Vermont Fest 2024

In this session, we will explore how artificial intelligence is transforming the educational landscape. Educators will gain access to a practical toolkit filled with AI-driven tools and resources that can enhance and streamline instruction to foster student engagement. As we navigate these new technologies, we'll also discuss the magnitude of change required—rethinking traditional teaching practices, integrating AI into everyday learning, and ensuring equity and access for all students. This session is designed to empower teachers to confidently adopt AI, transforming their classrooms for the future.

Teachers will learn how to effectively use tools like Gemini, ChatGPT, Bing AI, and Magic Schools AI to enhance lesson planning, curriculum development, and classroom instruction. Discover how these tools can work for you to create differentiated lessons, generate lesson summaries that meet IEP accommodations or provide summaries for students who miss class due to illness, adjust reading assignments to appropriate Lexile levels, create newsletters for families, brainstorm project ideas of various DOK levels, and even provide feedback on simple formative assessments.

These tools can also be valuable for generating and proofreading email responses to challenging interactions. Beyond being a search engine or a tool for asking questions, AI can serve as a collaborative partner, helping teachers continually evolve their lessons to be more engaging.

By the end of the session, participants will gain valuable insights into how to make these tools work effectively in their specific educational areas. They will also have a better understanding of why these tools should not be blindly banned and how to incorporate them into lessons to demonstrate appropriate AI usage.

While most students may not have direct access to these tools at school, the reality is that they are likely using them on their personal devices and accounts. As educators, we can teach and model appropriate use of these tools to help students understand how they can be used to assist learning. For example, we can demonstrate how to ask effective questions to AI to get started on a large research project, such as "Gemini, can you provide me with a list of 10 resources to help me understand the use of electromagnetism in MRI machines?"

A real challenge, and opportunity, for educators, is to learn how to use AI thoughtfully, safely, and productively.  Hear about concerns and cautionary tales, as well as ways to address the challenges. The primary focus, however, will be on the positive ways you can use AI.  Using AI to summarize the vast AI offerings, this human will add current research, teaching strategies, and a comprehensive overview. See AI apps that will save you time, and quickly create teaching materials that supplement your current curriculum.  Other apps will demonstrate how AI can be used for brainstorming, creating first drafts and editing.  There will be an overview of amazing apps that assist children and adults with special needs.  A collection of anecdotes, research findings, and interviews will provide examples of successful uses of AI for professional productivity, instruction, and activities that will stir your imagination.  Come be amazed, inspired and informed.  Bring your spirit of adventure and sense of humor. At the end there will be a light-hearted summary and raffle prizes.

Explore strategies to bring invention design into your learning space (both in and out-of-school) with an introduction to the Young Inventors' Program and Vermont Invention Convention. This K-8 project-based curriculum is divided into grade level units, meets core standards, including the NGSS, and provides hands-on STEM activities to take students on an invention journey through the design process, culminating in a showcase of original inventions that may lead to local and national competitions, including the Vemront Invention Fair on February 8, 2025. Learners will have an opportunity for expression and creativity as they develop and practice higher-order thinking skills. This workshop will provide you with all the resources you need to bring the Young Inventors’ Program to your classroom, after school progrmak, library or other learning enviroment – all for FREE!

This interactive workshop is designed to introduce beginning and intermediate OPALS users to some of the essential features that BES Librarian Cheryl Doubleday has used to invigorate and promote a languishing school library. Participants will discover how to use OPALS as their Library’s home page, create engaging topic and genre walls, get their notices noticed, and personalize MARC records for more successful organizing and searching, plus more! Everyone will learn a trick or two, and there will be time for other experienced OPALS users to share their own OPALS wins.

Join Department of Library staff to learn more about the free databases, discussion sets, interlibrary loan services, and professional development resources that the Department offers. Discover resources to support you in providing accessible reading materials to students with IEPs. Learn about the ways that the Department support Vermont youth and how you can take advantage of these free resources.

Join us for an exclusive look at the latest version of Seesaw, featuring Instruction + Insights, designed to enhance classroom learning and simplify teacher workflows. This session will also introduce Seesaw’s powerful new Early Literacy and English Language Development (ELD) curriculum, tailored to support diverse learners and improve foundational skills. Discover how these tools can transform teaching, elevate student engagement, and provide meaningful insights to drive academic success.

This interactive workshop aims to equip participants with essential principles of design for effective visual communication using Canva for Schools (a free for schools). Attendees will learn to create visually appealing materials that demonstrate and model effective communication skills. While Canva also offers tools to create slide decks, videos, websites and more, we'll focus on using the Canva toolbox to design effective posters/flyers/infographics to print or share digitally. Presenter will also share experience acquiring and managing a wide-format printer in the school library setting.

As school leaders continue to navigate the Professional Development (PD) landscape, join WeVideo for an interactive session that examines innovative ideas on balancing asynchronous, synchronous, and personalized PD with faculty, staff, and administrators. We will uncover how Interactive Learning tools can help create a culture of proactive and immediate learning without compromising individual faculty and staff experience and training needs.