This is a guest post written by Amanda Holstrom, Instructional Technology Specialist and Apple Teacher at Sartell Middle School. Do you need a scholarship to attend a conference or participate in professional developme?  Apply today! 

This year at TIES, I really enjoyed hearing about the path of change that Kimberly Bryant is creating for girls in coding all over the nation. She is currently leading the charge of Black Girls CODE based in California. Her inspirational and supportive methods are encouraging girls to get involved in the tech world.  She shared her own path through technology and how that has impacted her daughter and now the nation with the creation of Black Girls CODE. These groups of girls create innovative tech solutions for real world problems and share their creations with others. Starting the conference with a message of inspiration allowed me to look for ideas that will inspire those I teach with.

I looked for sessions this year that focused on leveraging the technology we already have in our schools in a way that deepens student learning.

I learned about using Schoology to create opportunities for students to have choice and voice in their learning as well as providing a method for teachers to organize and assign tasks digitally.

I am looking forward to implementing grading rubrics, folders for organization, calendar management and using Google slides for running agendas. All of these tools will help students and teachers work together to create a learning environment that provides more learning opportunities.