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Professional Development

Presentations and Professional Development Planning

Regional Innovators Group

  • Co-Founder Regional Innovators group. Members work to support other technology coaches to growth in their technical knowledge and coaching skills. Coordinated and facilitated meetings held throughout northeast Wisconsin. Communicating information to members in a variety of ways to schedule, plan, and share resources. Created a network of job-alike individuals to support each other who now collaborate on projects and learning activities.

Conferences and Presentations

  • SLATE 2021 - Wisconsin Dells - Digital Scavenger Hunts - Digital Storytelling

  • WEMTA 2016-2021 - Wisconsin Dells -Google Drawing as a Creation Tool,-Student Voice-Formative Assessment

  • SITA 2014-2021 - St. Norbert College - Digital Scavenger Hunts - Google Drawing as a Creation Tool,-Student Voice-Formative Assessment - Creative Writing Have You Met Google Slides?

  • Brainstorm 2020 -2022 - Wisconsin Dells -

  • Midwest Google Summit 2017-2020 - Wisconsin Dells - Student Voice and Choice -Google Forms More Than A Survey Tool

  • ISTE 2015, 2016, 2018 - Student Voice and Choice (2016 - Denver)

  • ICE 2016 - Digital Scavenger Hunts -Formative Assessment Can Be Fun!

  • Summer Spark 2016-2019- University School Milwaukee - Variety of Topics

  • Waukesha School District 2017 -  ½ day staff inservice - Student Creation and Student Voice using the iPad

  • Chilton  School District 2016 - ½ day staff inservice - Engaging Students Using Technology Purposefully. 

  • Tundra Tool Slam 2018-2022 - Neville Public Museum, Green Bay - Variety of technology topics.

  • Keynote Speaker Little Chute Technology In-Service

  • Teacher Technology Trainings - Tech Tuesdays

  • Edcamp Green Bay - How to celebrate student success

  • Edcamp Home participant last three years

  • Timetravelingteach.weebly.com - My Educational Blog

  • Host #sstlap - Educational Twitter Chat for Social Studies -emphasis on student engagement

  • Technology Training on LMS systems, My Big Campus

  • Edcamp Madison - Gamification in the classroom with Michael Matera

 

Professional Development  

  • Viterbo University Administrator Licensure Program

  • ISTE 2014, 2015, 2016 & 2018

  • ICE

  • Edcamp Madison

  • Edcamp Green Bay

  • Twitter chats

  • Northeast Wisconsin Technology Integrators

  • 21st Century Skills Course 2013

  • Appleton Area School District Social Studies In-service 2011-12

  • Sophia Flipped Classroom

  • Google for Education Web Academy Training

  • Active participant in many Twitter educational chats

  • Economics Wisconsin Workshop 2012

  • Teaching about the Presidential Election Seminar workshop 2012

  • Making Civics Real – Colorado State University 2012    

  • Heritage Institute Teaching like a Historian 2012

  • Literacy Coursework – Cardinal Stritch University  2007

  • Literacy Initiative - Little Chute 2007

  • From the Courtroom to the Classroom 2006

  • Backward or Intelligent Design Curriculum Training 2007

  • Big6 Training 2004

  • SimpleK12 - Technology training

  • Learning Management Systems training, My Big Campus, Edmodo

Teaching is a complex and challenging profession.  As an educator I realize there are many things that I know, but so many more that I need to learn.  I strive to improve my own knowledge and understanding of the content areas I teach as well as strategies to enhance my instructional skills.  The following page outlines some of the professional development I have undertaken just in the past year.  There are many more examples of professional development activities that have shaped who I am, and how I teach students.  

I must admit a few years ago I didn't think I would ever be a proponent or advocate for the use of Twitter, but today I am a believer.  I connected with a sociology teacher from California over a year ago, and as we talked, he pushed me to check out a book called Teach Like a Pirate and to join Twitter.  I did both, and the last year has been one of the best of my professional life.  I have connected with so many amazing educators.  Twitter has allowed me to share and obtain great lessons, connect with passionate educators to inspire and push me to be a better educator.  Through these connections I have changed a lot of what I do in my classroom and have found tremendous success with my students.  I also have met several of these amazing educators face to face at edcamps in Green Bay, Madison, and online.  I have also been fortunate to expand my role in developing a Professional Leanring Community by hosting a social studies chat based on the book Teach Like a Pirate #sstlap on Thursday nights.  All of these experiences have allowed me to reflect on my practices, see validation for what I am trying to do, and see how awesome, passionate, educators conduct the business of educating and connecting to students all over the world.

 

 

Political Science 

Presidential Election​

Seminar

Online History Course

Political Science is a course that is exciting to teach. There have been so many political developments in the past few years that I have found myself much more engaged in the political process than ever before.  I have also found students have begun to tune in more.  Maybe it is the advent of shows like the Daily Show or the Colbert Report that give young people a different take on the events around them, but more students are engaging in political discussions.  While I enjoy the course, it is also challenging to find ways to take the content from text and make it meaningful for students and their lives.  I had the opportunity in September to attend a conference in Madison that was designed to help teachers utilize and create more meaningful political science lessons.  I walked away with several great ideas and resources that have helped me develop better lessons in my classroom.

Teaching Political Science Online Course

I just embarked on this journey of learning how to teach like a historian. It is an online course about the use of historical documents and presentation of significant ideals of American History.  I have only just begun, but thus far it has sparked my interest in learning more about the constitution, and how to develop lessons that will engage students in more thoughtful discussions about American history and our political landscape.  

Economics Wisconsin Conference

The annual economics conference two years ago was held at Lambeau Field and I was able to attend with two other district teachers.  It was an amazing experience to not only learn about economics, but many of the presentations went beyond economics to methodololgies or technology integration that inspired me to continue to grow my craft as an educator. 

I can't say enough about how impressed I was with this course.  The principles expressed in this course were based on constructivist ideas.  I found myself modifying and using lessons from this class as I was teaching my political science course.  I have also used the concept of authentic audience in other courses such as my world history activity where they present in front of members of the school board.  

Teacher Training and Collaboration 

Appleton Area Social Studies Teacher Training In Service on Technology and  Common Core 

Appleton School District offered a Professional Development day and I jumped at the opportunity.  I was excited to connect with teachers in the area and learn from others to improve my teaching skills and content knowledge.  

Over the last year our district has implemented the use of SimpleK12 for our professional development.  We have been able to do more individual learning tailored to our own needs and interests.  This has been a tremendous opportunity to access resources and collaborate with incredible educators. 

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