We're On The Road Again......

Next stop, (DING DING) New Orleans!

Meet Tara and Nick

National Council for Social Studies (NCSS), New Orleans, Nov 12-14, 2015, Booth #713

If you'll be attending the NCSS conference, make sure you stop by booth #713 and check out our latest educational DVDs, sign up for a free membership AND enter to win a Roku Streaming Stick! (Oh, and you get a FREE DVD too! Yes, even if you're already an izzit.org member! It wouldn't be nice to exclude our loyal members, would it?)

Our booth will be stocked with DVDs on hand, for you to take with you that day, for FREE! We'll even have our newest release Energy Solutions: Who Chooses?  but supplies are limited, so stop by early. 

We'll have plenty of the Pups of Liberty DVDs for lower grade students (and it's also very popular - maybe that should be pup-ular? - with special ed teachers & students), both Pups of Liberty: The Boston Tea-Bone Party and Pups of Liberty: The Dog-claration of Independence. 

We'll also have 2081, Escape!, and many other titles.

Two classroom teachers will be available to offer suggestions for how to use our products in your classroom.

Plus, we'll giving away other conference "swag!" So stop by, say hi, get free stuff, and get entered to win a Roku streaming stick!

Stay connected with us for live photos/updates and more conference information.

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See you in New Orleans....

Join the conversation #NCSS15

Psst...Hey, You Want a Free DVD? by Susan Gable

by Susan Gable
Director of Education Curriculum - izzit.org 

Four teachers and I found ourselves making that offer over and over again in Nashville and Boston in November, 2014. It's an offer most teachers find hard to refuse. (I mean, come on! It's FREE! No catch!)

The Association for Middle Level Education (AMLE) conference took place from Nov. 5 - Nov. 7, 2014 at the Opryland Convention Center in Nashville, TN. Jim Buchanan, a 2009 Teacher of the Year Runner-up and a 2010 Teacher of the Year, helped at the izzit.org booth, along with Love Merryman Bates, a 2014 Teacher Associate of the Year. Though Jim's trip started with a wrinkle-- the hotel had no room for him when he checked in at 11:30 pm, and then the room they "found" for him turned out to be occupied by four sleeping women when he accessed it with the keycard the front desk gave him, exciting times! -- things smoothed out quickly. Both Jim and Love are enthusiastic izzit.org proponents, and they shared that with the attending teachers.

The National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) convened Nov. 20- Nov. 23, 2014 at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston, and I thought if ever there was a location that would draw social studies teachers, it would be Boston. That turned out to be true, as attendance was higher than normal, but it turned out to be a curse as well because we discovered, in the mostly empty exhibit hall on Saturday, that social studies teachers would rather go out and explore the real history than stay inside and take workshops or peruse new materials. (We understood, as we were eager to see some "real history" as well. We did, with an amazing private tour of the Old North Church, but that's another post!) Elizabeth Harris, new to us as a teacher associate but who's been using and recommending our materials for years, and Mike Siekkienen, a 2011 Teacher of the Year who attended AMLE with me last year, helped us in Boston.

While our main goal is to find and engage teachers who don't know about izzit.org, we also get current members visiting us, which we encourage by sending emails prior to the conference. Sometimes they bring friends to introduce them to izzit.org. Other times we would get unsolicited testimonials as teachers walked by and exclaimed, "izzit! I love izzit!" Those folks were pulled over and "put to work" if only for a minute, telling others gathered at the booth that there's "no catch, it's really free and it's great!"

At this year's AMLE, a teacher stopped to chat and informed us that she was doing a workshop at the conference, and would be mentioning izzit.org as a great teacher resource. 

After I return from conference with my forms, it's "all hands on deck" as most of the office staff pitch in to get them entered into the computer. We run across interesting things as we go through them. For example, we're starting to think handwriting is no longer being taught in schools because teachers themselves have such horrible handwriting. (Admit it, you know this is true of some of you!) Trying to read some of the forms is a challenge. 

This year we discovered someone who, wanting a free DVD but not wanting to give us his information, had actually filled out the form as the school janitor. (We discovered that from the school's website. We also figured it was a safe bet that the district hadn't sent the school janitor to a social studies conference.) Another person gave us a "school" address that turned out to be under a highway overpass. I don't think he really lived/worked there. Do you?

Our conference presence serves to reinforce the emails we send out each month to prospective customers. I've heard numerous times at conference, "I didn't think you guys were real!" So we're able to demonstrate that yes, we're real, we're not scammers, and we really do want to give teachers classroom resources for free.

Sometimes there really is a free...DVD. At least, there is for teachers thanks to izzit.org and our funders.

I hope that during the 2015/16 school year, we'll get the chance to see some of you at conferences! We'll be at AMLE, NCSS, and NCEA again this year, as well as the NEA conference. Stop by, say hi, and get your bonus FREE DVD!

Susan Gable is the Director of Education Curriculum at izzit.org. She holds a BA in Psychology from Douglas College/Rutgers University and is a certified elementary teacher in 3 states, with ten years of classroom experience. She’s a multi-published, award-winning author who also teaches writing workshops.

izzit.org at AMLE in Minneapolis!

Last week, izzit.org attended the AMLE (Association of Middle Level Education) Annual conference in Minneapolis.

GA teacher Mike Siekkinen was on-site with us, sharing his enthusiasm for izzit.org with the attendees. We gave away about 360 DVDs, along with pens and magnetic clips. Plus our new members can all get another free DVD by visiting our website.

We had a wonderful time, talking to teachers, meeting so many of you, both new izzit.org friends and old.

Next week we'll be headed to the NCSS conference in St. Louis! If you'll be there, stop by booth #709 and see us! We'll give you a free DVD and some other goodies, too. We'll also enter you in our contest to win a Kindle Fire!

Minneapolis was great! We found it full of friendly, helpful people. We made a quick trip to the Mall of America while we were out there -- I mean, when else will I get the chance to see it? I found all the Lego stuff fascinating. My son loved Legos when he was a kid. (Raise your hand if you've ever stepped on a Lego in your bare feet! Ouch.)

I also loved the Skyways in Minneapolis. What a clever idea for dealing with harsh weather. We should talk to the folks here in Erie, PA about doing something like that.

I hope to see some of you next week at the NCSS in St. Louis.

--- Susan Gable, izzit.org