Apple Education Development Executive: Education Research and Innovation
Dr. Shawn Lennie is a National Leadership for Learning Specialist at Apple Education Canada. His portfolio includes a focus on Innovation, leadership and research and over the past four years he has had the privilege of working with educators in a variety of contexts across the country. Guided by the promise of the future for his two beautiful daughters, he focuses on how ICT can be leveraged in meaningful ways to support the life-long journey of the learning, from k-20 and beyond. His doctoral work explored the ethical issues of using technology in education, which has led him to adopt a critical approach to ICT integration that focuses on not on what technology is being used but rather on what it is being used for.
He came to this role as Associate Professor at the Sheridan Institute for Technology and Advanced Learning as well as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology faculty of Education. He became an Apple Distinguished Educator in 2013 and has spent the last four years working with educators from across the country as they strive to use technology to access the abilities of students. He is inspired by the work of critical media theorists such as Neil Postman and Marshall McLuhan and educational philosophers such as Ken Robinson, Sugata Mitra and Gerver Tully. He adamantly resists the label of being the “technology guy” and prefers the term “educator”, “storyteller, or “philosopher”.
Sessions Offered:
- Future of Learning (Key Note Presentation)
- Reaching All Learners
- Everyone Can Create
Coulter Lewis
Microsoft Modern Classroom Experience Manager
Coulter Lewis holds undergraduate degrees in Education and Psychology. After a few years of extensive travel he returned to obtain his Master’s of Education from Niagara University and completed a Master’s thesis focused on Motivation in the Classroom. Coulter decided to take his teaching credentials around the world with stops in Dubai, Australia and most recently San Francisco as a Language Arts Specialist. His experience has provided him opportunities to work in schools where technology was utilized to communicate and collaborate with students, parents and colleagues. His role now allows him to share his experiences, passion and knowledge of educational technology to support educators and their students.
Session Offered: The Future of Learning is here – Moving Beyond 21st Century Learning
Ammar Aquil
Microsoft Modern Classroom Experience Manager
Ammar graduated from the Masters of Teaching program through the University of Toronto, with his master’s thesis focusing on implementing commercial videogames in the classroom. Through a combination of practical classroom experience, research and education Ammar is empowered by his experiences and knowledge of Microsoft’s learning tools, and hopes to help share their capabilities with fellow educators.
Session Offered: Gamification of Learning: Coding + STEM in Minecraft: Education Edition
Emily Fitzpatrick
Director of Professional Development, Canada, EdTechTeam
Emily is a former classroom teacher with experience in math, computer science, ESL and special education in Canada, Belgium and the UK. As a Certified Trainer and Innovator, Emily believes that technology should be accessible by all students in all subjects to deepen their understanding and create real-world connections. With EdTechTeam, Canada Emily helps to facilitate professional learning opportunities with Teachers, Administrators, Parents and Students
Session Offered: Tips for the G Suite Classroom & Google Educator Certifications
Alek Kolga, MS, OCT
Education Consultant, Smart Technologies
Alek began teaching with SMART Technologies in 2008. He now works with Curriculum Technologists and Administrators across Canada to improve learning outcomes. Focusing on updates to SMART features, workflows, and integrations, Alek consults on practical, easy to use tools that leverage digital to create 21st Century environments for deeper learning. SMART’s goal is to connect students, lesson content and devices to create interactive experiences that elevate outcomes.
Session Offered: Deeper Learning with SMART Technologies
Jennifer Montgomery
Jennifer Montgomery is an Ontario educator who is currently at TVO on secondment from the York Region District School Board where she was involved in Special Education, Equity, and Technology Enabled Learning at school and area levels. She is also currently pursuing a Doctorate in Educational Leadership and Policy at OISE-UT.
Visit her website at: http://individual.utoronto.ca/jennmonty/
Or follow her on twitter @skoolsmartz
Session Offered: #Neverstoplearning with TVO
Jane Silva
Jane Silva is an experienced educational leader, designer and consultant working with partners across Ontario. Currently, on secondment from the Toronto District School Board. Jane is an Instructional Liaison in Digital Learning at TVO’s educational partnerships and Digital Education division and TVO’s mPower lead. Jane has an extensive experience in various leadership roles including; Curriculum Writer at York University, Mathematics Curriculum writer for MLM MadCap Corp, Accreditation Member for the Ontario College of Teachers, Director, Program Conference Chair, Facilities Conference Chair for Ontario Association for Mathematics Education, Content Writer for Nelson Education, Instructor of Mathematics AQ courses and Mathematics AQ Curriculum Writer for Niagara University, and Instructional Leader at the Toronto District School Board. Jane
enjoys collaborating with partners across Ontario to inspire a love of learning.
Session Offered: #Neverstoplearning with TVO
Marisa Hoskins
BSS Arcade-Junior School Girls Create Games
Marisa is a Technology Integration Specialist at The Bishop Strachan School in Toronto. She has worked in education for 9 years. Prior to her work as a Technology Integration Specialist, Marisa taught Senior School Technology and Design at Canadian international schools in both Hong Kong and Mainland China. She is passionate about utilizing digital technologies to create transformative learning experiences for students as well as developing hands-on learning opportunities for students that instill a level of curiosity and enthusiasm for learning.
Session Offered: School Girls Create Games
Rubaina Khan
Rubaina just completed her M.A. in Curriculum & Pedagogy and is now a Ph.D. student in the same department. She moved to Toronto for her M.A. from Singapore where she was teaching engineering design and robotics to engineering students. Before that, Rubaina worked for MIT as a research engineer designing and building marine robots.
Session Offered: Robotics
Sarah Sils
Sarah Sils graduated with an Engineering degree from Michigan State University and worked for a decade in the Canadian Telecommunications industry. She lived in Australia, Singapore and the Philippines taking on engineering roles along the way. Back in Canada, she focused on family for a number of years prior to teaching Middle School math and science. She began mentoring FIRST Lego League Jr. teams, FIRST Lego League teams, VEX in the classroom and a FIRST Robotics team. She is now a FIRST Senior Mentor and her passion lies with promoting STEM fields as awesome careers. She has a special interest in reaching ALL students with this message and sees teachers as important role models.
Session Offered: Robotics
Paul Alexander
Paul is a Ph.D. candidate within OISE at the University of Toronto. Prior to returning to graduate school, Paul spent several years abroad teaching digital media, instructional technology, course design and educational technology at the graduate-level to teacher candidates. Paul has continued his professional development at OISE of implementing online and blended learning approaches in education, while customizing content and learning management systems. To this end, Paul wishes to further explore issues related to gamification and social presence in online learning environments, while also examining the utility of 360° classroom videos and virtual reality as a means of teacher education.
Session Offered: Immersive Technology
Emily Hector
Emily is the Instruction and Public Services Librarian at the OISE Library. In her role, she serves as head of circulation and coordinates library workshop instruction. Emily holds an MA in English from the University of Victoria and an MLIS from the University of British Columbia. She is excited for students to explore all the great resources that the Library has to offer!
Session Offered: Makerspace
Jenna Mlynaryk
Jenna is a graduate student in Library and Information Studies at the University of Toronto iSchool. Jenna holds an English degree from Queen’s University, where she also specialized in Digital Humanities. Jenna currently works as a Toronto Academic Library intern at OISE Library, and is excited to help teachers learn about technology resources for their classrooms.
Session Offered: Coding for Your Classroom: Learn to Code With Scratch