ICN News

Local site contacts, educational and administrative schedulers, and others associated with the Iowa Communications Network enjoyed a day of learning at the annual In Toto conference on September 25. The beautiful State Historical Building was the site for the day of breakout sessions on topics such as the latest in Video over IP, presentation tips, and other professional development issues. This year’s conference was entitled Food for Thought – Catering to Iowans.

Keynote speaker Dr. Leigh Zeitz, University of Northern Iowa professor, provided an enlightening and entertaining workshop on the many digital forms of communication available today. His presentation even included a brief visit with a friend in Holland using Skype.

As in the past, two special annual awards were presented at the conference. Deanna Clingan-Fisher, Legal Services Developer for the Department of Elder Affairs, accepted the Innovative Use of the ICN award on behalf of Elder Affairs. The DEA was recognized for efforts to bring essential information to elder Iowans and their caregivers through the Elder Law Series. Over 1500 citizens have benefited from the series of one-hour sessions conveniently located at 26 sites around the state. Additionally, four schedulers were nominated for the 2008 ICN Scheduler of the Year award. The winner was Judy Bonstetter, Regional Scheduler from Northeast Iowa Community College. Also nominated were Jackie Kokke, Administrative Regional Scheduler for the State Library of Iowa, Rebecca Head, Scheduler for the Department of Economic Development, and Dawn Fratzke, Regional Scheduler (#7) at Hawkeye Community College.

In addition to the conference on Thursday, a pre-conference brainstorming workshop was held on Wednesday afternoon, September 24. About 16 people associated with the ICN from various organizations including higher education, community colleges, K-12 administration, state agencies, and public libraries, spent the afternoon discussing topics and issues related to the ICN.