Conferences are a great way to meet other educators and share advice on how you engage students in the classroom through technology. However, with so many sessions and tracks at Spring CUE 2020 held at the Palm Springs Convention Center in California from March 19-21, it gets hard to decide where to go and when.
Our team at Ozobot looked over the agenda and picked our favorite can’t-miss sessions that we want to attend. Check out our recommended speakers and the topics they plan to cover.
Expressions of a 21st Century Learner with Spanish and Computer Science
Thursday, March 19, from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Mesquite F – Convention Center
Learn how the Orange Unified School District helps young learners hone their language and computer science skills through its immersive two-way language program. This presentation is a fantastic example of how technology can be a tool for immersive learning while also helping students build computer literacy and coding skills.
The presentation is led by Randy Kolset, coordinator of educational technology at OUSD. An educator in Orange County with more than 19 years of experience that has spanned all levels of teaching and administration, Kolset has been presenting at CUE since 2008.
3 Dudes Rocking the 4Cs: Primary Edition
Thursday, March 19, from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Primrose D – Convention Center
The 4Cs stand for creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, and communication. These are future-ready skills that will help students regardless of their career fields or changes in modern technology. Join speaker Ben Cogswell and presenters Michael Hughes and Eric Garcia as they explore how to hone the 4Cs in primary grades. This presentation will review how these skills are taught in three different classrooms and then attendees will learn how today’s technology can help students use the skills of tomorrow.
Cogswell, who is also known as Coach Ben, is a kindergarten teacher in the Alisal Union School District in Salinas, California. He regularly shares his presentations and lessons on his website, so follow him for tutorials on blended learning, Google 101, and how to create curious learners.
Protecting Students in the Digital Age: Why Privacy Matters
Thursday, March 19, from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m.
San Jacinto – Renaissance Hotel
As students use online apps and school-provided computers, they are generating data. Schools are gathering more data than ever — and few know exactly what to do with it or how to store it safely. This session for teachers and administrators will help attendees stay compliant with the law when handling student data. It will also cover the FERPA and COPPA laws. Greg Cox will be speaking on this topic, along with presenters David Sallay and Whitney Phillips.
Cox is a data privacy trainer for the Utah State Board of Education. He taught fourth and fifth grade for several years before working for an edtech startup and now the USBoE. In his current role, Cox creates videos and other materials to help teachers with student data privacy.
10 Ideas for Enhancing the PE Classroom Through Technology Integration
Thursday, March 19, from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Mesquite F – Convention Center
Technology can be used across the school experience, which means students have the opportunity to learn new subjects with tech and enhance their digital literacy in subjects they enjoy. Speaker Heather Lyn and presenter Phyllis Epling will discuss technology in the PE classroom, specifically through the use of iPads. Join Lyn as she walks participants through six apps for student use and four apps for the physical educator. Just make sure you stretch first.
Lyn has 16 years of teaching experience, both as a classroom educator and curriculum TOSA (teacher on special assignment). She has developed her own curriculum for a hybrid modeled class and has spent the past six years coaching teachers and staff on the 1:1 iPad classroom.
Read Between the Pixels: Finding Truth in the Age of Social Media
Friday, March 20, from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Pasadena – Renaissance Hotel
David Paszkiewicz is taking on digital literacy and challenging participants to consider where messages come from on social media and who is providing them. He’ll look at the world of social media influencers and discuss their goals. Paszkiewicz will also provide and demonstrate tools that educators can use to fact check statements and test their beliefs when consuming content on social media.
Paszkiewicz has 20 years of experience as a technology educator and works as a lead instructional specialist in La Cañada Unified School District. He actively lobbies administrators and teachers to adopt new technology and works to make sure they can use it to the best of their abilities.
Robotic and Social Equity
Friday, March 20, from 12:45 p.m. to 2:15 p.m.
Ballroom Foyer – Poster 1 – Renaissance Hotel
Robotics can change how students think about math, technology, and engineering — regardless of their background. This presentation will explore robotics instruction with inner-city fifth grade students. Speaker Kevin Obillo, Ed.D. wants attendees to understand why 1:1 technology isn’t enough to close the technology gap while also learning how to use robotics to engage students in STEAM fields.
Obillo is the main speaker for this presentation. He has been a grade five teacher for more than 25 years and currently teaches at Lowell Elementary School in the Santa Ana Unified School District. Obillo is also an adjunct professor in the School of Education at the University of Redlands.
Principals’ Journeys in Scaling Tech Integration Across Schools: Sharing Success and Challenges
Friday, March 20, from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Andreas – Renaissance Hotel
This presentation consists of a panel of four school principals who will discuss their challenges with adopting new forms of technology and scaling its use to the rest of the school and district. Topics will include staff communication, professional development, and school culture. The speakers will share how they worked together to develop and share technology while providing support to each other for the greater good of the school district.
Cindy Bak, Ed.D. is the principal of the Laguna Road Elementary School in the Fullerton School District in Orange County, California. She has been an administrator for four years and has 14 years of teaching experience before that. Her goal is to instill a passion for learning within her student body.
Cyber Champions: Creating Conscientious Cyber Citizens
Friday, March 20, from 2:45 p.m. to 4:15 p.m.
Ballroom Foyer – Poster 2 – Renaissance Hotel
Many teachers are trying to create engaging lesson plans around the topic of digital citizenship. So why not gamify it? Attendees will get to explore a game that encourages students to improve their knowledge of the web and overall netiquette. They can also participate in #DigCit conversations and use different tools to help students. Eduardo Rivera will be speaking on this topic, along with presenters Bhavini Patel, Kathy Surdin, and Ursula Fabiano.
Rivera, also known as EdTech Eddie on Twitter, is an instructional technology specialist for the Palm Springs Unified School District. He started as an algebra teacher but followed his love of technology in the classroom to his current role. Rivera has spoken at multiple conferences, including CUE.
Relevant Robotics: Integrating Creative Coding and Robots in Your Classroom
Saturday, March 21, from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Primrose D – Convention Center
Carrie Willis and Caitlin Arakawa are presenting this session with the belief that you don’t need a computer science degree to bring coding and robotics to the classroom. They want to show how this form of learning is approachable and an option for even the most technophobic teachers. It will be a mixture of personal stories and illustrative examples, and with free tools that educators can use when they’re first starting out.
Arakawa is a kindergarten teacher at Valley Preparatory School in Redlands, California. She tries to infuse technology into as many lessons as she can and uses it to engage her students. Arakawa also enjoys collaborating with other teachers and sharing tips to improve the education experience.
Back to the Future: Teaching for a Time That’s Yet to Exist
Saturday, March 21, from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Primrose D – Convention Center
Technology seems relatively new, but many teachers and schools have already shed past lesson plans and early technologies that first entered the classroom. This session will look back at these old technologies and see which key elements have lasted. The goal of this presentation is to realize that the lessons are the core concepts that students are learning, not the technology. Teachers need to prepare lessons for technology that has yet to be invented.
Jason Spence will be leading this presentation with Mike Gizzo. Spence is an innovation coach at Poway Unified School District. In his 13 years of teaching, Spence has taught almost all grade levels K-8 and has served as a coach for the past five. He works closely with teachers to integrate technology and utilize the 1:1 classroom.
Flying Toilets: Teaching in a Digital Makerspace
Saturday, March 21, from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Madera – Renaissance Hotel
If you want to provide a makerspace for your students, but lack the resources or space, then attend this session to learn how you can create a digital-makerspace your students will love. Your makerspace can engage students in problem-based learning and get them excited about STEAM concepts even if you don’t have a woodshop or 3D printer on hand.
Lora Carey is a fifth grade teacher at Monte Bella Elementary in California. She has specialized in teaching math over the past five years while incorporating computer science and a makerspaces into her classroom. Carey also teaches an after school makerspace enrichment program.
Cyber Security Made Simple
Saturday, March 21, from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Smoketree C – Convention Center
Cybersecurity breaches aren’t limited to large corporations. Schools collect a significant amount of data on students and are at risk of losing it if the information is not protected. This presentation will guide teachers and administrators through the process of safeguarding their data as their classrooms become increasingly more connected.
Michael Dreyfus-Pai, director of technology at the Catholic Schools Diocese of Oakland, is the speaker and will be presenting with Mia Gittlen. Dreyfus-Pai has previously worked as a math and technology teacher as well as a technology coordinator. He thinks a lot about the intersection of technology and education. He is the vice president of East Bay CUE and spoke at Fall CUE.
Find Ozobot at Spring CUE 2020
While there are dozens of presentations to help you improve your classroom and engage your students, take time to find Ozobot on the vendor floor. Tell us how you bring Evo and Bit to life in the classroom or try out our tech to see if it’s right for you. We can’t wait to see you!
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