ORC Co-Sponsors Annual Ohio Literacy Institute

OLI 2008 in Pictures To glimpse highlights from this year's conference, please view our slide show (pictures courtesy of Tim Best, Ohio Board of Regents). You may also view the 2008 conference program for agendas and session descriptions.

On June 16 and 17, 2008, the Ohio Resource Center partnered with the Office of Literacy, Ohio Department of Education, to sponsor the seventh annual Ohio Literacy Institute (OLI). Held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel Columbus-Dublin in Dublin, Ohio, this two-day professional conference focused on timely topics in literacy across grade levels for teacher leaders and administrators. Over 425 educators (grades P–16) attended—the largest turn-out in the seven-year history of the Institute.

The Institute theme was "Inspiring Leaders and Engaging Learners." More than 20 renowned experts in literacy presented over the two days, including Debbie Diller, Nell Duke, Judith Irvin, Sara Kajder, Maureen McLaughlin, and many others. Kicking off the event, Judith Irvin addressed the audience with strategies educators can use to increase student motivation and engagement with reading and writing.

Concurrent sessions addressed such topics as reading comprehension, vocabulary, spelling, the use of technology in instruction, and literacy leadership. In the words of one conference participant, "This was a very beneficial two days! I can’t wait to get back to school in the fall and share the valuable information with my teachers!" As a special feature, Ohio Superintendent of Public Instruction, Susan Tave Zelman, spoke as a dinner keynote, recounting Ohio’s upward progress in reading and writing achievement.

Another significant highlight of the conference was the Ohio Authors Luncheon. Five distinguished Ohio authors of children’s and young adult literature shared information about their lives as writers. Guests at this year’s luncheon were Jaime Adoff, Chad Bender and Sue Bender, Asma Mobin-Uddin, and Shelley Pearsall. Additionally, Ohio-based presentations introduced resources and professional development opportunities available to educators. Educational exhibits from Beery Middle School-Columbus Museum of Art, the Mazza Museum-University of Findlay, the Ohio Center for Law-Related Education, the Ohio Historical Society, the Ohio Social Studies Resource Center, and ORC showcased a broad range of literacy products and services. Lastly, each Institute participant received numerous resources including two professional texts and speaker materials on CD.

One participant stated, "The conference as a whole was a superior learning conference for literacy. Every principal and teacher should attend the conference." Another exclaimed, "This was an excellent institute, and I am sorry I missed the first six!"

Planning for next year’s Institute is currently under way, with the hopes of making the conference an even bigger success. Dates for next year’s Ohio Literacy Institute have been set for June 15 and 16, 2009. Please visit www.ohiorc.org/oli for updates as the event approaches. If you have questions about OLI, please contact Alexa Murray at amurray@ohiorc.org.