Technology Integration Workshop

Educators will be energized and motivated by how much they learn during keynote and breakout sessions at TIW. Attendees are introduced to new and emerging technologies, as well as challenged to create innovative lesson plans for their classroom. The sessions are lively and timely, with discussion on new and leading educational trends.

Many experienced educators and other presenters share their knowledge during the workshop, encouraging attendees to think differently about how students can most effectively learn. Breakout sessions are used to introduce new teaching strategies, innovative educational technology tools, and accessible resources to support increased student engagement in the classroom.

Popular past sessions include:

• Coding
• Digital Collaborations & Digital Accessibility
• Formative Assessments
• Google Classroom
• Video Creation
• Virtual and Augmented Reality

During the workshop, educators are assigned to small groups, led by Technology Integration Specialists. These Specialists are experienced educators and tech integrationists and serve as a coaches, guides and mentors throughout the workshop experience to support their small groups in developing their unit plan, processing information learned in breakout sessions, and 1-on-1 coaching.

Educators are also matched with a volunteer from a leading Twin Cities business for a job shadow experience to better understand the workplace in action. You’ll discuss today’s work environment, what employers are seeking in young employees, and trends in business and their industry. This allows educators to hear about and teach specific workplace skills to their students and prepare them for future careers.

Each participant leaves the workshop with an updated unit plan that will be ready for the upcoming school year. Prior to attending the workshop, educators pre-select the unit plan they will work on, and during the workshop, participants are given dedicated time to apply the new information they’ve learned to modify and update that unit plan. For attendees who aren’t classroom teachers (i.e. counselors, principals, media specialists), they are given the option to work on a project or event plan in place of a unit plan. These completed unit plans are then posted to BestPrep’s Electronic Lesson Library after the workshop concludes.