Register online: Michigania Fall/Winter Online Application

Winter-Break Break-Away
Dec. 26-29, 2007

Elliot Soloway, Arthur F. Thurnau Professor in the Department off EECS, College of Engineering, School of Information, and School of Education, has worked for almost 30 years to improve K-12 education through the use of computing technologies. His latest venture, GoKnow, Inc., is demonstrating how handheld computers can transform K-12 classrooms by enabling, finally, 1:1 computing for each and every child. GoKnow provides administrators, teachers, students and their parents/guardians with a complete, handheld-centric solution. GoKnow’s award-winning handheld software is based on 19 years of classroom-based research at the University of Michigan.

Starting out as an Assistant Professor at Yale University, Elliot worked in the New Haven Schools, bringing in the first personal computers to middle school classrooms. For the past 19 years, he has worked in the Center for Highly-Interactive Computing in Education, at the University of Michigan, developing learner-centered software and curriculum for personal computer technology, Internet technology and most recently, handheld technology. For the past 6 years, Elliot and his colleagues in HI-CE have worked in 28 middle schools in Detroit, with over 10,000 students. Most impressively, when using HI-CE’s technology-enriched science curriculum, 15% more middle school students pass the state-mandated tests when compared to other reform programs, while the scores of those students who pass the MEAP tests score 10% higher than their peers in other programs.

Elliot has published over 200 articles in books, journals, and magazines, and has received numerous national awards. In particular, in 2001, the undergraduates at the University of Michigan selected him to receive the “Golden Apple Award” as the Outstanding Teacher of the Year at UM. In 2004, the EECS College of Engineering HKN Honor Society awarded Elliot the “Distinguished Teacher of the Year Award.”

Ring in the New Year
Dec. 29, 2007 - Jan. 1, 2008
Optional extension to Jan 2, 2008

The speaker for this program is Richard Friedman, who has been on the faculty at U-M Law School since 1988 and is the inaugural Ralph W. Aigler Professor of Law.

He teaches a variety of courses, and his talks here will touch among other matters on two particular areas of his interest: Supreme Court history and the right of criminal defendants to be confronted with the witnesses against him, a topic on which, as he will tell you, he has had considerable success before the Supreme Court.

He will not need to be pressed very much to talk about his recent venture at the Baseball Hall of Fame, where he discussed one of the Law School’s most illustrious alumni, Branch Rickey, or of his efforts, which have made news around the state, to keep girls’ high school tennis in the fall season.

Accommodations
Guest cabins are nestled adjacent to Walloon Lake. Cabins offer three or four units, each with its own bedroom and private bath with shower. Cabin mates share a spacious gathering room, handy for a game of cards, conversation or a quiet hour of reading. Vaulted ceilings, spruce paneling and magnificent views provide a charming atmosphere.

The Alumnae Council Education Center offers meeting space, comfortable lounges, a ceramics studio, complete kitchen and dining facilities and six fieldstone fireplaces. With captivating views of the surrounding wooded area, wildlife and lake, it's an inviting space that encourages conversation or quiet reflection.

All meals beginning with a welcome reception on the day of arrival and concluding with breakfast on the day of departure are included. Meals are served in our cheerful dining room featuring rustic iron chandeliers and a gracious fireplace.

For more information or to register for this exceptional program, email michigania@umich.edu or call 231.582.9191.

Cancellations
Full refund less a $50 service charge if the vacancy is filled; 50 percent of total fees if the vacancy is not filled.