President's Report	by James McConville
Fall Conference 2006: Teaching to the Multiple Literacies	by CUE Executive
Top Ten Reasons to Attend the Fall Conference	by CUE Executive
List of Presenters	by CUE Executive
Keynote Speakers	by CUE Executive
Students and Teachers Agree that Digital Tools Make Schoolwork More Fun	by Alan Zisman
Teaching History in a Time of Change	by Chris Kennedy
Comparison of Inexpensive or Free 3D Animation Programs	by Dennis Wong
ISTE NECC San Diego Conference Highlights	by Dave McCristall
Teachers Pay Teachers Website	by Chris Rozitis
CUEBC Chapters	by CUE Executive
Financial Statements	by Glen Holmes
AGM Agenda	by CUE Executive
Get Published: become a CUE newsletter contributor	by CUE Executive
Renewing your CUEBC membership	by James McConville

President’s Message

By James McConville

As we get through the final few days of September it seems that this year has been especially busy for teachers.  Obviously, much of the busyness of our profession comes from our time with children, taking care of their personal and educational needs during the day.  There are other sources of pressure that are new this year.  One of the issues coming in the political realm was a summer surprise from the Minister who announced changes to the grad portfolio for grade 12 students.  Like many of you who support technology in schools, grad portfolio was a big component of what we did.  At a recent ‘Portfolio Review Meeting’ we were all left to guess what the next announcement from the Minister would entail when (and if) it is delivered in January as promised.

Bill 33 is the second twist on our profession.  Along with the well known component that specifies class size and composition, there are dramatic changes to distributed learners.  Many of CUEBC’s members teach at virtual schools and there are possible implications related to how students are now funded.  With students that are entirely enrolled in a virtual school they are simply funded on a per course basis compared to the 0.5 base FTE funding that bricks and mortar schools receive.  The funding gap may be replaced by another interesting part of bill 33 which specifies that students who are first enrolled in a bricks and mortar school can get additional funding for up to two distributed learning schools.  The maximum funding a student can get is 1.25 FTE.  All eyes are on the Ministry to find out just how long this ‘gift’ will last.

The most exciting news that I have to share is related to our fall conference.  Just last week I had the pleasure of meeting with the conference team, most of whom work in Coquitlam, and also with the executive of CUE.  Both groups are 100% dedicated to ensure that this conference is our very best.  From the number of high quality sessions to the incredible keynote speakers I’m sure you will find the presentations, the dialogue and the networking extremely valuable.  We have done our best to ensure that the food is second to none. All delegates will be served a hot lunch from the Riverside culinary arts program.  The cost of the conference has been reduced as much as possible to ensure that it is accessible to all teachers.  At only $100 (and less for SD43 teachers) it is the best deal for the October 20th PSA day.  Riverside Secondary teachers are thrilled to offer us their amazing facilities.  This fully wireless school is incredibly well equipped for teachers to integrate technology into all subject areas.  At the conference they will demonstrate how they use their multimedia projectors, tablet computers, smartboards, digital microscopes and more.  Their students are certainly engaged and I’m sure that you will be too.

Please come by and chat with me and the rest of CUEBC’s executive and conference team on October 19th and 20th.

James McConville
jmcconville@sd43.bc.ca