IETA 2023

Access to technology provides students with a multitude of ways to use their creativity to demonstrate what they think, what they want to know, and what they can do. This session will provide participants an opportunity to work through a student lesson from IDLA’s Everyone Can Create with iPads course, to learn how technology can be incorporated to support creativity in the learning process. Participants are encouraged to bring an iPad to the session if they have access to one. A limited number of iPads will be provided for those who do not already have access to one.

A Principal and a secondary teacher from a district who recently switched to standards-based grading will reflect on their experiences and will share the tips and tricks of moving to standards-based grading. Topics will include how to respond to kick-back from staff and community, common misconceptions, steps to launch, things to do and not do, and how they use Otus to support the Standards-Based Grading Process. Opportunities will be given for teams to discuss amongst themselves and ask questions. 

Maker education is fun, motivational, and effective, but often feels difficult to implement and utilize. Learn how we at JR Simplot Elementary in American Falls, Idaho started with a Makerspace, grew a school-wide maker mindset, and now use engineering design in daily instruction to prepare the next generation of independent problem-solvers. Listen to perspectives from a classroom teacher, school principal, and superintendent. Topics to be covered include:

1. The value of maker education and how we include it in everyday instruction
2. How you can implement maker education in your classroom right away
3. Why all students benefit from maker education, not just advanced students
4. Why business and community leaders value maker education
5. Where maker education, project-based learning, and STEAM intersect

The essential understandings offered through this presentation will include answers to the questions surrounding how to refine your RTii and PLC program structure and organizational support. It will also offer solutions to the staffing gap that may be inhibiting intervention and extension opportunities for all students.
An RTii process (Response to Intervention and Instruction) alongside a PLC (Professional Learning Community) are programs that keep student growth as the focus of your team’s work. We will showcase the systems and support structures of our successful online RTii and PLC program and how these practices support student intervention and extension in our Launchpad program.

Most schools do an abysmal job of promoting their stories in a way that prompts people to share and support what happens on campus. The perceived hurdles are technological, logistical, and psychological, and in this session, participants will learn how these hurdles are far less formidable than one might imagine. We will look at how to foster, gather, and share stories to build support for programs that can make the school truly distinctive.

We all know that we can get better. A cool idea here, an adapted technique there, and soon, we're reaching the next student - the one who has been such a challenge. One of the best pieces of teaching is getting kids like that to believe in themselves, so why not try something new that allows you and them to experience something fun, cool, and hopeful? Join in for ideas, techniques, and advice that can make you a little (or a lot) better now.

BLOXELS:
Bloxels is an educational tool used for ages eight and up. The basis of this tool is to allow students to create a platformer video game using pixel blocks. You can create pixel art, terrain layouts , animations, backgrounds, and even own characters for the game. Believe it or not, this kind of video game can teach your students to practice reading, writing, digital literacy, creative expression and different forms of narrative. Come unleash the inner gamer in you!

Network with your fellow secondary teachers.