This is a guest post written by Jenny McNew, Media Specialist at Talahi Community School. Do you need a scholarship to attend a conference or participate in professional development? Apply today!
This year I attended the Impact Education (formerly TIES) in Minneapolis using a scholarship from CMLE.
My 2 days of sessions came with an added bonus of being able to attend for 3 days. On Sunday we could choose extended learning opportunities with keynote Justice Alan Page. Justice Page spoke of his passion for truth and justice. The principal that introduced him told of the journey of a school committed to his legacy and the renaming of a middle school in Minneapolis as his namesake.
On Monday keynote Angela Maiers founder of Choose2 Matter reminds us all to “Be Brave” and find our “Brave” as we empower students and ourselves.
Jimmy Casas was dynamic and brought a wealth of experiences and kept it real as he spoke to us about remembering the “why” of the reasons we became educators in the first place because we are passionate about kids. The message was clear. Relax and recharge and take care of yourself so you can be the best you for students.
This conference which has evolved from a Tech conference to a learning conference did not disappoint.
There are truly so many educators out there with a wealth of expertise that are making learning fun for kids. This year with a change in student population at my school to a preK-2 focus I was looking for very specific things. Can I just say Kindergarten teachers are AMAZING! There are some great people out there to follow. A couple of SeeSaw experts I enjoyed are people I would encourage you to follow on Twitter @MrsGadKey and @KSzajiner. SeeSaw is such a great tool to connect home to school and help kids be accountable for their learning. This kindergarten teacher was so enthusiastic! @KinderNuggets_1 uses coding, VR and AR in Kindergarten in ways I never dreamed of. I’ve already purchased my Curiscope tee-shirt and can’t wait to try it out on my students.
Our second grade is piloting a 2 to 1 Chromebook setting and I attended a session on all the great accessibility tips and tricks available. The knowledge gained will help me coach these two classrooms and will benefit both teachers and students.
An after-hours tour of Flipgrid in downtown Minneapolis completed my second day of the conference. It has been amazing to watch this company grow in the last couple years. They currently host 3 ½ years of video! I was sent home with a Flipgrid recording pod for my students to use. This conference is such an amazing opportunity especially for those of us who live in Minnesota. A big THANK YOU to CMLE for making it possible for me to attend.