sessions.  ATLAS staff and LAN volunteers are being set up to host the Zoom sessions, but every session also needs a Co-Host to make sure everything runs smoothly.

Co-Host duties can include watching the chat box to note any questions that may be coming in, chatting out links for the presenters, and assisting any participants who experience technical difficulties with Zoom (this is rare, now that so many people are becoming more comfortable with online training and teaching).  We even provide you with this Zoom Tech Troubleshooting Guide, which features tech support language you can simply copy and paste into the chat as needed.

If you are able and willing to help out with these duties, please fill out this Google form. We will contact you to discuss how you can help once the sessions are posted (so that we can work volunteers around their presentation or desired attendance schedules).

• SIGN UP TO CO-HOST >>

Give a little, gain a lot!

Just like we look forward to our great state fair every year (bummer for 2020 but expected to be back for 2021!), we should all be looking forward to our fantastic Summer Institute being held online on August 18 & 19, 2021.  Please help us make it another huge success this year by presenting and/or Zoom co-hosting, and don’t forget to register to attend!  See you there!