Digital Learning Today

In this episode of the TeacherCast Podcast, we sit down with Mike Soules and Dr. Sonja-Hollins Alexander from Corwin to discuss a recent survey of more than 6300 educators on the state of professional development in schools today.

Together, we discuss the 7 standards of professional learning and how they were used to guide today's professional learning environments.

Topics discussed on the show include

• The 7 Standards of Professional Learning
• What is Professional Learning?
• 4 Findings of the Survey
• Teachers report that leaders in their schools and systems are committed to professional learning.
• Teachers report that their schools use student achievement data to plan professional learning, but they don't use a variety of data to assess its effectiveness.
• Teachers do not appear to be deeply involved in decisions about their own professional learning.
• Teachers report that they are not provided adequate time during the school day to follow up on their professional learning by practicing and applying new skills in the classroom.
• What role does social media and unconferences play in today's professional learning environment?
• What does today’s educator need to be successful?

Corwin, a SAGE company, is the premier provider of professional learning products and services that equip educators to improve teaching and learning. Corwin offers print books and ebooks, digital products, and on-site consulting services for all types of educators at all stages of their careers. Corwin resources are authored by experts on the topics most relevant to education; formatted for hands-on, practical guidance; research-based and peer reviewed for quality, and designed for professional learning.

• www.corwin.com
• https://www.facebook.com/corwin.press.5
• https://twitter.com/CorwinPress

Mike Soules is President of Corwin, the leading provider of innovative professional services and publications for P-20 educators. Corwin is committed to collaborating with schools, districts and departments/ministries of education to deliver training and tools that build capacity, are evidence-based and have a positive change on instructional practice. Through long-term partnerships with authors, policy makers and associations Corwin sits at the nexus of research to practice and practice to research. Mike is most proud of the talented and dedicated all-star team that help bring Corwin’s work to life every day.

Mike has held senior leadership roles at the Channel One Network, Laureate, and Teachscape. The through the line of his career has been pioneering unique platforms to provide meaningful and impactful content that educators need and want.

He serves as Regent of California Lutheran University, President of the Conejo Schools Foundation, and former Chair of the Ventura County Workforce Development Board. Mike has a B.A. in Political Science and a B.A. in History from the University of California, Los Angeles – Go Bruins!

Dr. Sonja Hollins-Alexander has been in the field of education for 24 years with 18 of those being in educational leadership at the school, district and higher education levels. During this time, she has served as a school social worker, teacher, assistant principal, principal, assistant director, director, chief of staff, adjunct professor, senior consultant and currently serves as an independent consultant and a developer/trainer of Personalized Learning Coaches in the Department of Professional Learning for a school district in Metro Atlanta, GA. Through her professional journey she has had experiences in Strategic Planning, Organizational Improvement, Policy Development, Project and Program Management, Stakeholder Communication and Engagement, Budget Planning, Grant Writing, Instructional Design, Curriculum Development and Implementation, Facilitator of Adult Learning, Leadership Coaching, Conference Facilitation and Design, Effective School Reform Planning, Quality Assurance Team Member for AdvancED and fully engaged in the development and use of Online Collaborative/Instructional Software. She is the author of Online Professional Development through Virtual Learning Communities, Corwin Press (2013).

Corwin, Learning Forward and the National Education Association Release Results of New Nationwide Survey on Successes and Shortcomings of Teacher Professional Learning

Los Angeles, CA (August 7, 2017) — Today, Corwin, Learning Forward and the National Education Association (NEA) released the results from their first-ever State of Professional Learning Survey. Teachers indicated while school leaders are committed to their professional learning, teachers are rarely part of the decision-making process. Teachers also noted they are not provided with enough opportunities for professional learning across the school day.

In October 2016, Corwin partnered with Learning Forward and NEA to survey online more than 6,300 educators nationwide from diverse backgrounds and experience levels in an effort to learn more about teachers’ experiences with professional learning and how they measure up to Learning Forward’s Standards for Professional Learning.

“Professional development is a fundamental part of any job, and the education profession is no exception,” said Lily Eskelsen Garcia, president of the National Education Association. “Quality and relevant professional learning provides educators with ongoing opportunities to keep up with the rapid pace of classroom advancements and ensure they have the appropriate skills to reach and teach diverse student populations.”

“We’re happy to see an overarching commitment to professional learning among school leaders and teachers,” said Mike Soules, president of Corwin. “But to ensure teachers are receiving professional learning that is useful and meets their professional needs, they must be given more power in selecting their learning path.”

The survey featured research-developed questions and Learning Forward’s Standards Assessment Inventory items. Teachers were asked to rate their level of agreement to each of the 50 items reflecting the Standards for Professional Learning on a scale of one (“Never”) to five (“Always”). The average scale scores reflect teacher perceptions of the extent to which their professional learning aligns with the standards.

Key findings from the survey included:

• Teachers feel their school leaders and systems are committed to professional learning when asked if school leaders prioritize professional learning for all staff and understand the relationship between student achievement and professional learning (score 3.7 out of 5).
• Nearly 20 percent of teachers indicate that they have no input in their professional development, and 75 percent identify their school and district leaders as the primary professional learning decision-makers. Four percent of teachers say that teachers primarily made decisions regarding professional learning.
• Nearly half of teachers report that a majority of their professional learning experiences occur on in-service days or in the summer despite expressing a strong preference for face-to-face learning during the work day. Nearly 25 percent of teachers report spending less than one hour each week on professional learning.
• Teachers report that their schools tend to use student achievement data to plan professional learning (score 3.4 out of 5), but do not use a variety of data to assess its effectiveness (2.8) or determine how they will assess the effectiveness of professional learning before the plan is implemented (2.4).

“This survey affirms teachers don’t feel invested in their own professional learning. Evidence from all corners tells us that the job-embedded professional learning that educators value is the professional learning that makes a difference for students,” said Stephanie Hirsh, executive director of Learning Forward. “Let’s use this chorus of teacher voices as an opportunity to take action in transforming professional learning systems.”

The report recommends giving teachers more “voice and choice” about their own professional learning, using a variety of data sources to plan and assess professional learning, and providing additional opportunities for continuous, on-the-job professional development.

“This survey,” said Soules, “offers us insights to better understanding what teachers are looking for in terms of professional development resources and programs. We fully intend to use this information to guide our educator offerings and advance the professional development field as a whole.”

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Corwin Press, a SAGE company, was established in 1990, first as a professional book publisher, now as a full-service professional learning company, offeringprofessional development solutions on the topics that matter most and the delivery methods that work best to achieve a school or district’s objectives. Its many resources range from a library of 4,000+ books to on-site consulting to online courses and libraries. At the heart of every professional learning experience is the book content and author expertise that have made Corwin the most trusted name in professional development.

Learning Forward is a nonprofit, international membership association of learning educators committed to one vision in K-12 education: Excellent teaching and learning every day. Learning Forward pursues its mission to build the capacity of leaders to establish and sustain highly effective professional learning.www.learningforward.org.

The National Education Association is the nation’s largest professional employee organization, representing more than 3 million elementary and secondary teachers, higher education faculty, education support professionals, school administrators, retired educators, and students preparing to become teachers.

In this episode of the TeacherCast Podcast, we sit down with Rick Fredkin from Eduporium. Eduporium is a marketplace that acts similar to Amazon, yet is focused on providing school districts a direct, purchase order friendly way of bringing in STEM and Makerspace items into their schools.

Eduporium is a school partner that views technology as a fundamental literacy in the 21st century. We work directly with teachers, schools, districts, libraries, and makerspaces to provide them with meaningful and discounted technologies that enhance experiential learning and help students develop crucial 21st-century skills. Cooperative partnerships help us expand schools’ access to STEAM technologies, increase the affordability of educational tools, and enable us to customize tech bundles and activities for all grade levels. Our services include educator discounts, customizable EdTech bundles, a Lending Library, and a Donation Program – all of which are designed to increase student readiness and simulate real-world challenges.

Unlike Amazon and most other online vendors, Eduporium accepts purchase orders which takes hours of time off of administrators and office workers who have to deal with a lengthy paperwork process

• www.twitter.com/eduporium
• www.facebook.com/eduporium
• www.instagram.com/eduporium
• https://www.snapchat.com/add/eduporium
• https://www.linkedin.com/company/3099636/
• www.youtube.com/eduporium

In this episode of the TeacherCast Podcast, we welcome Eric Li from Khan Academy to discuss LearnStorm 2017, a FREE six-week challenge that helps students build skills and mindsets to start the school year strong.

Khan Academy is a nonprofit with a mission of providing a free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere. Today more than 55 million registered users access Khan Academy in dozens of languages from more than 190 countries. Khan Academy’s free online learning resources cover preschool through early college education, including K–12 math, grammar, biology, chemistry, physics, economics, finance, history, and SAT® prep. Khan Academy is the official practice partner for AP. Khan Academy gives teachers tools and data to help their students develop the skills, habits, and mindsets they need to succeed in school and beyond. And it’s all free, for everyone, forever.

Eric Li, LearnStorm Lead for Khan Academy, is passionate about using education & technology to empower students and teachers. He focuses on helping teachers use Khan Academy and plays an extensive role in the LearnStorm program.

• MindStorm 2017 Homepage
• Twitter: @khanacademy
• Facebook: Khan Academy
• YouTube: Khan Academy

Recorded in 2017

On today's episode of the TeacherCast Podcast, we welcome Kat Kennewell and Phil Grigonis on the program to showcase the amazing Edison Robot from Microbric.

In 2014, with only a tiny team based in South Australia, Microbric launched the Edison robot with a bang. The wildly successful Kickstarter campaign hit 524% funding and the popularity of Edison has only grown from there. The highly versatile and easy-to-use robot is now distributed globally and can be found in schools in more than 50 countries around the world.

Microbric’s vision for the Edison robot is to create an affordable, comprehensive STEM teaching resource for coding and robotics education for students in years 3 – 9. To support this vision, users of Edison have access to free educational resources and programming apps.

The Edison robot can be programmed multiple ways: using pre-set barcodes, EdWare, EdPy and now, EdBlocks.

EdBlocks, the newest programming language for Edison robots, is a fully icon-based language that is super easy to use. A drag-and-drop block-based system, EdBlocks is intuitive and fun, even for younger users. Perfect for introducing anyone to programming, EdBlocks is ideal for students aged 8 to 12 years old.

Students can then take their programming further with EdWare, a hybrid graphical language, and EdPy, a highly versatile text-based programming language based on Python.

Best of all? Access to all programming languages and associated teaching resources is absolutely free.

Learn more at www.meetedison.com

• Homepage
• EdBlocks
• EdBlocks App
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Pinterest
• Instagram
• YouTube

Product and Marketing Manager for Microbric, a South Australia-based educational robotics company, Kat has experience working in education, eLearning, and technology. An avid writer, Kat believes the right words can connect people with the ideas they need to make a better world for today and tomorrow.

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/KatKennewell
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katkennewell/

Phil Grigonis is a Technology Education teacher at Upper Perkiomen Middle School in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Management Information Systems and a Masters in Technology Education. Phil has been teaching for the past three years, and has worked for IBM and Accenture Consulting in previous careers. In addition to teaching, he is the advisor at his school for the Technology Student Association (TSA) and a member of the Technology Education and Engineering Association of Pennsylvania (TEEAP).

Check out Phil's Edison Robot Website

• Unparalleled value-for-money and is supported by free downloadable lesson plans and activities.
• Thanks to built-in sensors, lights and sounds plus autonomous behaviour capabilities, true robotics education is possible with Edison.
• Responds to light and sounds
• Follows lines and avoids obstacles
• Communicate with other Edison robots
• Can be used as a platform to build all types of projects
• Edison can grow with students as their coding knowledge expands.
• EdBlocks is a fully graphical robot programming language that is super easy to use. A drag-and-drop block-based system, EdBlocks is intuitive and fun, even for younger users – perfect for students in grades 3 to 6
• EdWare combines the ease of drag-and-drop graphical icons with increased functionality from text-based entry, a great next-step in coding education.
• EdPy is a highly versatile text-based programming language based on Python. EdPy makes text-based programming fun by letting students see their code come to life in their Edison robot. With EdPy, students are learning the core of a real programming language and are able to take their exploration of robotics and coding to a more advanced level.

EdBlocks:

• Free to use at edblocksapp.com
• Quick to get started with – just drag and drop blocks, connect Edison to your device through the headphone jack with the included EdComm cable, and program Edison.
• Perfect for introducing coding to anyone with lesson plans targeted to students in grades 3 to 6.
• Set of 23 lesson plans designed to allow students to work through activities independently, gradually learning about both the Edison robot and EdBlocks available free to download.
• Free to download teacher’s guide to EdBlocks and the EdBlocks lesson plans
• Over 150 blocks enabling programs to be created controlling Edison’s drive, lights, sounds, messaging as well as programming features such as loops and ‘wait until’ blocks.
• Program straight from the online app in a browser – no additional software required

In this episode of the TeacherCast Podcast, we welcome Dexter Industries on the program to showcase their new robot called GoPiGo, the world's best-selling Raspberry Pi Robot. After listening to this episode, I highly recommend every teacher take advantage of two great opportunities:

• A FREE 45-day trial of GoPiGo in your classroom
• 10% off your next purchase of a GoPiGo kit by using the coupon code TEACHERCAST at checkout

Dexter Industries, an educational robotics company, develops robots that make learning about technology and programming more accessible to everyone. Dexter Industries is the maker of the world's bestselling Raspberry Pi robots like the GoPiGo, GrovePi and BrickPi.

• Website: DexterIndustries.com
• Twitter: @DexterInd
• Facebook: DexterIndustries
• YouTube

Lisa Rode is a 6th-grade classroom teacher at Kings Glen Elementary in Fairfax County, Virginia. This is her 10th year teaching sixth grade. In 2014, Lisa started a Raspberry Pi after-school robotics club to teach students programming, engineering, and problem-solving skills. She integrates technology and robotics into classroom lessons in addition to an after-school program. Find her on Twitter @roderunners

Recorded in 2017

In this episode of the TeacherCast Podcast, we welcome Dr. Sam Patterson of My Paperless Classroom and Todd Beard from Microsoft YouthSpark to discuss why Computer Science classes are vitally important for today's students.

As technology has become an integral part of people’s daily lives around the world, we’re seeing a growing demand – from students, parents, teachers, governments, and nonprofits – to teach youth not only how to use technology, but also how to create technology to help them become the innovators and drivers of growth and opportunity in their communities. But what does this look like in the classroom? How do educators balance this new charge with other important content requirements?

Microsoft YouthSpark is a global initiative to increase access for all youth to learn computer science, empowering them to achieve more for themselves, their families and their communities.

• Website: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/philanthropies/youthspark
• Twitter:@msphilanthropic

Todd Beard has been an educator since 2001 working with students in kindergarten through adulthood. Graduating from the University of Michigan with a focus in education, math, and language arts, he is an educator passionate about technology in learning. While teaching K-12th-grade technology at the International Academy of Flint, Todd also led education policy initiatives, coached multiple robotics teams, and organized STEM camps. He is excited about collaborating with other professionals that are helping to prepare our students and teachers for the future.

• Twitter: @TeacherBeard
• Website: www.edutainmentteacher.com

Sam Patterson EdD is Head Maker Wrangler at Echo Horizon School in Culver City, CA. Dr. Patterson designs innovative tech-rich learning experiences and is author of the book “Programming in the Primary Grades: Beyond the Hour of Code.” His blog MyPaperlessClassroom is one of EdTech reviews “50 must Read Tech Blogs.”

• Twitter: @SamPatue
• Website: www.MyPaperlessClassroom.com

Check out these great resources to learn more about computer science for your classroom.

• YouthSparkhub.com
• Makecode.com
• www.Sphero.com/education

Recorded in 2017

From Wonder Workshop, Dot and Dash are real robots that teach your kids to code while they play. By using one of a dozen free apps and an iPad or iPhone, you can make Dot and Dash sing, dance, and navigate around your house or classroom.

Dash & Dot are real robots that teach your kids to code while they play. Using our free apps and a compatible tablet or smartphone, kids learn to code while they make Dash sing, dance and navigate all around the house. Sensors on the robot mean they react to the environment around them, including your kids.

• Twitter
• Facebook
• Pinterest
• YouTube
• Instagram

Currently, with 15 years of experience in education, Bryan L. Miller’s roles as a teacher and administrator in private and public education, K-12 education, and higher education has provided him a full scope and understanding of the educational sector and has afforded him unique opportunities in the field. Experiences in curriculum design, professional development, 1:1 implementation, and strategic planning allows him to seamlessly work with all schools, with all needs.

As the Founder of #TopTechEDU, Bryan has been provided opportunities to travel across the world, work with government officials in education from other countries, and speak and keynote at conferences and schools on his favorite topics which include educational toys, tools and resources, virtual reality, student voice and choice, and many other topics built around emerging technologies in education. He is seen by the educational community as a thought leader and influencer who can bring transformative change and excitement to learning. Bryan truly loves the experiences he receives when he meets educators and students throughout his travels, and even makes time to pop into a classroom to play on the floor with students. His passion for being a teacher has remained with him always.

Recorded in 2017

On this episode of the TeacherCast Podcast, we welcome the Hardcore Closer Ryan Stewman on to discuss how he went from high school drop out to being a multi-time best selling author and entrepreneur.

Ryan Stewman, CEO and Founder of Hardcore Closer and Break Free Academy, is a 4x best-selling Author, Motivational Speaker, Sales Coach, Podcast Host, Blogger and all around Entrepreneur. He’s also a regular contributor to Forbes, Entrepreneur, Addicted2Success, Good Men Project, Lighter Side of Real Estate, Huffington Post, and more.

Ryan is best known for consulting with alpha personality business owners on rapidly growing their sales through the use of strong marketing and advertising. With his no BS, ‘take action’ approach, Ryan has been able to help high income and high net worth performers make adjustments in their businesses that unleash windfall profits. In the day and age of sales trainers advertising their success by bragging about the private jets and expensive cars they’ve been able to purchase themselves, Ryan prefers to brag about the mansions and exotic cars his clients have been able to purchase through the utilization of his teachings. His programs have propelled numerous clients from 5 and 6 figure incomes to 7 figure a year earners, and he has a new group he’s working on each year in his top tier program “The Tribe”.

It doesn't matter if you are selling cars, homes, financial services or consulting, Ryan’s sales mastery can help you generate higher quality leads, increase your closing ratios, and show you how to charge premium fees for the items you sell.

• http://www.HardcoreCloser.com

• @ryanstewman
• @HardcoreCloser

• https://www.facebook.com/HardcoreCloser/
• https://www.facebook.com/realryanstewman

• https://www.youtube.com/user/ryanstewman

On May 2, 2017, I had the privilege of being invited to attend the #LEARNWHATSNEXT keynote produced by Microsoft. The first of its kind during Microsoft Satya Nadella's tenure as CEO, the keynote revolved around education and what Microsoft thinks the classroom of the future should look like.

More than 20 educators from across the world representing Pre-K through University studies were invited to attend and meet with representatives from the Education team to share their thoughts about how this new direction for Microsoft can be implemented in their classrooms.

The keynote started off with Nadella telling the story of how his grandfather started his journey into education and helped his father become an educated man. It was a powerful story. “Talent is everywhere, but the opportunity is now”. “Today's event is about education and technology . . . more importantly, it is about empowering the students today to create the world of tomorrow.”

Throughout the opening remarks, Nadella kept referring to Microsoft's top priorities on education. The concept of teachers spending less time focusing on technology and more time doing what they love is a powerful example of the new direction that Microsoft and it's products will be headed in the future.

One key to Nadella's speech was the focus on making sure that all learners are brought into the conversation. A Focus on students with Dyslexia and students who struggle with reading and writing is clearly at the heart of Microsoft future.

It was very clear after spending 2 amazing days with the team from Microsoft Education that this wasn't just a product launch, rather it was a philosophy launch. The motto of Nadella and the entire Microsoft team is clear now more than ever.

This summer, a new education-focused operating will be launched called Windows 10 S. What does the S stand for? Some say Safety, Security, Simplicity, or perhaps Streamlined. As it was described at the keynote the S was added because it adds a little bit of Soul to the Windows experience.

Windows 10 S essentially puts a safe and secure shell on an already powerful and robust Windows 10 environment. This means students will experience better battery, better browsing, and a much faster experience logging into their devices. By default Windows 10 S actives the powerful Edge web browser that has also received some notable upgrades such as a Tab Preview Bar and the ability for users to use inking technologies to write and annotate directly on websites and videos.

Learn more about the new Windows 10 S Here

There were two big announcements about hardware. The first was the addition of several inexpensive students focused laptops starting at just $189. All of these PC's feature Windows 10 S and a dynamic touch screen experience.

To bring these devices to market, Microsoft teamed up with Acer, ASUS, Dell, Fujitsu, HP, Samsung, and Toshiba.

In addition to the slate of inexpensive touch screen devices, Microsoft closed the keynote with a brand new device called the Surface Laptop. Starting at only $999, the Surface Laptop completes and compliments a very successful line of Windows 10 devices that include the Surface Pro, Surface Book, and Surface Studio. The Surface Laptop provides 14 hours of battery on it's 7th generation Intel Core Processor and comes in 4 beautiful colors (Platinum, Burgundy, Cobalt Blue, and Graphite Gold).

I was able to spend some quality time with these computers and in addition to being very lightweight, they were very comfortable to the touch. The trackpad was very responsive and didn't get in the way of the typing the way the new MacBook Pro trackpads sometimes do.

One extremely innovative feature of note was in the way that the speakers are now resting under the keyboard with the sound actually coming up through the keys. This feature provides a very intimate experience that was very noticeable even in a room with hundreds of educators and reporters making noise all around me. This was a very impressive feature for such a beautiful device.

Hardware and a new operating aside, this weeks keynote event truly pushed Microsoft's commitment to education in the front of every teacher, student, and parent on the planet. Their commitment to making learning easily accessible anywhere and anytime is at the heart of their online strategy at Education.Microsoft.com and starting May 6 is accessible at every Microsoft Store in the country. This month, Microsoft is launching STEM Saturdays in their retail spaces. Teachers, Students, and Parents are all welcome to attend free Hacking Stem activities for free and learn how to build sensors, robots, and become mechanical and electrical engineers all through the power of Windows 10, Surface devices and Office 365. This is certainly an experience you want to attend with your young learner.

For more information, please visit the Microsoft Hacking Stem website.

I want to end this post with a little bit of reflection on not only the experience I had this week but on some thoughts, I have been having about this revitalization from Microsoft.

Growing up, I can remember my dad bringing home our first Windows 3.11 computer. It was big and bulky but I loved every minute of it. In time, we graduated to Windows 95, 98, ME, and yes, Vista. I remember taking over that computer and stripping the parts out of it and rebuilding it over and over with new sound cards, graphics cards, and multiple hard drives. It was a Windows computer where I first learned about design, coding, and publishing.

Am I a Mac Fan Boy? Yes | Am I a Google Fan Boy? Yes

That being said . . . I am a very excited and proud Microsoft Innovative Education Expert that just had the privilege of watching my friends and family at Microsoft Education completely re-innovate the way that teachers are able to create and provide memorable experiences to their students. From hardware to software, to hands-on experiences, the future is big and bright for students worldwide thanks to the hard work and dedication of the entire Microsoft Education team, the thousands of Microsoft Innovative Educators worldwide, and students of all levels and ages.

As the father of 3-year triplets, all who qualify for special needs services, the devices being developed today from each of the three major technology companies are directly having an impact on their lives and for that, there are no other words that can be expressed beyond . . . THANK YOU.

If you are an educator looking to learn more about the MIE program, please visit education.microsoft.com and apply for the program before the July 15 due date.

On today's episode of the TeacherCast Podcast, we take a look at the topic of the Gender Gap in STEM Education. For more information on this topic, please visit MakeWhatsNext.com. I would like to thank Microsoft Philanthropies and Microsoft Education for helping to set this episode up.

What if she could be the one to find the cure, crack the code, or invent something that has the potential to save lives? When we encourage girls to pursue science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), we double the potential to solve problems. If she stays in STEM, she could be the one to change the world.

Recent research shows that, on average, only 25% of tech jobs are held by women. If we really want to close the STEM gender gap, we must start early. In this conversation, join current and veteran classroom educators, who share concrete tips and best practices for encouraging girls’ interest in STEM subjects and helping them to persevere once they start down that path.

Tracy Immel Kennedy brings passion, innovation, and education experience to her role as Director of Marketing for YouthSpark, a Microsoft Philanthropies initiative focused on providing access to computer science education for youth most at risk of being left behind. Combining over 20 years of marketing experience with her passion for teaching and building human capacity, Tracy has a unique background that bridges both the public and private sector.

As a consultant, she has worked with governments, schools, NGOs, and companies to effectively integrate technology into teaching and learning. She has personally delivered professional development to over 5,000 educators, trainers, and education leaders and has been a featured presenter and blogger on the topic of building educator capacity. At Microsoft, Tracy developed professional development opportunities for educators and created a Training Provider program that helped scale reach to hundreds of thousands of educators globally.

Today, Tracy is using her unwavering belief that all people should be valued, respected, and have the opportunity to live meaningful, productive lives to help inspire and engage young people in the opportunities that computer science education can enable.

Denise Spence has been an educator for over 22 years. She has earned her Master's degree in Curriculum and Instruction, emphasis in Instructional Technology. Over the years, Denise has earned the following IT certification credentials: CompTIA A+, CompTIA Network+, Adobe Certified Associate in Dreamweaver and Microsoft Office Specialist in Word/PowerPoint/Excel/Outlook. Her accomplishments include being selected as 1 of 3 finalists for Lee County's Teacher of the Year in 2000; she was the 1st ever Career and Technical Education Teacher of the Year for Lee County in 2006; she was named Certiport's Global Summit's Teacher of the Year for 2010. Plus, Denise was a 2011 and a 2012 finalist for the Microsoft Innovation Forum. For her leadership in providing college and career related information technology training, Denise was asked to be a Faculty Champion for the Microsoft Imagine Cup and was selected to be an Adobe Education Leader. For her impact on the business community, Denise was selected as a finalist for the Fort Myers Greater Chamber of Commerce – Women in Business – Apex Award in 2011. Recently, she was nominated in the Education category, for The Greater Fort Myers Chamber of Commerce Celebration of Business & Tourism Chrysalis Awards 2015 & 2016 and Denise was selected as the winner of the Inaugural Southwest Florida Regional Technology Partnership Women in Technology Award for 2015.

Presently, Denise is the lead technology teacher at Dunbar High School, where she serves as the business technology department head and is the program's manager for award winning technology programs: the Academy for Technology Excellence (a Microsoft Showcase School), the Academy for Digital Excellence (an Adobe featured school program) and the Academy of Game Design and Programming Excellence. These programs have been featured both locally and internationally for how they prepare students for both college and careers. She has developed a long-term relationship with the business community by maintaining their Business Advisory Committee at Dunbar High School. Plus, Denise has trained and certified students, teachers, and administrators in a variety of Information Technology industry areas. Denise is also, an adjunct professor at Florida Gulf Coast University, and served as an adjunct professor at Hodges University.

Concurrently, Denise has presented at several state and national conferences, including repeat appearances at the Florida Educational Technology Conference, Magnet Schools of America National Conference, and a presenter for Adobe and Microsoft at various Career and Technical Education conferences around the United States. She has even done several national and international webinars related to career and technical training in high schools. Denise collaborated with The National Career and Technical Education Foundation (NCTEF) and Microsoft Corporation’s U.S. Partners in Learning to help develop the IT Career Cluster guide for the States ”College and Career Readiness Program” series. Denise collaborated with the local YMCA to develop and host “Tech Quest, a technology enrichment summer camp. Plus, she is the founding sponsor for an all-girls computer club called GO-4-IT (Girls Opting for Information Technology), which tackles the diversity issue in the computer science fields.

Tiffany Thompson is an Instructional Technologist with 15+ years in the education field including experience as a classroom teacher, STEM coordinator, and intervention specialist. After teaching first grade in Maryland, she moved to Tokyo, Japan where she gained a love for technology while completing her Master’s Degree. From there, her hands have consistently been in the “educational technology pot”. She currently consults and trains on instructional technology locally and nationally; designs and facilitates online workshops for Maryland State Department of Education; teaches a graduate level technology course at McDaniel College, and writes technology training content. She is a Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert, Surface Expert and Master Trainer.

In her many roles, Tiffany has led school initiatives as well as research to support interactive/digital and mobile learning, STEM education; written grants for digital technologies in her previous schools; planned and conducted numerous workshops for parents, educators, and students; written and developed content for online courses; and presented at local and national conferences.

Her educational background includes a Bachelor of Science degree in Early Childhood Education and an Administration and Supervision certificate from Maryland State Department of Education.

Her enthusiasm for developing 21st-century learners and innovative educators has inspired her to begin development on an app for educators. She is always willing to assist novice and veteran educators in finding new and creative ways to incorporate technology into their teaching. Her philosophy is, “To improve rigor and relevance in the classroom, teachers must become proficient and comfortable in using technology to create innovative and engaging lessons that extend students’ personal limits and potential. Using various instructional technology tools is key in advancing 21st-century skills.