About the Highlights Retreat

The Fifth Annual Dust or Magic Highlights Retreat took place at the beautiful Highlights Foundation in Boyds Mills, PA, about 2 1/2  hours northwest of New York City, on Sunday October 22, ending Tuesday October 24, 2017. 

—> NOTE THE CHANGE IN DATE; FROM SPRING TO FALL <—

The objective for making this event is to build bridges between the people who MAKE STUFF (app designers),  the people who USE STUFF (teachers and librarians), and the people who STUDY STUFF (policy people, writers, reviewers and researchers).

Screen Shot 2016-04-18 at 9.22.19 AM

The Highlights Foundation is the perfect mixing bowl for this to happen. It’s like the “Camp David” for children’s literacy — a serene location where you get your own cozy writers cabin, amazing food and a setting free from distractions.  It was on these grounds that first issue of Highlights Magazine was created. 

We start with a global view — by studying the BolognaRagazzi Digital Award apps which will give us our baseline  — or the “state of the app.”

After we review these top dozen in depth we start looking at the field from the four essential perspectives related to technology and literacy  —

  1. PUBLISHERS (led by leading children’s app makers);
  2. REVIEWERS (from CTR and others);
  3. LITERACY THEORY (Katie Paciga from Columbia College and the Erikson Institute, who studied with William Teale et al);
  4. PRACTITIONERS (participants from various schools and libraries).

Together we dissect the latest apps, and together talk about what you need to know to “find the magic” this year. Examples include the winners, mentions and short list selections.

As with other Dust or Magic events, we use our lasers to critique each example to better refine our own definition of what works (the magic), and what doesn’t (the dust).

flowers

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

  • Interactive designers who are responsible for making quality digital products.
  • Publishers who want to keep a competitive edge.
  • Authors who want to take a print based book and successfully move it to a screen.
  • Illustrators who want to learn how to illustrate for interactive design.
  • Educators who want to leverage the power of the tablet to help support preschool and elementary level development.
  • Children’s librarians who want to find out what’s new with the latest children’s book apps, and learn about best practice.
  • ESL and Speech and Language Specialists who want to learn how to use tablets in day to day practice.

WHERE: The Highlights Foundation  in Boyds Mills, PA. Transportation is provided to and from the Wilkes Barr International Airport in Scranton PA and New York Port Authority  (departing at 2:30 PM on Sunday).  If this is of interest to you, please let us know.

HERE’S A CONTENT PREVIEW: We’ll expand on the themes started last month in the Dust or Magic Masterclass in Bologna.

REGISTRATION: $999 per seat which includes housing for 2 nights, all food, drinks and workshop materials. Group size is limited on a first-come, first-served basis. Registration is handled by Highlights Foundation. Check back later for the 2018 registration form or call 877-288-3410.

HOUSING: You’ll get your own private cabin but may have to share a room.

WHAT TO BRING

Dress is casual. Bring a tablet, your laptop, your favorite children’s book and a musical instrument.

FACULTY