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Digital Wellbeing and Healthy Screen Time Management
With the increasing use of technology in education, it's essential to address the impact of screen time on mental well-being. This webinar will discuss the effects of excessive screen time on students and teachers, strategies for creating a healthy digital balance, and how to promote digital well-being in and out of the classroom.
Mandy Froehlich is an experienced Director of Innovation and Technology, technology integrator, and teacher, whose interest lies in reinvigorating and re-engaging teachers back into their profession, as well as exploring what’s needed to support teachers in their pursuit of innovative and divergent thinking and teaching. She consults internationally with districts and institutions in the effective use of technology to support great teaching, mental health support for educators, and how to create organizational change. She is an author of several books in the mental health and education space.
The Power of Positive Psychology in the Classroom
This course will explore the principles of positive psychology and how they can be applied in the classroom to enhance mental well-being. Educators will learn about techniques such as gratitude exercises and fostering positive relationships among students, which can contribute to a happier, more productive learning environment.
Mandy Froehlich is an experienced Director of Innovation and Technology, technology integrator, and teacher, whose interest lies in reinvigorating and re-engaging teachers back into their profession, as well as exploring what’s needed to support teachers in their pursuit of innovative and divergent thinking and teaching. She consults internationally with districts and institutions in the effective use of technology to support great teaching, mental health support for educators, and how to create organizational change. She is an author of several books in the mental health and education space.
Recognizing and Supporting Students with Anxiety
Join us for this session where we will equip teachers with the knowledge and skills to recognize signs of anxiety in students and provide appropriate support. Participants will learn about the different types of anxiety, how they can manifest in the classroom, and evidence-based interventions that can be implemented to help students manage their anxiety and achieve their full potential.
Mandy Froehlich is an experienced Director of Innovation and Technology, technology integrator, and teacher, whose interest lies in reinvigorating and re-engaging teachers back into their profession, as well as exploring what’s needed to support teachers in their pursuit of innovative and divergent thinking and teaching. She consults internationally with districts and institutions in the effective use of technology to support great teaching, mental health support for educators, and how to create organizational change. She is an author of several books in the mental health and education space.
Mindfulness and Meditation for Stress Reduction
This session will introduce mindfulness and meditation practices that can help reduce stress and anxiety in both students and teachers. Participants will learn about the science behind mindfulness, the benefits of regular practice, and simple techniques that can be easily integrated into daily routines for a more balanced and focused state of mind.
Mandy Froehlich is an experienced Director of Innovation and Technology, technology integrator, and teacher, whose interest lies in reinvigorating and re-engaging teachers back into their profession, as well as exploring what’s needed to support teachers in their pursuit of innovative and divergent thinking and teaching. She consults internationally with districts and institutions in the effective use of technology to support great teaching, mental health support for educators, and how to create organizational change. She is an author of several books in the mental health and education space.
Creative, Productive, and Personalized Classrooms
This session will focus on how and why you can engage students in learning and assessments. We will explore different types of assessments, methods of assessment, and tools that promote student choice and voice in learning. We'll also discuss how you can use assessments to provide students with opportunities to develop essential skills. Some methods we will cover include choice boards, genius hour, and PBL STEM activities. Join us to discover how to facilitate these methods and foster student agency in learning.
Rachelle Dene Poth is a Spanish and STEAM teacher and attorney. She is a frequent presenter at conferences on emerging technology and ways to benefit student learning. Rachelle has been the recipient of numerous awards including the Presidential Gold Award for Volunteer Service in Education. As an accomplished author, she has seven titles currently in print, and has contributed to multiple collaborative publications. She enjoys delivering PD, especially on appsmashing, AR/VR, SEL, STEM, project-based learning, and more
Artificial Intelligence in Education: What Do We Need to Know?
Learn how AI is being used in education, its implications for the future, and how it has impacted learning. Then, we'll explore resources for teaching about AI. You'll walk away with a better understanding of the ethical considerations of using AI as well as the benefits of using AI for education. The session will include an overview of what AI is, resources to introduce it to students, some key facts about the use of AI in our lives, and activities & courses to explore. Plus, we'll show you how to explore some useful AI tools and provide AI activity ideas.
Rachelle Dene Poth is a Spanish and STEAM teacher and attorney. She is a frequent presenter at conferences on emerging technology and ways to benefit student learning. Rachelle has been the recipient of numerous awards including the Presidential Gold Award for Volunteer Service in Education. As an accomplished author, she has seven titles currently in print, and has contributed to multiple collaborative publications. She enjoys delivering PD, especially on appsmashing, AR/VR, SEL, STEM, project-based learning, and more.
Serve Your School Community with Sora
We will explore the many features and benefits of Sora by OverDrive, including how it can be used to support literacy and learning in the classroom and beyond. We will also demonstrate how to get started with Sora, including how to sign in, borrow books, and customize your reading experience. Whether you are a teacher, librarian, or student, Sora by OverDrive is a must-have tool for anyone looking to discover and explore the world of digital reading.
Maximizing Student Success Through Formative Assessment
Formative assessment is an essential component of effective teaching and learning. It helps educators identify areas of improvement, adapt instructional strategies, and monitor student progress. This session will provide participants with practical formative assessment techniques and strategies designed to increase student engagement and help teachers save time.
Bonnie Nieves is the author of Be Awesome on Purpose as well as a contributor to EdReports and The American Biology Teacher Journal. She has nearly two decades of experience as a high school science teacher. Bonnie holds a master's degree in Curriculum, Instruction, and Educational Leadership and is a member of many professional organizations including MassCUE, ISTE, and NSTA. Her passion for creating immersive and authentic experiences that fuel curiosity and creating student-centered, culturally responsive learning spaces that promote equity and inclusion has led her to establish Educate On Purpose Coaching. Connect with her on Twitter @biologygoddess, Instagram @beawesomeonpurpose, and LinkedIn.
Integrating technology into the classroom will help meet students' needs for variety, stimulation, and accessing information. Today's learners are always connected, and the strategies to maximize that connection of technology, pedagogy, and self-care are critical. Hear from X-Factor EDU's four national authors on skills and strategies to make that idea a reality, concluding this series of sessions from the X-Factor EDU team.
Building Inquiry-Based Instruction
In the standardized testing era, students are too often asked to memorize facts and/or recall ideas without being expected to retain a deeper understanding of the information. Depth in learning comes from focusing on critical thinking, evaluating information, and tapping into students’ intrinsic curiosity. This session is designed to support educators in creating inquiry-based lessons with a focus on critical thinking and problem-solving skills, both of which enhance student performance in and out of the classroom. Applying and integrating inquiry-based lessons into instruction allows students to be independent learners and helps educators to increase the relevance of their lessons.
Matt Joseph is currently the Director of Evaluation, Supervision, Mentoring and Hiring in Brockton Public Schools. He is the CEO of X-Factor EDU and the author of several books. He has held many positions in education from classroom teacher to principal; this has given him insight into how best to support teaching and learning. He writes articles for national publications and is a frequent speaker at state and national educational events as well as the president-elect of MASCD.
Impact to Influence (Book Launch)
What does it take to create change that celebrates every student? Learn lessons from inspiring local and international figures who have created their own pathways to grow from impacting small amounts of students and teachers to influencing our field around the globe. Whether within or beyond classrooms, educators and administrators will explore strategies and pathways to make meaningful change for all learners.
As a Digital Learning Coach in Walpole, Massachusetts, Jed Stefanowicz provides job-embedded professional development and instructional coaching for academic technology. Through conferences, workshops, and coaching, Jed aims to engage and build staff/student digital learning capacity, keeping the focus on practice over product. As a 25 year elementary educator, speaker, blogger, and current Massachusetts Teach Plus Policy Fellow, Jed shares his passion for effective tech integration to transform teaching and learning, creating engaging and equitable digital learning environments and experiences that activate, innovate, and motivate digital learning. He is the Author of “Take AIM at Digital Learning: Activate, Innovate, Motivate” and “Impact to Influence”.
The SMILE (Shine, Motivate, Inspire, Learn, Elephants) model is not about using technology, it’s about leveraging educational technology as a tool for student success. Let’s explore the SMILE blueprint to look for ways to use edtech that supports learning, opens doors for exploration, and creates opportunities to think critically all while covering our content.
Laurie Guyon is an Integration Specialist for Schuylerville Central Schools in New York. She is an ambassador and expert on many classroom technologies such as Google, Flipgrid, Apple, Seesaw, and much more. She is a member of the NYSCATE Social Media Team and was inducted into the Volunteer Hall of Fame for NYSCATE in 2017. She has presented at numerous conferences and taught workshops on integrating technology. Laurie is currently enrolled in the SUNY Plattsburgh’s School Building Leader CAS program.
Innovative Teaching with ChatGPT: Empowering Teachers to Enhance Pedagogy, Not Just Efficiency
In this course, Alice Keeler will explore the ways in which ChatGPT can be used to empower teachers to enhance their pedagogy; encourage creativity and critical thinking; facilitate student-centered learning experiences; and integrate PBL activities. She will also discuss the importance of ethical use of ChatGPT by using it to facilitate deeper learning and not as a replacement for critical thinking or simply to make task more efficient. Join us to explore this cutting edge AI tool!
Alice Keeler is a former teacher, mom of 5, expert in EdTech integration & virtual learning, speaker, and author. Alice is passionate about student-centered teaching and using tech to build relationships, empower students, and make learning better. She is the author of “50 Things You Can Do with Google Classroom” and “Stepping Up to Google Classroom.”
Beyond the Bulletin Board: Reimagining Student Publishing
Redesign instructional objectives and outcomes to promote every student’s voice. Build beyond the bulletin board to capture & model processes, showcase & archive products, spotlight performance, and demonstrate practices. Reframe student publishing to showcase student-learning in a manner that is centered in equity, where every student’s voice matters and is heard through interactive print, video, podcast, and intentional edtech content-creation tools.
As a Digital Learning Coach in Walpole, Massachusetts, Jed Stefanowicz provides job-embedded professional development and instructional coaching for academic technology. Through conferences, workshops, and coaching, Jed aims to engage and build staff/student digital learning capacity, keeping the focus on practice over product. As a 25 year elementary educator, speaker, blogger, and current Massachusetts Teach Plus Policy Fellow, Jed shares his passion for effective tech integration to transform teaching and learning, creating engaging and equitable digital learning environments and experiences that activate, innovate, and motivate digital learning. He is the Author of “Take AIM at Digital Learning: Activate, Innovate, Motivate” and “Impact to Influence”.
Digital Safety and the Impact on Student Mental Health
As all schools had to pivot to an online learning environment in 2020, students have been spending even more time online. The increase in screen time by our young people has exacerbated an already existing mental health crisis. From helping students focus on what they can control to encouraging creativity, educators can help smooth the path for students. In this session, educators will learn strategies they can use to encourage students, and their parents, to persevere through an increase in anxiety due to the additional screen time from digital learning.
Christine Ravesi-Weinstein currently serves as a high school Assistant Principal in Massachusetts, USA and previously worked as a high school science department chair for four years and classroom teacher for 15. She began a non-profit organization in June of 2017 aimed at removing the stigma of mental illness and promoting physical activity as a means to cope with anxiety. As an avid writer and educator, Christine became passionate about bridging the two with her advocacy for mental health. She has had numerous articles published nationally and presented at many conferences. She is an MACD Board Member and an author of several books.
Explore the three domains of digital learning: wellness, competency, and creativity as a framework to design instruction, demonstrate learning, and assess understanding. Create authentic opportunities to capture student voice, make thinking visible, build student agency, and reimagine what post-pandemic publishing looks like. Participants will use resources and collaboration to rebuild intentional, engaged, student-centered, and social-emotionally guided learning. This session looks at the components of digital citizenship as a wellness model, identifying tools and strategies to amplify all voices, provide authentic choices, and ensure that all learners are empowered to create their own content.
As a Digital Learning Coach in Walpole, Massachusetts, Jed Stefanowicz provides job-embedded professional development and instructional coaching for academic technology. Through conferences, workshops, and coaching, Jed aims to engage and build staff/student digital learning capacity, keeping the focus on practice over product. As a 25 year elementary educator, speaker, blogger, and current Massachusetts Teach Plus Policy Fellow, Jed shares his passion for effective tech integration to transform teaching and learning, creating engaging and equitable digital learning environments and experiences that activate, innovate, and motivate digital learning. He is the Author of “Take AIM at Digital Learning: Activate, Innovate, Motivate” and “Impact to Influence”.
Strategies to Prepare Students for Standardized Testing
Teachers and students alike may be feeling the pressure of having to properly prepare for spring testing. In this session, we will take a look at the different assessment types, plus test-taking strategies that will make students more comfortable in taking them. Let's grow our approach to testing so we can foster learning and showcase student knowledge.
Moving From Consumption to Creation
We often discuss engagement and students' active role in learning. If you looked at the classroom of the 50s, you would see desks in rows, a teacher in the front of the room doing most of the talking, books out on the desks, and students consuming the lesson. Should schools in 2023 follow this same model? The answer should be a resounding, very loud NO. Unfortunately, that is not always the case. In many of today’s classrooms, we continue to teach by delivering information that students are expected to consume. We can change this! This session will focus on tools and strategies to create active thinkers and learners.
Matt Joseph is currently the Director of Evaluation, Supervision, Mentoring and Hiring in Brockton Public Schools. He is the CEO of X-Factor EDU and the author of several books. He has held many positions in education from classroom teacher to principal; this has given him insight into how best to support teaching and learning. He writes articles for national publications and is a frequent speaker at state and national educational events as well as the president-elect of MASCD.
Crypto, NFTs, Metaverse, Blockchain... What Educators Should Know
As an educator, are you wondering what these terms are? Do these ideas have anything to do with education? There's an internet renaissance taking place across finance, politics, technology, and other industries, called web3. Similar to the rise of the internet, web3 is changing the way people operate, socially and professionally. Come discover how your web3 mastery could open up new professional doors and empower your students to be ready for the next technology revolution.
Michael Cohen, The Tech Rabbi, is a designer, educator, and creativity instigator. His mission is to help educators around the world reveal their own creative abilities so they can empower students to solve interesting problems and become positive contributors to our global society. He is the author of the book Educated By Design, which outlines his principles for revealing and nurturing our innate creative courage and capacity. He is a national keynote speaker, advisor, and trainer. When he isn’t traveling the world sharing his message, he serves as the director of innovation for Hebrew Academy of Miami, where he leads STEAM and Entrepreneurship initiatives and programs
Create a Gamified Choice Board
In this session, join Alice Keeler to explore two popular topics in education: gamification and choice boards. Choice boards allow for increased student agency and amplify student voices by giving them different options for how to connect with the content. This is also a great way to differentiate learning and allow students to demonstrate mastery of a topic in a way that is best for them. Learn how to make this even more engaging and fun by gamifying the board!
Alice Keeler is a former teacher, mom of 5, expert in EdTech integration & virtual learning, speaker, and author. Alice is passionate about student-centered teaching and using tech to build relationships, empower students, and make learning better. She is the author of “50 Things You Can Do with Google Classroom” and “Stepping Up to Google Classroom.”
Bring STEM into Every Classroom
Preparing students with the essential skills for the future requires all educators to create a culture for learning that sparks curiosity and innovation. Bringing STEM into every classroom is essential. Explore methods and tools that will empower educators to provide students with opportunities in STEM while helping them develop essential SEL skills. This session will share methods and tools with wide applicability to get teachers started with STEM in every classroom and lead students to become creators and innovators.
Rachelle Dene Poth is a Spanish and STEAM teacher and attorney. She is a frequent presenter at conferences on emerging technology and ways to benefit student learning. Rachelle has been the recipient of numerous awards including the Presidential Gold Award for Volunteer Service in Education. As an accomplished author, she has seven titles currently in print, and has contributed to multiple collaborative publications. She enjoys delivering PD, especially on appsmashing, AR/VR, SEL, STEM, project-based learning, and more.
Michelle Blanchet, author of Preventing Polarization: 50 Strategies to Teach Kids about Empathy, Politics, and Civic Responsibility, will join us to discuss how we might use games to bridge the gap between SEL and civic engagement. We'll discuss gamification in the classroom as well as some activities and games that will take civics lessons to the next level while supporting students' social-emotional needs. Join us to discover how gamification can increase your students' engagement.
Google Drive Hacks You Didn't Know Were Possible
Unlock the full potential of Google Drive with Google Workspace expert Alice Keeler! In this course, you'll discover powerful tips and tricks to help you streamline your workflow, organize your files and folders, and collaborate more effectively. Whether you're a teacher struggling to keep your Google Drive organized or simply looking to take your productivity to the next level, this course is perfect for you. Join us to learn how to make the most of this powerful platform and say goodbye to a messy and cluttered Google Drive.
