Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Jessica Johnson Spotlight Speaker

Jessica Johnson is an Elementary School Principal and District Assessment Coordinator in Wisconsin. She is the 2014 Wisconsin Elementary School Principal of the Year! 

She has previously taught in Minnesota and Arizona. She is passionate about reading, writing, Daily 5/CAFE, principal productivity, social media, technology integration, and the concept of leading with a “coaching hat” as an administrator. 

She has a self-published childrens’ novel, Adventures in Blockworld: A Novel for the Young Minecraft Fans. She co-moderates the #educoach chat on Twitter each Wednesday night at 9pm CST and also co-hosts the PrincipalPLN Podcast. 

You can follow Jessica on Twitter @PrincipalJ and follow her posts on her blog http://www.principalj.net/

Monday, December 15, 2014

Mike Slowinski Spotlight Speaker

Mike Slowinski is in his fourth year as the K-12 Library Media & Technology Coordinator for the School District of West De Pere. 

Mike has presented locally, regionally, and nationally on topics including innovative library design, emerging technologies and makerspaces in schools, and using social media and video games to teach literacy skills. Some of his other professional interests include immersive virtual environments, literacy development, and technology integration models. 

Through his work, Mike is a passionate advocate for the role of libraries in developing student creativity and innovation. 

You can follow Mike on Twitter@mikeslowinski and check out his West De Pere High School Library website.

Saturday, December 13, 2014

#WEMTA15 Conference Sessions Live

Wondering what sessions will be at the WEMTA 2015 Conference? Wondering who the Keynotes, Spotlight Speakers, and Session Presenters will be? Well the wait is over. The conference schedule is now live! Sign up or log in to bookmark your favorite sessions and sync them to your phone or calendar. http://wemta15.sched.org

Looking over the schedule, you will see that we have some fantastic professional development opportunities lined up for you. Make sure to share the schedule with the staff in your district. Here is a flyer you can provide for your administration and staff interested in learning more about our conference. Conference registration to open in early January.

Friday, December 12, 2014

Kasey Bell Spotlight Speaker

Kasey Bell is an digital learning consultant with a Master’s degree in educational technology. As a skillful facilitator, authorized Google Education Trainer and Google Certified Teacher, Kasey has led a variety of instructional technology trainings, including presentations at FETC, TCEA, Google Summits, and iPadpalooza. Kasey is co-leader of the North Texas Google Educator Group. 

Kasey’s blog, ShakeUpLearning.com, was recognized as a Must Read EdTech Blog for 2014, and go-to resource for Google tips and tricks. As a blogger, Kasey uses her blog to create and share original technology integration ideas, resources, cheat sheets, and more. 

You can follow Kasey on Twitter @ShakeUpLearning to see her sparkingling personality in action, view Kasey's Google Teacher Academy video.



Thursday, December 11, 2014

Chris Crutcher Author Keynote

Crutcher’s years as teacher, then director, of a K-12 alternative school in Oakland, California through the 1970’s, and his subsequent 20+ years as a therapist specializing in child abuse and neglect, inform his 13 novels and 2 collections of short stories. 

Chris has received a number of coveted awards, including the American Library Association’s Margaret A. Edwards Lifetime Achievement Award. His favorites are his two Intellectual Freedom awards, one from the National Council for Teachers of English and the other from the National Coalition Against Censorship. 

Five of Crutcher’s books appeared on an American Library Association list of the 100 Best Books for Teens of the Twentieth Century. 

You can follow Chris on Twitter @ChrisCrutcher and learn more about him by watching this video.


Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Dr. Kristen Swanson Keynote at WEMTA Conference

We are excited to let you know that Dr. Kristen Swanson will be the keynote at the WEMTA 2015 Conference.

An educational leader, Kristen is a renowned teacher, professional developer, writer, speaker, and consultant on impactful learning designs. 


She has worked directly under the tutelage of Dr. Grant Wiggins and authored both Professional Learning in the Digital Age (2013) and Unleashing Student Superpowers (2014). 

A founder of the Edcamp movement, Kristen is also passionate about effective teacher education. Kristen has a doctorate from Widener University in Educational Leadership. 

You can follow Kristen on Twitter @kristenswanson and watch her Viral Learning: Kristen Swanson at TEDxNYED video.

Save the Date

WEMTA Conference 2015
Sunday, March 22 - Tuesday, March 24th, 2015
Kalahari Resort in Wisconsin Dells, WI

Registration opens early January watch the conference website for updates.