WEMTA 2025 - Ignite and Inspire: Impacting Learning Together: Full Schedule

12:30pm CDT

Evidence-Based Strategies for Teaching Online Information Evaluation

Sunday March 9, 2025 12:30pm - 1:30pm CDT

Students need to be able to determine if information they find online is credible and trustworthy. Research reveals that traditional approaches to teaching evaluation often rely on outdated methods that can mislead students. This presentation will explore current trends and research in digital information evaluation, including popular techniques like lateral reading and SIFT. Attendees will learn about free, evidence-backed lessons and classroom resources designed to develop critical thinking and digital literacy.

Speakers

Jodi Pierre

Research & Instruction Librarian, University of Wisconsin-Green Bay

I am a Research & Instruction Librarian at UW-Green Bay Libraries. As a member of the technology and digital transformation team, I help manage the library website, LibGuides, and Primo VE discovery service (branded Search@UW).

Sunday March 9, 2025 12:30pm - 1:30pm CDT
Sheraton Wisconsin 6

Beginner, Elementary, Middle School, High School, Higher Education

Company Facilitating Professional Learning, Literacy

1:45pm CDT

Kindling Your Fires: Designing A Career Renaissance

Sunday March 9, 2025 1:45pm - 2:45pm CDT

Sheraton Wisconsin 6

Are you tired of feeling isolated, underappreciated, and unheard? Do you feel like your work experience is fine but wish it were amazing? We have been there, too! Join us for this interactive session, where we will share experiences, victories, and defeats and rally together to move into the programs and experiences that give us personal and professional joy.
Anticipate engaging in conversations around professional learning networks, self-actualization, career growth, self and program advocacy, connecting on current topics in library and educational leadership, and taking control of your Educator Effectiveness and performance reviews guided by your unique ambitions.

Speakers

Teresa Voss

Librarian, Verona Area School District

I believe that all students should see themselves and feel like the library, be it the physical space or the virtual, is their home. I serve as the high school and district librarian for the Verona Area School District. I have taught in all grade levels and internationally. These... Read More →

Val Edwards

Sunday March 9, 2025 1:45pm - 2:45pm CDT
Sheraton Wisconsin 6

Intermediate, Early childhood, Elementary, Middle School, High School, Higher Education

Company Advocacy, Collaborative Leadership, Personal-Professional Growth

3:00pm CDT

Impacting Teacher Mindset Through Professional Development

Sunday March 9, 2025 3:00pm - 4:00pm CDT

Sheraton Wisconsin 6

Acccording to many measures, almost half of new teachers leave teaching within five years. This statistic is one that has been true for decades, but little research has been done to understand why teachers leave the profession at such a high rate. One could argue that teachers leave the profession because there are few opportunities for a person to feel connected, effective or successful.

This presentation will help educators understand a new way to support teacher learning while developing teachers’ mindsets. Short interventions that instill these mindsets will greatly encourage teachers and allow them to feel safe and successful despite the many stressors found in schools. This will, ultimately, help with retention and promote a sense of effectiveness and success for educators.

Speakers

Ann Szekely

Sunday March 9, 2025 3:00pm - 4:00pm CDT
Sheraton Wisconsin 6

Intermediate, Early childhood, Elementary, Middle School, High School

Company Facilitating Professional Learning

8:45am CDT

Collaborative Classrooms: Strategies for Student Success

Monday March 10, 2025 8:45am - 9:45am CDT

Sheraton Wisconsin 6

Discover how Discovery Education resources can empower educators to create collaborative classrooms where students thrive in student-centered learning environments. Learn how to harness the power of a wide variety of resources including digital content such as images, videos, and podcasts, along with collaborative boards, interactive videos, and professional learning channels with a collection of research-based instructional strategies that foster collaboration and communication among peers. Maximize the impact of DE’s “ready-to-use” lessons and content to drive various instructional outcomes for all disciplines. Learn how districts utilize DE as their primary digital instructional content provider enabling student-centered learning classrooms. Leave with practical tips and resources to transform your classroom into a collaborative learning environment where students develop essential skills for success in academics and beyond. Join us to unlock the full potential of your students!

Speakers

Melissa Hampton

Regional Marketing Manager, Discovery Education

Megan Foster has been supporting Intermediate Units with Discovery Education since 2018. She previously taught 3rd and 4th grade in Denver Public Schools. She has a passion for elementary education and project-based learning.

Monday March 10, 2025 8:45am - 9:45am CDT
Sheraton Wisconsin 6

Beginner, Early childhood, Elementary, Middle School, High School

Company Culturally Responsive Instruction, Instructional Partnerships, Students as Creators

1:00pm CDT

Strategies for Effective K-12 Curriculum Resource Management

Monday March 10, 2025 1:00pm - 2:00pm CDT

Sheraton Wisconsin 6

Learn how to effectively manage and leverage standards-aligned digital curricular resources while creating engaging, interactive and accessible learning opportunities for your students. This session will explore how school districts are utilizing the SAFARI Montage Curriculum Learning Object Repository (C-LOR) to save teachers time searching, accessing and sharing vetted, high-quality digital resources to more efficiently support teaching and learning in various classroom environments. Attendees will explore how interoperability enables the SAFARI Montage platform to make this easier than ever by integrating with LMS’s, SIS’s, third-party content providers and even hardware manufacturers. Discover how the C-LOR’s best-in-class content management tools can help district administration teams manage, control and curate all digital resources from third-party book publishers, curriculum content creators and video streaming libraries at their district.

Speakers

Nicole O'Brien

Marketing Manager, Safari Montage

Betsy Masters is the Instructional Technology Implementation Specialist at SAFARI Montage. She is a lifetime educator with 25+ years of experience working with the School District of Pickens County, South Carolina. Throughout her career she has served as a classroom teacher, a technology... Read More →

Monday March 10, 2025 1:00pm - 2:00pm CDT
Sheraton Wisconsin 6

Beginner, Elementary, Middle School, High School

Company Culturally Responsive Instruction, Equitable Digital Access, Instructional Partnerships

3:00pm CDT

Inspiring Instruction: Ignite Learning with Britannica Education

Monday March 10, 2025 3:00pm - 4:00pm CDT

Sheraton Wisconsin 6

As an educator, your time is extremely valuable and free time is a rare commodity! Why not save the time and money you could spend tracking down high-quality digital resources and let Britannica support you! Meet Teach Britannica, an open-access resource that provides lessons, instructional strategies, and graphic organizers that connect Britannica School's usage (available to all WI educators through BadgerLink) to classroom instruction, positively impacting learning communities.

Attendees will leave with easy-to-implement lessons and strategies, paired with updated Britannica resources to help with lesson planning, serve as sub plans, and deepen engagement with high-quality, non-fiction content in the classroom.

In this session, attendees will: - Actively discuss their classroom practices and how to implement new resources into lesson planning - Partake in the gradual release of a lesson from Teach Britannica, with a worked example, group work, and sharing thoughts and ideas with colleagues - Conduct a gallery walk to showcase worked examples of Instructional Strategies that can easily be implemented in the classroom.

Speakers

Mike Benson

Britannica Education

Chris Heintz

Director, Customer Experience, Britannica Education

Chris began his career in education as a high school Social Studies teacher in Chicago. Since then, he's served in various roles in education management helping teachers navigate the complex world of assessments, data, and curriculum & instruction. Throughout it all, he's been dedicated... Read More →

Monday March 10, 2025 3:00pm - 4:00pm CDT
Sheraton Wisconsin 6

Intermediate, Early childhood, Elementary, Middle School

Company Literacy

8:15am CDT

Creating Computer Science Pathways at the Elementary Level: Where to put it. How to do it. Resources to support it.

Tuesday March 11, 2025 8:15am - 9:15am CDT

Sheraton Wisconsin 6

This session will walk participants through the process of building awareness and understanding around what computer science learning can look like at the K-6 level. We will include specific steps we have put in place to engage staff, gather feedback and make decisions around curricular resources to support this learning. We will also explore creative solutions for integrating this work into already full days including the use of library time.

We are gathering a variety of data and feedback to evaluate and inform our practices around integrating computer science at the elementary levels. We have seen growth and changes in student and teacher skills as well as confidence in their ability to master computer science principles. We will look at a variety of tools/platforms including CodeHS, code.org, and robots to support this work.

Speakers

Jennifer Schlie-Reed

Digital Learning Coach, School District of New Berlin

Jennifer Schlie-Reed is an ISTE Emerging Leader (2014), a Google Certified Innovator, a Google for Education Trainer and a PBS Digital Innovator (2015). She is a Digital Learning Coach in the School District of New Berlin and works with educators in grades K-12. She has also taught... Read More →

Caroline Haebig

Innovative, Inclusive Learning Consultant & Coach

Caroline D. Haebig works for the School District of New Berlin, a pK-12 district, in New Berlin, WI leading change by redefining learning using maker technology and design thinking, specializing in coaching for educators and administrators.

Tuesday March 11, 2025 8:15am - 9:15am CDT
Sheraton Wisconsin 6

Beginner, Elementary, Middle School

Company Coding, Facilitating Professional Learning, Students as Creators

9:30am CDT

Empowering Students Through Digital Storytelling: Building a Media Club for Creative Communication and Production

Tuesday March 11, 2025 9:30am - 10:30am CDT

Sheraton Wisconsin 6

Unlock the power of student creativity through storytelling, digital production, and multimedia communication in this dynamic workshop. Learn to build a thriving Media Club that empowers students to craft compelling narratives using WeVideo, photography, editing, and interviews. This session will show how a Media Club fosters creativity, collaboration, and digital literacy, while helping students become confident communicators and storytellers.

Through hands-on activities, you'll learn how to guide students in creating high-quality video projects from concept to production. This workshop provides actionable strategies to integrate digital storytelling into your classroom or after-school program.

Learning Targets:

Develop student storytelling skills with multimedia tools and techniques.
Master WeVideo for video editing, sound design, and visual effects.
Foster teamwork and collaboration in digital media projects.
Equip students with digital communication skills for the 21st century.
Leave with practical, innovative approaches you can implement right away!

Speakers

Trisha Sabel

Instructional Media Specialist, Manitowoc Public School District

Tuesday March 11, 2025 9:30am - 10:30am CDT
Sheraton Wisconsin 6

Beginner, Elementary, Middle School, High School, Higher Education

Company Students as Creators