You have heard the buzz about the benefits of teaching coding. You have seen the robots. Have you tried them? Do you want to try them? Do you know what you can do with them? Do you know what your students can do with them? This session will give you a hands-on opportunity to learn about and try some of the robots that our K-4 students use! You will get the opportunity to try Beebots, Code and Go Mice, Ozobots, Dash and Dot, Sphero, Cubelets, and maybe more! Our students also use "super exclusive building materials" aka free recyclables such as toilet paper and paper towel tubes, to design and build challenges that meet classroom curriculum. Collaborating with classroom teachers enables us to use coding and robotics to not only meet ISTE Standards but to fit into the curriculum as well. Learn how we are building and integrating STEM skills that you can use with your class tomorrow.
Information Specialist, Prairieview School, CCSD #46
I am the Information Specialist at Prairieview School in CCSD #46. Prior to landing my dream job over 20 years ago, I was a 4th and 5th grade classroom teacher. I am a Smart Exemplary Educator, Google Educator Levels 1 & 2, Google Certified Trainer, BrainPop Certified Teacher, Tech4Learning... Read More →
Trying to find a way to schedule STEM, coding or maker activities into your school? Maker Mondays allows teachers to choose the activities they do and the time slots (set by you) that work for them and their schedule. Providing introductory lessons to students and teachers allows teachers to comfortably use the materials in their own classrooms in the future or plan integrated activities with you.
I started in education as a kindergarten teacher for seven years and have been the librarian at Lowell Elementary in Wheaton for the last seven years. I recently finished my Technology Endorsement through Aurora University. I am a Level 1 and Level 2 Google Certified Educator.
Monday February 24, 2020 9:30am - 10:30am CST
Imagination
Welcome to Sketchnote City! Create your character and wander through the city meeting other IDEACon residents. Be part of designing the cityscape doodle wall, attend the neighborhood tech store to try out different sketch apps, build your sketchnote bank by designing your character backstory and designing your character’s home and network of friends (including furry friends). Attend the local school room to sit in on one of the sketchnote minilessons, and create your own plumbob hat before you leave. Exchange your contact info with other players at Sketchnote City so you can continue the learning long after IDEACon is done.
In this connected world of streaming content live as it happens, we need to look at how we can harness that global connection in our classrooms! How can we connect with other classrooms, cultures, and experts? How can we bring experiences from all across the globe right into our classrooms with the power of technology? During this session, we will experience and explore Google Earth, Hangouts, Expeditions, Tour Creator, Arts & Culture, and FlipGrid to connect with other classrooms and create virtual experiences for our students. Many of these sites have pre-made experiences ready to go as well as the ability to customize experiences to your classroom objectives. When you turn these tools over to your students, they can create unique digital experiences to demonstrate & share their learning as well as connect with other classrooms across the globe.
Instructional Technology Coach, Park Ridge-Niles CCSD 64
Julie is her 12th year in the education field and her 5th year as an Instructional Technology Coach. She previously taught middle school STEM and Mathematics. She earned her undergraduate degree in Mathematics Education from NIU and her masters in Educational Technology Leadership... Read More →
Monday February 24, 2020 9:30am - 11:45am CST
Connection
Immersive Learning Experiences have the ability to convey learning in powerful ways. Research suggests that Virtual Reality can drastically improve memory and retention and can serve as an “empathy machine” for understanding the experiences of other people. Many teachers think that Virtual Reality is a future technology, but you can get kids started NOW using a variety of FREE tools. Explore the tools, learn about the research behind immersive learning and see what innovative teachers are creating with VR in their classes. Get students started creating today!
Director of Professional Learning, Digital Promise
Shawn McCusker has 25 years of experience as a middle and high school teacher in public, private and alternative schools. His is the author of the Solution Tree press book "Becoming Active Citizens: Practices to Engage Students in Civic Education Across the Curriculum." (2022) In... Read More →
Monday February 24, 2020 1:45pm - 4:00pm CST
Innovation
Participants will first explore from a student’s viewpoint of how different technology tools are seamlessly integrated within a middle school science classroom (this presentation is applicable to all content areas and grade levels). We will explore current technology tools for instruction and assessment and participants should leave with new ideas and technology resources, at least one new tool and/or product to use with students, and a resource to collaborate further with the session participants.
Anything related to science, technology, curriculum and instruction, assessment, leadership, opportunities with the Ocean Exploration Trust, my time at sea on the E/V Nautilus as a teacher ambassador.
The virtual reality tools shared will focus on the learning experience which immerses the viewer into a new world. The participants will learn about the importance of this trend in education and how it will impact the expectations of learning in the future. During the session, we will explore some of the viewers, cost, and important features needed to properly function with virtual reality. An emphasis on immediate use, modifying personal learning experiences and providing authentic, relevant content will solidify the importance of virtual reality in the classroom.
Jaime Donally is a passionate technology enthusiast. She began her career as a math teacher and later moved into Instructional Technology. Her desire to build relationships has brought about opportunities to collaborate with students and educators around the world. She provides staff... Read More →
Tuesday February 25, 2020 9:30am - 11:45am CST
Knowledge
Learn about several writing tools that improve students writing: Voice to Text - Students who are typing challenged can dictate their text right into a Google Doc. With a few simple commands, students can express THEIR ideas freely. Explore Tool - Students will search smart, cite, and obtain the correct bibliographical information for their writing format, MLA, APA, etc... all within their Google Doc. Google Keep - Note taking the easy way! Students can take notes in a variety of formats; text, image, etc.. Unlike your post-it's, your Google Keep Notes are always available anywhere, on any device.
Instructional Technology Specialist, River Forest School District #90
Taneesha A. Thomas, MS. ED, is a certified Instructional Technologist, a Google Trainer, an Apple Teacher, an EdTech national presenter, as well as CEO of Flutter Tech LLC. She serves as a captain for Chicago’s Google Education Group, she has also presented at EdTechTeam Summits... Read More →
Tuesday February 25, 2020 9:30am - 11:45am CST
Imagination
Scratch Encore is aligned with CSforAll, a national movement nurtured (and named) in Chicago to bring high-quality computer science education to all students, regardless of background. This curriculum fulfills a specific need in upper-elementary school and middle school education. The curriculum is designed to advance equity. To us, it means creating materials that support teachers of all experience backgrounds to provide high-quality instruction to students of all experience and cultural backgrounds.
Director of Computer Science, Office of Computer Science
The Office of Computer Science is here to help you. Please let us know how we can assist you with PreK - 12 Computer Science: Short and long-term planning, curriculum, classroom support, etc.Kristan
Welcome to Sketchnote City! Create your character and wander through the city meeting other IDEACon residents. Be part of designing the cityscape doodle wall, attend the neighborhood tech store to try out different sketch apps, build your sketchnote bank by designing your character backstory and designing your character’s home and network of friends (including furry friends). Attend the local school room to sit in on one of the sketchnote minilessons, and create your own plumbob hat before you leave. Exchange your contact info with other players at Sketchnote City so you can continue the learning long after IDEACon is done.
Rachel is a coach with Samsung Education. She has 20 years of experience in education, including eight years teaching and two years coaching in Chicago Public Schools. She is a Google for Education Certified Innovators, Trainer, and Coach, and helped write the Google for Education... Read More →
Learn how to engage students in introductory programming through the use of Earsketch. Earsketch is a free online tool that gives your students access to over 4000 different musical beats. Student creativity will be sparked when they get to lay down tracks of beats using Python.
I've been teaching high school for twenty years and specifically teaching CS for nine years at Lane Tech. I have always been motivated to encourage more females and non-binary students to enter the field of CS. I run an art and technology club at Lane and I teach Media Computation... Read More →
Tuesday February 25, 2020 9:30am - 11:45am CST
Connection
As a community, we seek to empower committed educators to have an impact beyond the four walls of their classroom. In 2018, Educators 4 Excellence found that 92% of all teachers surveyed desired more opportunities to further their careers and professional skills while staying in the classroom. We know that teachers possess the answers to challenges their schools face and hold the keys to unlocking a school-wide culture of learning.
Geared towards future and current teacher leaders, this session will explore taking ideas for school improvement and making them a reality. Teachers will work to build a vision and strategic plan which can be used to lead a team within their school. We will explore best practices in engaging stakeholders, project planning with a focus on leading adults and navigating school-based obstacles.
Experience the concept of Breakout EDU with a technology twist. Join in digital challenges to unlock each piece of the mystery to breakout of the PD norm while learning augmented and virtual reality tools.
Jaime Donally is a passionate technology enthusiast. She began her career as a math teacher and later moved into Instructional Technology. Her desire to build relationships has brought about opportunities to collaborate with students and educators around the world. She provides staff... Read More →
Tuesday February 25, 2020 1:45pm - 4:00pm CST
Knowledge
Immersive Learning Experiences have the ability to convey learning in powerful ways. Research suggests that Virtual Reality can drastically improve memory and retention and can serve as an “empathy machine” for understanding the experiences of other people. Many teachers think that Virtual Reality is a future technology, but you can get kids started NOW using a variety of FREE tools. Explore the tools, learn about the research behind immersive learning and see what innovative teachers are creating with VR in their classes. Get students started creating today!
Director of Professional Learning, Digital Promise
Shawn McCusker has 25 years of experience as a middle and high school teacher in public, private and alternative schools. His is the author of the Solution Tree press book "Becoming Active Citizens: Practices to Engage Students in Civic Education Across the Curriculum." (2022) In... Read More →
Tuesday February 25, 2020 1:45pm - 4:00pm CST
Innovation
Let’s face it, most educators are mystified by spreadsheets. And yet, we are faced with grades, data walls, all manner of spreadsheets. And with Google Forms, the Sheets have become never-ending. What do we DO with all of that stuff? What CAN we do with it? In this immersive and hands-on session, participants will learn how to use Google Sheets to organize, manipulate, sort and import data in a variety of ways. You will become initiated into the arcane world of formulas, master basic tasks, pivot some tables, and chart some graphs. By the end, you will also discover new worlds of power with add ons. It will be a lot, but if you’ve ever wondered why people like spreadsheets, or maybe you like Sheets and just want to learn more... this session is for you.
With STEAM and robotics becoming more popular in schools today, why not integrate them into your classroom curriculum? Attend this session to not only learn how to use Spheros and Ozobots, but how to integrate them into your classroom to support student learning. Engage students with problem-solving, creative thinking, and programming skills.
Digital Learning Coach, East Maine School District 63
Matt Tombs has been a Digital Learning Coach for East Maine SD 63 since 2016, where he coaches teachers on how to effectively integrate technology tools into the classroom environment by focusing on the SAMR Model. Prior to that, he taught 4th grade in Arlington Heights SD 25, and... Read More →
Digital Learning Coach, East Maine School District 63
Agnes Palucki works at East Maine School District 63 as a Digital Learning Coach for the past 3 years. Prior to that, she was a 5th and 6th-grade teacher for 5 years. She integrated technology into her classroom, facilitated technology-related professional development to staff, and... Read More →
Wednesday February 26, 2020 10:00am - 11:00am CST
Nirvana C
Have you wanted to expand your elementary STEM/STEAM program? Come and try out a variety of hands-on materials. Opportunities to explore unique building materials, robots, coding creatures, and more. We will share the many materials we use to create an engaging elementary STEAM program.
Are you looking for ways to engage your students in learning process? ClassVR is a complete VR and AR system for the classroom. It provides an engaging, immersive experience for students of all ages, and allows them to view and understand various subjects and topics. Attend this session and learn how you can integrate VR/AR technology into your classroom curriculum.
Digital Learning Coach, East Maine School District 63
Matt Tombs has been a Digital Learning Coach for East Maine SD 63 since 2016, where he coaches teachers on how to effectively integrate technology tools into the classroom environment by focusing on the SAMR Model. Prior to that, he taught 4th grade in Arlington Heights SD 25, and... Read More →
In this session, you will be introduced to the Night Zookeeper website, a creative writing platform based on a series of books. On the site, students use their imagination to create and draw animals to live in the magical world of the Night Zoo. Students can then add and collect other animals to populate their online zoo, complete teacher-assigned lessons, track and respond to their reading, play grammar games, and connect with other students from around the world. You will also see how a team of 4th Grade teachers used this platform and concept to gamify their classrooms. From teaching students how to use our Learning Management System to completing academic challenges, our gamified classrooms have excited and motivated our students and brought our teaching to an exciting new level.
Attendees will be given time to set up their classrooms on the Night Zookeeper website and become familiar with its many features. Time and assistance will also be given to help you develop ideas and create items and activities to gamify your classrooms. All participants will be given a 1 month free trial to the Night Zookeeper website.
