Presentation Descriptions:

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Differentiated Instruction for Young Adolescent Literacy"

This session provides participants with 6 or more different instructional procedures to use within mini lessons of literacy for grades 3-8. These will equip your teacher tool box for student-centered balanced literacy instruction!

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BREAKING BAD...habits!

How do we utilize our students' use of technology in a way to develop future learners and leaders and encourage design thinking and action? How do we incorporate necessary learning that may not be covered in traditional curriculums? Join us to hear  how students see mobile technologies positively impacting their futures and how those technologies should be used and taught in classrooms now in order to lead them to their future goals.

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Make and Take Interventions

This session will provide all materials needed to make 2 early literacy intervention activities: one for kindergarten phonemic awareness and one for First Grade phonics.  You will learn how to make data-driven decisions in order to individualize instruction for struggling readers.  

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Sweden v. America: An Education Battle

In the spring semester of 2017, University of Central Missouri offered a week-long study abroad program to ’_rebro, Sweden, for its College of Education students. During that trip, we toured the Swedish school systems and interacted with their students in the classroom setting. This presentation will compare the Swedish and American school systems and provide insight as to why Swedish schools are consistently ranked as one of the best education systems in the world. 

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I Wish My Teacher Knew...

Thinking from your students-point of view, what are somethings they wish you knew to be able to meet their needs and help them excel in new ways. How to teach students to accept everyone for who they are, where they are, as a normal human being. With the advancements in technology what ways can we better serve our students to prepare them for the future.

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Building a Literacy-Rich Classroom

While we can't control the environment that our students come to us from each day, we can ensure a stable, reliable, and predictable classroom where they can feel safe and appreciated. Not only is a strong classroom community part of an effective classroom-management strategy, it brings students together and helps them feel a sense of ownership and pride in their classroom and learning.

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Games for Critical Thinking

Come and play quick-to-learn, designer, tabletop games.  Then, stick around for a lively conversation about how games elicit critical thinking.  Bring your friends--make new friends!  Sponsored by the MNU Center for Games & Learning (www.mnu.edu/games)--featuring 450 games for for public checkout, and multiple staff members for teacher in-service!

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Jiffy Pop

Jiffy Pop, making speaking as much fun as listening.  Jiffy Pop, or popcorn conversations, focuses on listening, speaking, and 21st century critical thinking skills through fun, fast paced, impromptu conversation opportunities embedded within revolving group activities. 21st century educators must meet new standards of excellence in themselves and in the classroom.  Come learn how Jiffy Pop can prepare you for the classroom while you prepare your students for the future.  

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Roses Grow in Concrete: Tearing Down Barriers to Reach and Teach Students of Color

As the cultural dynamics of our society rapidly change, the demographics are significantly impacting schools. This presentation will introduce attendees to the notion of caring relationships in classrooms. Drawing from Tupac Shakurs poem, The Rose that Grew in Concrete represents children of color that grow up in poverty and experience difficult life realities. Yet, in spite of the difficult life realities they still manage to learn and grow. 

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Those Who Can Teach: Strengthening Teacher Identity

From magazine covers to sitcoms, explore how media has altered the view of teachers in America.  Gain strategies equip you to combat the de-professionalism of a profession that touches all other occupations, teaching.
 

SeeSaw--Give Students a Voice!

SeeSaw is an interactive tool for parents, teachers and students to connect together in learning.
Why Seesaw?
A way to capture learning.
Another way to communicate & share with families.
Quick assessment tool.
Give students a voice to show what they know.
Way to build ownership in learning & reflection.

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Technological Determinism: Do the tools we shape, shape us?

All technology is communication, an extension of ourselves that allows us to reach further through time and/or space.  Technological determinism sees technology as the basis for all human activity, as the essence of civilization.  It presumes a society's technology drives the development of its social structure and cultural values. Specifically, media decisively shapes how individuals think, feel, and act and how any society organizes itself and operates.

Incorporating Technology to Enhance Literacy Instruction

Learning to read is one of the most difficult things to master, and can be one of the most difficult to teach. However, with the right tools teaching students to read can be fun and engaging for students. This presentation is an interactive overview of many applications that can help make reading a success. 

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I'm a cool teacher... I do podcasts and I bring the apps

In this presentation you will learn how to use a common app, found on every iPhone, to create a research-based podcast. We will walk through the steps of researching a topic and utilizing technology to create a classroom presentation in a new way, making a boring PowerPoint presentation more interactive and engaging.