Journeys to Belonging

Tia Luker-Putra has been living and working in China for the past seven years.  She us a STEAM, Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), and diversity nut. She is married to her beautiful wife and has a 6 lb. puppy and an 18-pound cat. She loves to hike and be outside.  Life, for her, is about having an adventure and getting the most out of it possible.  She loves to learn and has lived and traveled all over Canada, the United States, South Korea, China, Southeast Asia.  She has aspirations to travel more and she sews doggie bandannas for charity.

Twitter: @ThisIsAwesomeED

             #crazyPLN

Website: https://www.thisisawesomeed.com

Solarbuddy charity: https://solarbuddy.org

Chey Cheney Is a middle school teacher with 20 years of experience, originally from Ottawa, Ontario. He currently teaches Grade 8 in Toronto, Ontario and engages in coaching and leadership work with students in the school beyond instructional time.

Passionate about ELA, Chey infuses a teaching philosophy that centres around student agency, student voice and a strong commitment to social justice.  Inspired by the works of Kylene Beers, Desmond Cole and Barry Schwartz, Chey is always looking for a way to embed technology in the natural flow of learning. He actively cements a consistent dynamic that ascends from consumer, engager and creator in the learning opportunities he curates.

With a vast athletic background, Chey has coached elite level sports to the most fundamental community recreation leagues. He aims to form a physical education and competitive sports culture that centres on a holistic approach dedicated to inclusion and entry points for all students to enjoy and flourish in the physical education experience.

In addition to his Teachers degree Chey has a History Honours Degree, a History Teaching specialist and an Adolescent Reading Specialist.

Twitter: MrCCheney

Website: https://www.cheyandpav.com/cheypav

Pawan (Pav) Wander is an elementary school teacher with 15 years of experience hailing from Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada. Currently, she is teaching a Grade 6/7 split class, integrated with the Home School Program. Pav gratefully teaches in the same neighborhood where she grew up and went to school, and has thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to be able to work with students in such a familiar community.   

Pav loves to teach Science and Math and enjoys combining the two subjects into extracurricular activities that she leads with students. Pav has run programs in Robotics, Engineering, and Coding at the schools where she has taught and has loved watching students, especially females, thrive in areas of STEM. 

Thriving on listening to books and researching new pedagogies and themes in education, Pav loves learning about new ways of reaching and engaging with students, especially surrounding areas of podcasting, audio, and video editing, as these are areas she is new to!   

Pav has an Honours degree in Kinesiology and Health Science from York University in Toronto and completed her teaching certification from D’Youville College in Buffalo, New York. Fitness and athletics have always been important to Pav, and she endeavors to include as much physical activity in her day as possible!

Twitter: @PavWander  @StaffPodcast   @TheDriveVoicEd

IG: @the_staff_room_podcast

FB: The Staffroom Podcast

Website: https://www.cheyandpav.com

After graduating as an Environmental Engineer, Saadia worked for the government to ensure compliance by landfills and power generation facilities. She took a pause to raise her family and volunteer for several non-profits, ultimately discovering herself by being an active, responsible citizen in her hometown of Oviedo, Florida. Saadia believes meaningful friendships can be found in unexpected places. Her work to show neighbors how similar we are regardless of ethnic or religious differences led her to Preemptive Love. As a Gathering Coordinator, Saadia hopes to spread this message to communities nationwide. If she’s not participating at an event around town, you may find Saadia picking up after her two girls, reminding her husband where he left his wallet or saving the last three bananas for her famous banana bread.

Twitter: @QureshiSaadia

Facebook: Saadia Qureshi

Email: [email protected]

To learn more about Preemptive Love

How to start a gathering

Debbie Tannenbaum works as an Elementary School Technology Specialist in Fairfax County, VA. An educator with over twenty years of experience, Debbie Tannenbaum supports both staff and students to integrate technology tools into instruction through both co-teaching sessions and weekly technology classes. Debbie emphasizes working collaboratively with other educators to use technology tools that amplify student learning and empower student voice. She also blogs and shares her thoughts and reflections regularly on her website: https://www.tannenbaumtech.com. Her book, TRANSFORM: Techy Notes to Make Learning Sticky was recently published by Road to Awesome LLC. Debbie emphasizes using technology tools to empower students and give them opportunities that are not possible without the use of the technology.

Twitter & IG: @TannenbaumTech

Facebook: Debbie.l.Tannenbaum

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tannenbaumtech

Blog 

@TeachBetterTeam

@CodebreakerEdu

@_RoadToAwesome_

Douha Jemai has been a Tunisian computer science teacher for more than 14 years. She is a Microsoft Expert (MIEExpert), MIE Master Trainer, TeachSDGs Ambassador, and holds a  Masters degree in IT management. 

Twitter: @ochifaysel

Facebook: Jemai Douha

Douha's resources: https://bit.ly/3v1tUHm

                             https://bit.ly/2S82wJu

                             https://bit.ly/3eTE1IG

                             https://bit.ly/3bxz2vq

Teaching with Sustainable Development Goals: https://sdgs.un.org/goals

eTwinning: https://www.etwinning.net/en/pub/index.htm

Wakelet: https://wakelet.com

The World's Largest Lesson: https://worldslargestlesson.globalgoals.org/

Genein Letford is an award-winning educator, best-selling author, and global speaker on ‘Intercultural Creativity™’.  She is a leading voice on creating across cultural lines and she developed the 7 Gems of Intercultural Creativity framework for organizational success. As a TEDx speaker and top creativity trainer, she has inspired many educators and leaders to develop their creative abilities while establishing a climate of inclusion and belonging for their teams and classrooms. Pulling from her fifteen years of working with creative geniuses, her unique curriculum utilizes metaphorical strategies, heightened observation techniques, and the creative arts to reawaken intuitive thinking. She is the founder and Chief Creative Officer of CAFFE Strategies, LLC which trains leaders and educators on these essential skills and believes intercultural creative thinking is a critical skill for this future of work.

Social Media Links:

Websites: https://caffestrategies.com

               https://geneinletford.com

Genein's book:  From Debt to Destiny

Diversity Diamond

7 Gems

Her son's project: https://youtu.be/XQ5jStXjhmk

Intercultural Development Process, Dr. Mitchell Hammer

Intercultural Development Inventory

The Leader's Brain by Dr. Michael Platt: https://www.amazon.com/Leaders-Brain-Leadership-Innovation-Neuroscience/dp/1613630999

Tisha Poncio, M.S. Learning Technologies, is an energetic and enthusiastic learner, teacher, coach, and empowered educator. Tisha has served in education for the last 21 years. She has led students in the classroom teaching English, Web Design, Graphic Design, Business Computers, Programming, and Broadcast Journalism. She has also led educators and administrators as a digital learning specialist for 12 years. She is a Google Certified Trainer, a Flipgrid Ambassador, an Ed Tech Team Blogger, and was named a finalist in 2018 for Instructional Technology Specialist of the Year in Texas. She has presented at numerous educational technology conferences across the nation and in her home state of Texas speaking about empowering students, teachers, and leaders as well as digital citizenship for all ages. Her biggest accomplishment to date has been the creation of a student-led technology leadership group that helps her present on student voice, empowerment, and the #studentsCANlead movement.

Twitter: @TXTechChick

Instagram: @TishaPoncio

Clubhouse: @TishaPoncio

Meyer Briggs personality test 

https://www.16personalities.com

Enneagram test

https://www.enneagraminstitute.com/type-descriptions

Solve in Time (a problem-based learning & design thinking activity): https://solveintime.com/home/about

George Couros is a worldwide leader in the area of innovative teaching, learning, and leading, and has a focus on innovation as a human endeavor. His belief that meaningful change happens when you first connect to people’s hearts, is modeled in his writing and speaking. He has worked with all levels of school, from K-12 as a teacher, technology facilitator, and school and district administrator, and currently is a part-time professor with the University of Pennsylvania Literacy Network. George is also the author of the book, The Innovator’s Mindset; Empower Learning, Unleash Talent, and Lead a Culture of Creativity and his latest book, Innovate Inside the Box.

Twitter: @gcouros

Website with links to his courses and books: https://georgecouros.ca 

Barry Schwartz, The Paradox of Choice (TedTalk)

George Couros is a worldwide leader in the area of innovative teaching, learning, and leading, and has a focus on innovation as a human endeavor. His belief that meaningful change happens when you first connect to people’s hearts, is modeled in his writing and speaking. He has worked with all levels of school, from K-12 as a teacher, technology facilitator, and school and district administrator, and currently is a part-time professor with the University of Pennsylvania Literacy Network. George is also the author of the book, The Innovator’s Mindset; Empower Learning, Unleash Talent, and Lead a Culture of Creativity and his latest book, Innovate Inside the Box.

Twitter: @gcouros

George's website with links to his courses and books: https://georgecouros.ca