Theme+Ideas+-+General

Past Themes
Everything was built around a James Bond theme - music, mission of the day, program booklet, session names, decorations, etc. The metaphors were the light bulb and questions. For decorating, we posted question marks, quotes to do with learning and asking questions, lights, and lightbulbs. I'm not sure if we identfied metaphors for this conference
 * In 2007, the theme was Focus on Teaching 007: Teach and Let Learn**
 * In 2006, the theme was Focus on Teaching: Learning Matters**
 * In 2005, the theme was Focus on Teaching: Recconnect, Rebuild, Recharge.**

Ø Theme needs to be iconic, timeless – everyone can related, have familiar music that can be used, Ø Theme needs to be one that is inclusive and does not set up barriers to participation for certain groups of people
 * General Comments:**

Planning Filters
Such filters help to ensure that all participants feel comfortable and are able to join freely in the fun of the day.
 * As we plan this event, it is important that we use filters to screen out references to things that might offend some people:**
 * Violence or weapons
 * Sexuality
 * Sexism, racism, or other forms of discrimination
 * Addictive behaviours such as gambling, drinking

Ø Super Heroes Ø Beatles – yellow submarine Ø The Amazing Race – roadblocks, teams, clues throughout the day. It came out that some people loathe reality t.v., and so we discovered that we need to be very careful that we don’t turn off a whole segment of faculty by the theme we choose. Ø Lord of the Rings – labyrinths, Lord of the Rings names, runic codes, a quest. It came out that many people have not read or seen Lord of the Rings so they wouldn’t be able to relate to a theme based on this. So, we discovered that we need to have a theme that almost everyone can make connections to – something inclusive. Ø Harry Potter – similar comments to Lord of the Rings Ø Masked Ball Ø Super Heroes – my hero Ø Transformers Ø Survivor Ø Cyber Students Ø Go Green Ø The Inconvenient Truth Ø **Deb Witmer** - Fishing Derby (click on the link for more details)
 * Other Theme Ideas Generated During Jan 2008 Brainstorming Session:**