EdWisely Fall ‘21 Summit

Supporting student learning in uncertain times

As educators, we  must juggle multiple priorities while experiencing rapidly changing conditions. The EdWisely Fall Summit will focus on ways to create high-quality instruction that serves the needs of the whole student.

EdWisely Fall ‘21 Summit: Supporting student learning in uncertain times focuses on the following themes:

Equity and inclusion in the classroom
Leveraging technology to reach all
Student voice & agency
Integrating SEL & academics

EdWisely Fall ‘21 Summit will be held on Friday, October 22

Virtual Summit
$40 for a full day of learning!

EdWisely Fall ‘21 Summit Virtual Conference Speakers

Pernille Ripp

Keynote Speaker

Pernille Ripp is an expert in literacy and technology integration and dedicates her research and practice to developing engaged and empowered students and communities.

She is a teacher, speaker, author, blogger, and passionate advocate for education. She is a Skype Master Teacher; recipient of the 2015 WEMTA Making IT Happen Award; and the 2015 ISTE Award for Innovation in Global Collaboration.

In 2010, Pernille founded The Global Read Aloud, a global literacy initiative that began with a simple goal in mind: one book to connect the world. From its humble beginnings, the GRA has grown to connect millions of students around the world.

She is the author of Passionate Readers -The Art of Reaching and Engaging Every Child and  Passionate Learners – How to Engage and Empower Your Students, now in its second edition, and Empowered Schools, Empowered Students, both focusing on creating learning spaces and communities where students thrive and all stakeholders are empowered and passionate about learning. She has also authored Reimagining Literacy Through Global Collaboration published in 2016 by Solution Tree.  Her work has also been featured in many print and online journals.

Pernille’s current research interest is in creating passionate literacy environments within the restriction of our current educational systems to helping students fall in love with literacy again. She uses her own classroom as a laboratory, as well as learns from the many educators she works with across the world.

Ed Campos, Jr

Keynote Speaker

Ed was raised in the Central Valley of California in a town called Earlimart, CA. It’s here that he got his work ethic and customer service skills by working in his grandmothers’ panaderia (Mexican Bakery). He currently works as an Education Consultant for Kings County Office of Education in the Central Valley of California. Before becoming an educator, he was a software programmer in the Silicon Valley for 3 years and has since taught high school math and computer science for 15+ years in Central California. While in the classroom, Ed created an innovative learning space that allowed his students to express themselves, present, and teach their peers in a multitude of ways. Ed’s current work is supporting educators in maintaining their social emotional health and ability to build community as well as integrating more Hip Hop into education.

Kimber Coté

Kimber serves as the Director of Educational Technology at Concept Schools. She has worked internationally, has served as the Director of Technology at a K-8 school specializing in students with learning differences, and has taught multiple subjects and grade levels K-12. She has her EdM in Learning Design and Leadership and is a Google Certified Educator and Trainer. She loves working with students and educators to integrate technology into teaching and learning, and believes technology can be life-changing for students as it allows them to both access knowledge and share their ideas in ways not otherwise possible.

Catherine Van Winkle

I teach 6th beginning to 12th grade college prep orchestra students and AP Music Theory at Gateway Science Academy in St. Louis. Professionally, I am a cellist, but find myself playing violin more as I usually have more violin students. I really enjoy teaching in the charter school system, where close relationships with students and families have achieved high results. Another highlight of my world is serving as a CYSP advisor. I LOVE it! My husband and I are originally from Portland, Oregon, and live with our three children in St. Louis.

Arlen Kimmelman

Arlen has an M.A. and Ed.M., is a Google Certified Trainer, a National Board Certified Teacher, a Certified School Librarian, and a Certified Teacher of English and has been providing professional development at national conferences since 2002. Check her out at @pseudandry on Twitter.

Regina Armour

Regina Armour is currently the Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion for Concept Schools. She received her doctorate from National Louis University’s National College of Education and her research focuses on leadership development; instructional & organizational coaching; and culture transformation. Dr. Armour’s primary focus is equity in schools; educational leadership; literacy; and coaching using a multi-faceted, systems approach, and crafting relevant, engaging learning experiences for all students—both young and adult. She has provided professional development for teachers and school leadership development for principals and districts. She has extensive experience in building collaborative relationships with the community and families by doing numerous workshops on social justice; instructional school cultures; cultural proficiency in schools and organizational literacy for educators.

Matthew Winters

Matthew Winters is a technical trainer at Utah Education Network. He is a former instructional technology coach and ELA teacher. As a teacher, he has traveled the world learning from amazing educators from all over the world.

Stephanie L Stern

Stephanie has been an educator for over 16 years, and a Training and Org. Development Specialist for more than 20 years. She is a NASA CCRI Education Ambassador and a NASA Endeavor Fellow. Her district serves underrepresented populations and she is passionate about equity in learning and opportunityb for her students and let’s.

Melissa Mulert

Melissa has been a teacher for 15 years. She has taught K-8th grade math and STEM Lego Robotics. She enjoys playing ultimate frisbee and doing arts and crafts.

Dr. James Beeghley

James Beeghley is an educational technologist, a blogger, education consultant and keynote speaker. He specializes in integrating technology into the social studies with a particular interest in the American Civil War.

Brandilyn Stroup

Brandilyn Stroup is the Director of Curriculum and Support Services at Bulloch Academy in Statesboro, Georgia. In her role, she provides P-12 staff and student support in the implementation of curriculum and technology in the classroom. She is a Google Certified Trainer and Educator, as well as a Kami hero. Presently pursuing an Ed.S in Instructional Technology, she also holds a M.Ed in Curriculum and Instruction.

Jackie Heinzelmann

Jackie is an ISTE Certified Educator, an Apple Learning Coach, and Google Certified Trainer. She supports school districts across Cincinnati, as an Instructional Technology Consultant. Her passion is in digital citizenship and empowering learners to become digital agents.

Dr. Krista Welz

Dr. Krista Welz is a Library Media Specialist/STEM Research Honors Teacher in North Bergen High School, New Jersey. She is a Google for Education Certified Trainer and Coach. Krista received a Doctorate of Education in the Educational Technology Leadership Program at New Jersey City University in Spring 2019. She is also an adjunct faculty member for the Educational Technology & Literacy Education Departments. She specializes in technology integration in schools and libraries.

Ayhan Caputlu

M.Sc in Math, M.Ed in School Leadership,Central Michigan University. My passion is to empower all learners to reach their full potentials and give them the opportunity to achieve whatever they are capable of. It’s been11 years since I started working at Concept Schools. This job, after spending 15 years in the classroom and starting the day with the kids around you every day, fueled up with their energy, has been a wonderful experience for me. I believe in the power of innovative digital content and technology integration, and that this will bridge the learning gap and promote active learning, engagement, and equitable learning environment for all learners. I love helping teachers access meaningful, relevant, and engaging resources and strategies. It was around high school when I decided that I wanted to become a math teacher. At this point in time, I had an amazing teacher, one who treated students as individuals whose ideas and opinions mattered. Not only did he help to nurture his love of learning, but he helped me to realize that I could make a difference in other peoples’ lives as well. I also worked for a publishing company for 4 years right after graduating from college and published several math textbooks for HS Mathematics.

Heather Allison

I am an experienced instructional coach, testing coordinator, department chair, and lead teacher with over 10 years experience in education. I have a Bachelors degree in English & Secondary Education as well as a Masters in Educational Leadership. I was one of the founding teachers of HSA Belmont in 2013 and the 2016 Teacher of the Year. I am currently the virtual learning coordinator for HSA Belmont.

Andrew Flaherty

Andy Flaherty (MA. M.Ed.) is the Director of English for the Concept Schools’ network. He writes curriculum for grades 6-12, provides observation feedback and cognitive coaching, and creates customized professional development on a wide range of literacy topics. Prior to joining Concept Schools, he was part of the literacy planning team for Chicago Public Schools and an International Baccalaureate (IB) English and Theory of Knowledge teacher. Known for his consulting with IB and Chicago Area Writing Project (CAWP), Andy has applied these approaches to his professional development of teachers and other adults for over 20 years. He is the two time winner of the Joy of Teaching prize and DRIVE award finalist. Prior to teaching he had a successful career in advertising and marketing.

Aishling Dean

Hi, my name is Aishling and I am an international educator and leader. I have been working in the Middle East for the past 6 years and love to share my passion for both technology and SEL. I look forward to sharing and learning together.

Dincer Coach

For over 23 years, Dincer Coach has been in education as a teacher and an administrator driven from the philosophy of “Serving to Others”. Dincer Coach works as director of science education at the Concept Schools’ Charter Network. He earned his master’s degree at the Central Michigan University. Dincer Coach also worked internationally and founded two schools aboard.

Jessica Reed

Jessica Reed is a special education teacher in Georgia, who has been teaching for 12 years. Jessica’s undergraduate degree is in Elementary Education from the University of Kentucky. She has a Masters of Arts in Collaborative Teaching (6-12) from the University of Alabama. She received her ED.S. in Instructional Technology from Kennesaw State University. Jessica is a certified Google for Education Trainer and a Google Innovator (#NYC19).

Jessica is married to Robby and they have one daughter, Elizabeth (3). Jessica is an avid UKY alumni who loves to present at conferences and make connections with teachers from all over the world to discuss how collaboration can be effective in the classroom.

Alicia Williams

Alicia Williams is an educator, thought-leader, activist, and facilitator. She is the Founder & CEO of Teach Woke, a global education consulting company that provides race and equity workshops to educators and schools to center and advance diversity, equity, and inclusion.

She has seven years of experience in education and is a former founding school teacher at KIPP Texas Public Schools. She is a native of Canton, Ohio, and proud alumni of The Ohio State University where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology with a specialization in Pre-Medicine. Alicia has been a noteworthy leader in the education space. She began her teaching career with Teach for America in 2016. To date, Teach Woke has served 1000+ educators and has impacted over 5,550 students across the country.

In addition to her company, Alicia serves as Vice President for the Board of Directors for The Anchor School in Houston, Texas. Alicia has been recognized by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a 2020 Teaching Tolerance Excellence in Teaching Award finalist and former Teacher of the Year. Her passion and commitment to the liberation of Black and Brown communities drive her work. In her free time, Alicia enjoys traveling, brunching, and reading.

Ms. Idil Hassan Ed.S

Licensed K-12 administrator based out of Minnesota whose focus is on culturally relevant teaching practices from an equity lens.

Elisa Salazar, LMSW, MS, MA

Elisa Salazar, MS, MA, LMSW graduated from Grand Valley State University (GVSU) with her Master’s degree in social work in 2010 and her second Master’s degree in communications in 2020. Her background is in diverse settings including juvenile justice, special education, and substance abuse; however, she has spent most of her career as a therapist working with children, families, and individuals from mild to severe mental illness. She received extensive training as a Dialectical Behavioral therapist specializing in trauma and severe and persistent mental health.

Rosalyn Washington

A veteran educator of 23 years, Dr. Washington is proud to be a former elementary school teacher and Reading Specialist turned Educational Technology lover. Her current position as a Digital learning Specialist for Literacy allows her opportunities to coordinate and implement Instructional Technology Initiatives district-wide and to support and train teachers across all subjects. Her areas of expertise include literacy, research, early childhood education, culturally relevant pedagogy and curriculum design.

She is also an Adjunct Faculty member at Georgia State University and teaches graduate level Ed Policy, Research, Measurement, and Statistics coursework in the College of Education.

Tonya Kelly

Tonya Kelly, MEd, is the CEO/Founder of the Empower our Youth Foundation. Tonya is a fourth-grade teacher at Horizon Science Academy Elementary in Columbus, Ohio. The organization began in 2017 when her second daughter experienced being bullied until she had thoughts of suicide. With both of her daughters being bullied, she witnessed firsthand the negative impacts, the family emotions, and experiences that damage a child’s self-esteem and quality of life. Over the past three years, she has shared her testimony and served as an Anti-Bullying advocate assisting families in reporting any forms of bullying to the appropriate authorities and mentoring students. Tonya has used her education and prevention awareness programs to become a voice and standing up for families by offering education, mentorship, social emotional learning, empowerment throughout the United States. As a community activist she advocates families and youth to learn how to respect, believe, inspire themselves and others while celebrating life. To learn more visit www.empowerouryouthfoundation.org.

$40 Entrance Fee to All Sessions

Session Information

The event will be from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM CST

Opening Keynote - The Classroom that Thinks, Heals, and Brings Joy

Ed Campos, Jr

Closing Keynote - Passionate Learners

Pernille Ripp

#SocialDisDancing to Music While Learning

Ed Campos, Jr

Music makes everything better. It can change our mood, it can give us energy, and get us moving. In this session, we’ll discuss practical ideas on incorporating music into your classroom. From music cues that send signals to your students for transitions, theme songed activities,…to using a playlist of student walk up songs as your randomized student selector (Bye, Bye Popsicle Sticks!), to using some apps (mostly free) to get your students creating their own music and vibe! Music is healing and we need as much of it in our lives and classrooms as possible..now more than ever. Attendees will leave with tons of resources plus a few Spotify playlists you can use tomorrow to start injecting some fun and you might even get your students dancing while they learn.

Balance Your Workflow with Seesaw

Jackie Heinzelmann

Session attendees will learn how Seesaw works, all of the applicable features available in the free version, and have time to create their own account to use in the classroom the following day! We will collaborate on how to create activities, where to find activities already created, and how to use this tool to communicate with parents and guardians. This tool will help save teachers time and paper!

Building a Racial Equity Lens

Alicia Williams

In this workshop participants will deepen their knowledge of the history and definition of race and racism, enhance their understanding of how race and racism manifests in classrooms, schools, and organizations, practice applying a racial equity lens to scenarios related to race and racism, and gain strategies for creating racial equity in classrooms, school, and organizations

Check Your SEL Before You Wreck The SEL

Ed Campos, Jr

The pandemic seems like it’s never ending and it’s taken a toll. Make Sure you “Practice Self Care” is most definitely easier said than done. Let’s acknowledge how crappy this has been for everyone, but especially teachers. If we collectively acknowledge it, we can collectively try and address it. There’s not enough time in the day to get everything done so let’s huddle together and share some of our best time saving techniques (using tech and non-tech), efficient and quick self care routines, and then some easy, practical, and fun ways to implement SEL every day in our classrooms.

Creative Cafe: Teacher/Student Reflection is the Corner Stone of SEL

Andy Flaherty

Teachers will be engaged in the reflective journal framework first developed by Progoff and then employed by my mentor B.J. Wagner, at the Chicago Area Writing Project were we co-taught. Teachers will experience writing in action and begin to see the parallels between their social emotional learning at that of their students.

Creatively Exploring Technology In K-12 Classrooms

Matthew Winters

Adding technology to a class can be a difficult process for many teachers. Due to time, extra duties, and the amount of work teachers do on a daily basis adding new technology can be difficult for many teachers. By applying discovery and creativity to the process, many teachers are able to apply technology in ways that expand their classroom and engage students more thoroughly in course curriculum.

This session will explore three examples of creative exploration of technology including Ghost Photography, Digital Button Making, and Curating a Digital Time Capsule. Come explore how to creatively explore technology with your students!

Demanding Equity: Developing Student Agency in High School & Post-secondary Environments

Regina Armour

How do we, as educators, serve our students at the highest levels, and also prepare them for inequities and tough situations they will face as they move and grow away from us. We all know the world can be hard to negotiate, and we know our students may be some of the most vulnerable. Part of our students’ success is to have skills, tools and strategies to make that journey into adulthood as confident as possible and to be able to advocate for oneself. So: What skills do they already have? What skills do they now need? How can we as educators support them the best we can within and across our schools? What skills are non-negotiable today….post COVID? We know the world has changed. That is why we need to make OUR students globally competent ones who: experience the world; understand perspectives; communicate ideas; and advocate for all the services, supports and access they deserve! This workshop would be especially relevant to High School Teachers and School College Counseling staff.

Digital Scaffolds: Supporting Struggling Readers Across the Curriculum

Rosalyn Washington

Are you ready to learn about digital tools to guide your students while striking a needed balance between allowing the productive struggle and needed supports? If you need a toolkit to provide scaffolding, and extra supports to struggling learners, and students reading complex texts, come join this session. Get ready to explore best practices for teaching essential literacy skills with engaging digital tools.

Effective Feedback in the Classroom

Ayhan Caputlu

In this session, along with getting more familiar to different types of feedback, various ways to provide effective feedback such as timing, manner, referencing a skill, culturally responsiveness will be discussed

"Ego Tripping" for Equity of Voice and Empowerment

Andy Flaherty

Using the poem “Ego Tripping” by Nikki Giovanni, teacher will explore the relationship between voice and improved writing to communicate ideas. As some of the greatest educators have acknowledged we must mimic the greats to become great. “Borrowing” ideas and structures/forms actually helps students co-author their own writing before writing originally. From Don Murray to B.J Wagoner mimetic writing has been used for those reluctant writers. Do not be afraid of poetry. You need not be a poet or writer to gain useful knowledge.

E.P.I.C Kids in Your Classroom

Tonya Kelly

E.P.I.C means Engage Positive Imaginative Creative Kids. Implement EPIC kids in your classroom by teaching real-world practice in a safe learning environment where young people can explore their own ideas, develop skills and build confidence in themselves.

Equity in the Classroom- Somali Students and Culture

Ms. Idil Hassan Ed.S

Participants will learn about one the largest immigrant populations across the Midwest. They will learn about cultural considerations as it pertains to the school system. Parent expectation about schools and ways to bridge the gap between home and school will also be explored. Suggested preparation: be ready to learn with an open mind!

Getting started with Student goal setting and self assessment

Kimber Coté

We’ll begin with student created rubrics and self-assessment on those rubrics, then progress to SEL and academic goals setting and student self-assessment of their progress toward those goals.

Google Hacks for School District Leaders

Dr. Krista Welz

This informative session will provide hacks for administrators when using Google Apps, such as Gmail, Docs, and Sheets. District school leaders will use these tips to work smarter, not harder. The tips will help ease their workload and provide a faster, efficient way of completing administrative tasks. From learning about Gmail hacks, Google Sheet queries and apps script codes, Google Doc workflow tips – participants will surely leave the session with a wealth of information that can be turnkeyed to other administrators.

Heart-Centered Leadership

Elisa Salazar

Participants will walk through a reflection exercise to become more.

How to connect with students in a virtual world

Aishling Dean

This session aims to identify and explain best practice in modifying social emotional learning to meet the needs of all learners, no matter the learning platform. We will discuss tips for virtual, hybrid and in person learning and have time for reflection of current practice. The end of the session will allow for open critical discussion. Please ensure you have access to an additional device, like a phone.

How to Incorporate Mastery-Based Learning & Project-Based Learning in a Math Classroom

Melissa Mulert

This session shows how to break up a 90-minute teaching block into 45 minutes of mastery-based learning and 45 minutes of project-based learning every day. You will see an example of a scope & sequence for 5th grade math. Next you will see the flow of a mastery-based lesson (video, notes, practice, mastery check) and a project-based lesson. Finally you will use Flipgrid to practice explaining a topic.

Inclusion Tech Hacks

Jessica Reed

This session will focus on tried and true different technology applications that enforces inclusion and collaboration. We will discuss some different ideas based on students with disabilities. This is a make and take type session.

Increasing Student Engagement Through Writing and Literacy

Dr. Krista Welz

Participants will learn new technology tools that will enable students to dive into the writing process, receive immediate feedback, and practice their reading and writing skills. Participants will also be given a variety of free, interactive literacy and writing templates to use in Google Docs, Google Slides, and Jamboard. Participants will also engage in websites where they can create digital interactables for their students. Includes NJSLA-aligned question stems and digital notebooks.This will be a highly-interactive session.

Interpersonal Effectiveness for work and life

Elisa Salazar, LMSW, MS, MA

Participants will learn practical skills for their work and life to communicate bravely, listen and give helpful feedback and use their wisdom.

Intuitive, Simple, and Quick: Create interactive tutorials in minutes!

Arlen Kimmelman

Save time and frustration by making tutorials that not only capture the steps as you do them but can also be used in 6 different modes: Try it, watch it, view it, do it, print it, and quiz it! iorad, the tutorial builder, is a free extension for an interactive tutorial maker. In this session I’ll show you how to use the iorad extension to create your own tutorials and to access it to find the HowTos you may need while you’re using Google products. The tutorials you create in iorad document the steps you capture and automatically create the accompanying text. You can also choose to add a voice to read the text, or you can record your own narration. Then use the tutorials with your students or your staff. That’s it; you’re done! AND… You have my word that this isn’t a sales pitch. Everything you’ll be shown is available for FREE. Suggested preparation: make a free iorad account and install the Chrome extension.

Kami: More than a Digital Annotation Tool

Brandilyn Stroup

Participants will learn how to initially get setup using Kami and how to deploy licenses to students. They will learn about the various tools Kami offers before delving into specific ways to integrate these tools into their classroom and content area. Participants will also learn how to use the tool to create digital whiteboards and digital anchor charts. Discussions on how to use the tools for collaboration will occur as well as how to use the program for real-time feedback. Suggested preparation: create your free Kami account and install the Kami Chrome extension.

Pulling Together Powerful Paperless Portfolios

Rosalyn Washington

Have you and your students created awesome digital artifacts that need a spot to live? Organize multi media in dynamic digital portfolios. Students and educators can organize, share, showcase and archive work with Digital Portfolios. These interactive and flexible tools allow for more than just storage, and can be a collection of valuable artifacts which can be easily shared. Need a portfolio for project based learning, thematic units, or end of year exhibitions? Come get hands on practice with tools that are easy to access, use and master by both teacher and student.

Shark Tank: a model for social entrepreneurship

Kimber Coté

We will use “Shark Tank” as the jumping off place for student social entrepreneurship. We’ll explore a model that can be adapted for use as a single unit in a class, or expanded into a whole elective course of its own.

Student-created inquiry projects

Kimber Coté

We will walk through the process of student-directed inquiry projects with attendees participating from the student perspective. We’ll look at how to adapt the process for different types and levels of inquiry.

Student voice = Student empowerment

Catherine Van Winkle

The invaluable voice of our students! Have you ever stopped to think how our young students are sometimes the best professors we’ve ever had? Do you remember how great it felt when you were a young student and the teacher used YOUR idea for something in the classroom? Do you remember when your teacher asked you to help another student because you knew how to explain the answers to others? In a format of collaborative workshops, discussions, breakout sessions, teachers will discuss and learn about strategies of incorporating students voices in our everyday teaching. Come prepared to discuss and share!

Technology Integration in Science Education

Dincer Coach

This session will focus on technology use in the middle/high school science classrooms. We will look at ways students can utilize tech to show and share their learning with others.

The NASA Behavior Engineering Model for the Classroom

Stephanie L Stern

The NASA Behavior Model was designed after the best skills and talents of NASA’s engineers. Stephanie has reimagined the Model to work as a behavior rubric for students that works across subject and content, and includes all students, regardless of background.

The session focuses on authentic actionable behaviors expected across disciplines, and elevates the student’s confidence to meet the expectations, because they are not only expected in the classroom, but I’m solving real world problems.

Tradigital History - Bringing the Past Alive

Dr. James Beeghley

This session will demonstrate how combining primary and secondary historical resources with technology can engage students in “doing history” while getting them to act like historians. During the session, attendees will learn various strategies for cross curricular activities that encourage research, collaboration, and creativity.

Using Culture to Inform Classroom Management

Derek Hakes

One of the biggest struggles of any classroom teacher – new or otherwise – is classroom management. Designing a management structure upon which everyone can agree seems to be a magic elixir that takes years to perfect. Truly (and unfortunately) one size does not fit all. Yet what if it did? What if teachers could find that one missing ingredient that makes the potion work? In this class, participants will discover how using students’ culture can make for a powerful change in how their classroom is ran, and will further learn how to leverage student voices to create a classroom management structure that both forms meaningful relationships as well as addresses the gap between whose class it really is. Suggested preparation: bring your classroom management plan.

Utilizing Technology to Increase Student Engagement

Heather Allison

Research has proven that students are more successful when they are engaged in class. This session will focus on implementing technology in physical and virtual classrooms to promote student engagement. We will practice using a variety of tools and technological resources to enhance the students’ learning experiences and increase engagement. Participants will leave with practical tools and strategies to increase student engagement in their class.

Equity and inclusion in the classroom
Leveraging technology to reach all
Student voice & agency
Integrating SEL & academics