Tag Archives: conference

MACUL Quest! Win Fabulous Prizes!

How would you like to have a chance to win another great prize from MACUL while having fun? This year, MACUL is sponsoring a virtual game called “MACUL Quest.”

The Mission: You must travel through the magical world of Cobo. Your quest is to seek and collect the golden coins.

Find as many coins as you can throughout the conference and trade them in for a chance to win some amazing prizes.

The game is based in the ARIS app for iOS. The app is completely free, and as soon as you download it, you are set to play. The game functions using geolocation and augmented reality.

Virtual signs and coins are hidden around the Cobo center as well as other places associated with the conference.

If you are running the app, the game will alert you when you are close to an item you can interact with. The game is constantly evolving so you will want to keep up with developments by following the hashtag #MACULquest.

We are sure that when you try it out, you will start thinking of ways to use this technology with your students. If you have any questions feel free to contact @bcgeek or @coachk (the developers of MACULquest.)

For a demonstration of the technology visit http://arisgames.org/demo/

MACUL 2013 Information

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Greetings MACUL Participant,

In just a few short days, over 4,000 people will be descending on Detroit for the 37th Annual MACUL Conference. We are pleased that you will be joining us!

As you pack your bags and plan your time at MACUL, here are some things to remember:

Parking

Parking will be at a premium, not only because of so many coming to MACUL, but there are several other events in downtown Detroit Wednesday – Friday. Please refer to the MACUL web site for parking locations as well as information on using the Detroit People Mover. If you are driving in the same day of your conference attendance, it is highly recommended that you arrive an hour early to give yourself plenty of time to find parking, register, and locate your first session.

Planning

New this year is an online Conference App that can be viewed both online and on your mobile device. You can use it now to begin planning which sessions you would like to attend. You can also get up to date notifications, a layout of the Exhibit Hall, social media links, and a directory of all Exhibitors, presenters and attendees. Thanks to Michigan Virtual University for sponsoring this great resource. Visit www.conferencebeat.com/macul/#home

Good Network Neighbor

MACUL prides itself on providing free access to the Internet that is able to handle the many conference participants. As you are packing for the conference, consider being a good network neighbor and bring only one wifi connected device (i.e. no need to have your smart phone, laptop and tablet all connecting!). Also, when connecting, avoid high bandwidth usage such as connecting back to your local district or viewing videos not related to the conference topics. Your fellow participants will appreciate it!

Party at the Roostertail – Location Info

MACUL is sponsoring a free event Thursday evening for MACUL registrants – Come gather at the Roostertail on the Detroit waterfront for an evening of fun, fellowship, and networking. Enjoy the Nightline Band whose music ranges from classic rock, Motown classics, and current hits. Light refreshments and a cash bar will be available. Transportation will be provided from the conference hotels starting at 7pm.

Registration

Arrive early! Registration is located at Wayne Hall, Cobo Center. Hours: 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesday and beginning as early as 7:00 a.m. on Thursday. You do not need to bring anything with you to registration as your name badge and other important information will be available on site. You will need to wear your name badge throughout the conference, particularly in the exhibit hall.

If you are a speaker, please, visit the Speaker Check-In counter to receive your name badge and conference materials.

Evaluation

We take evaluations very seriously. Please give your feedback during and just after the conference at www.conferencebeat.com/macul/#evaluations/index. We literally begin planning next year’s conference on the last day of this year’s conference. Your ideas/feedback is critical!

Much more information can be found at www.macul.org.

Enjoy MACUL 2013!

Steve Schiller
2012/13 President – MACUL

The MACUL Conference App is Live!

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We heard your feedback loud and clear from past MACUL conferences that you would like to have both up to date and mobile versions of the conference agenda and happenings. We’ve responded by providing a fantastic mobile-enabled conference application. You can access the app here.

Once you click sign in and create your account, you can access the app to give you up to the minute notifications, the full conference agenda, get biographical information on presenters, check out the exhibit floor map and vendors, and follow the Twitter stream from attendees. All this in the palm of your hand, on your tablet or laptop!

Get your account set up right now so you can start planning which sessions and vendors you don’t want to miss.

The 2012 MACUL Conference Program is online.

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Did you know that the 2012 MACUL Conference Program and Exhibitor Guide is available online as a downloadable PDF?

Now is a great time to get a copy, and start using the CTRL-F or CMD-F function in your PDF reader to start searching for keywords that you are interested in. You can then build your schedule of the awesome learning opportunities that you can attend.

Once you have a good idea about what you would like to learn, make sure to sign up for the mobile schedule. You can carry around all of your events in the palm of your hand, or in your shiny tablet device and know exactly where to be.

The years conference is sure to be one of the best things you will do for yourself, and your professional development and MACUL is here to help you reach your learning goals.

Save your district a couple of bucks

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People that know me say I’m frugal. I think I’m more ‘fiscally prudent’ than anything else, and in that vein let me help you save your district a couple bucks.

If your district is paying for your hotel stay in greater Detroit for MACUL 2011, you can hand over a signed Michigan Sales and Use Tax Certificate of Exemption form (PDF) – also known as a Form 3372, and the hotel should remove the 6% sales tax from your bill. My business office people tell me that this won’t exempt you from any local hotel taxes or fees though.

You can usually find that your business office will have these on hand or you can send them the link, have them fill it out and get it back to you. Make sure to present it to the hotel staff when you check in so it’s all figured into the bill. By doing it when you check in, you can escape the exhilarating experience of recalculating your bill before you leave… been there, done that.

If you have any other ways to save money at MACUL, please post a comment. We’d love to hear your ideas.