2024 Session Descriptions & Presenter Bios
Bridging Literacy and Computer Game Design
Narrative stories and computer games have so much in common. Think about it: heroes and villains, obstacles, an objective and a journey, alliances – the list goes on! Computer games can be a dynamic form of storytelling, merging traditional narrative techniques with interactive elements. This session explores how to leverage these connections to develop a unit of work that connects coding with writing. Emma will share a detailed sequence of learning (intended for students aged 10-14) and multiple student examples from classrooms in Melbourne, Australia. By the end of the session, educators will be equipped with the tools and confidence to inspire their students, transforming disengaged writers into enthusiastic storytellers and hesitant programmers into innovative game developers.
Emma Ross
STEM Education Consultant, The Maker Difference
Emma is an award-winning educator, STEM Education consultant and Makerspace enthusiast. She works with leadership teams and teachers to support STEM programs, set up Makerspaces and deliver professional development on STEM and student voice.
Her passion for innovative education and belief in the benefit of STEM programs and Makerspace learning environments has led her to complete a Masters of Education and conduct case study research on Makerspaces. This resulted in the creation of an evidence-based Makerspace Pedagogical Framework, which is used in schools today. She is based in Melbourne, Australia.
NASA eClips: Resources to Support Engineering Design
Joan Harper-Neely, a creator of NASA's eClips videos and educator guides, will present on increasing STEM literacy through the lens of NASA. This session will guide educators on using eClips resources. Learn how to align these standards-based videos, activities, and lessons with your curriculum. There will be a design and build opportunity. If you would like to participate, gather 3 to 6 plastic “Solo-like” cups (recycled cups are prefect), a variety of rubber bands, tape (masking or painters works well), string and or pipe cleaners, scissors, and a pushpin or other object to make small holes.
Joan Harper-Neely
STEM Education Specialist, National Institute of Aerospace
Joan Harper-Neely is the STEM Education Specialist for the National Institute of Aerospace. Her team produces the NASA eClips videos and educator guides. Joan enjoys planning and delivering educator webinars and face-to-face professional development on best practices for integrating STEM into the curriculum. Joan promotes teaching students to use, create, control, and access technology. She received her BS from Pennsylvania State University and MEd in Education from Regent University. As an adjunct professor at McDaniel College, Joan teaches a course exploring Technology's Impact on Learning.
The ISS Mimic Open Source Project
Bring space exploration into your high school classroom with the ISS MIMIC open source project. ISS MIMIC is a 1:100 scale articulating model of the International Space Station that runs off of live data streaming from the real ISS. It is made from 3D printed truss elements, crew modules, radiators, solar arrays, and visiting vehicles. It is open source and uses familiar STEM components like Arduino and Raspberry Pi and was designed to be built by students and space geeks everywhere! This session will give you the skills and support to create a project in your school.
Bryan Murphy
Associate Chief Engineer, Boeing’s ISS Program and Deep Space Exploration activities
Bryan Murphy is an Associate Chief Engineer for Boeing’s ISS Program and Deep Space Exploration activities. He has Bachelors and Masters degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Texas A&M University, and has over 20 years of experience in human spaceflight and aerospace, with the bulk of his career supporting ISS and the Space Shuttle programs, and recent focus on embedded sensor solutions and lunar/Mars exploration.
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Creating & Sustaining a School Makerspace
My presentation will focus on how to create a sustainable makerspace, especially in a school setting, by considering it as a library rather than a tech lab. Makerspaces that are embedded in their school communities are less likely to be cut or defunded, are more likely to represent their student population (especially regarding gender) and expand the reach of valuable maker experiences beyond the space. I will show examples of a variety of curriculum-based projects from not just STEM, but the arts and humanities as well.
Matt Zigler
Innovation and Technology Lab Coordinator, Bullis School
Matt Zigler is a teacher, artist, and maker and the author of the book Three Modes of Making. He is currently the Bullis Innovation and Technology Lab (BITlab) Coordinator at Bullis School in Potomac, Maryland, where he works with students and teachers to bring design thinking and the maker process into traditional content area classes. He teaches maker related classes and oversees a state of the art makerspace and Fab Lab. Matt holds an MFA from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, PA
Tinkering Mindset: Investigating Materials in Educational settings
Ryan will talk about the process of putting together his upcoming book, "The Tinkering Workshop: Explore, Invent & Build with Everyday Materials". He will share some behind the scenes stories and details about creating hands-on projects. Participants will spend time tinkering together with a couple open-ended experiences based on prompts found in the book. There will be time at the end to reflect together about ways to bring tinkering mindsets and materials investigations into different educational settings.
Ryan Jenkins
​Director and Lead Tinkerer, Wonderful Idea Company
Ryan Jenkins is the director and lead tinkerer at Wonderful Idea Company, a collaborative studio that creates playful resources to support STEAM education and the development of 21st century skills. He's a leader in the field of making and tinkering education and has partnered with children's museums, schools, universities, professional organizations and companies around the world.
Ryan got his start as a workshop leader and exhibit builder at the Tinkering Studio at the Exploratorium, a well-known science center in San Francisco, California. He developed summer programs at Tinkering School that blend large scale construction with learner-centric investigations of electronics, robotics, and programming. He has contributed to MAKE magazine, Instructables, SparkFun Education and the Tinkering Studio blog. He lives with his wife and son and they split their time between Southern California and Germany’s Black Forest region.
Battery Design Challenge
Learn how to implement a battery design challenge in your classroom. Jessica Amos used design-based learning in Undergraduate Chemistry Laboratory with both first- and second-semester general chemistry students to teach abstract concepts such as stoichiometry and electrochemistry. Students were challenged to design and build their batteries to light a red LED for the electrochemistry unit. Student drawings, research, prototypes, and reflection writings were used to assess the students' learning. In this session she will talk about the course and explain how you might implement a similar challenge in your classroom. This project can be easily adapted for any age group.
Jessica Amos
Assistant Professor of Chemistry, Wytheville Community College
Jessica Amos is an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Wytheville Community College. She received a Bachelor's Degree in Chemistry from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2014. She got her master's degree in chemistry with a specialization in Organic Chemistry at Indiana University in 2017. She then worked as a Laboratory Manager for Piedmont Virginia Community College from 2017 until 2020, when she accepted a faculty position at Wytheville Community College.
Yes (even) You Can Code with AI!
Don't know Python from Perl? Is HTML all IDK to you? Do you think JavaScript is the handwriting on your Starbucks cup? Even if you have never written a line of code in your life, you can with AI! In this session we will see how to use tools such as Gemini, ChatGPT and Claude to create code that you can use in Google Docs, Sheets, and Sites for learning games, simulations, activities, supports, time-savers, productivity helpers, and more.
Eric Curts
Technology Integration Specialist, Stark/Portage Area Computer Consortium (SPARCC)
Eric has been in education for 33 years, and currently serves as a Technology Integration Specialist for SPARCC in North Canton, Ohio. He also provides keynotes, professional development, and consulting for schools, organizations, and conferences all across the country. Eric's areas of expertise include artificial intelligence, Google tools, assistive tech, and creative ways to use technology in teaching and learning. He is an authorized Google Education Trainer and Innovator, and co-leads the Ohio Google Educator Group. Eric runs the award-winning blog www.ControlAltAchieve.com where all of his edtech resources can be found, and is the author of the book "Control Alt Achieve: Rebooting Your Classroom with Creative Google Projects".
Teaching Math Like a Maker
From geometry through trigonometry to calculus, math had practical problem-solving roots. We will describe ideas from our new book, Make: Math Teacher's Supplement, about how to think about the practical aspects of teaching math with 3D prints and hands-on projects, including how to assess learning and how to effectively create maker experiences to enhance traditional curriculum. We will talk through a few detailed examples from our Make:Geometry, Make: Trigonometry and Make:Calculus books to give concrete tips to teach central math curriculum topics like a maker. We will discuss how models were created in OpenSCAD, a free, open-source program, and guide participants through downloading the models and the process to customize them for their own teaching practice. In addition we will look at how 3D printed math models can be an accessibility boon for visually-impaired users.
Joan Horvath & Rich Cameron
Founders, Nonscriptum LLC
Joan Horvath and Rich “Whosawhatsis” Cameron are the founders of Nonscriptum LLC, a consulting and training firm founded in 2015 in Pasadena, California. Joan and Rich focus on teaching educators and scientists how to use maker tech, and in particular how to teach math in a more hands-on way. Together they have authored ten books for Make: and other publishers, written for Make: Magazine, and developed numerous courses for LinkedIn Learning (formerly Lynda.com). Joan is an MIT alumna, recovering rocket scientist and educator, and Rich is an open-source 3D printer hacker who designed the RepRap Wallace and Bukito 3D printers.
Engineering with Paper: Teaching Content with Mini Escape Rooms
Unlock the potential of learning with our innovative approach: have students design their own miniature escape rooms. Workshop participants will learn how to build mini escape rooms from just paper, tape and scissors. Our scaffolded "Engineering with Paper" methodology ensures a fun, creative, and open-ended project that caters to a wide range of grades and content topics. Creating table top escape rooms makes this type of project easy to implement in any classroom. Transform your classroom into an adventure zone and watch your students learn while having a blast!
Paula Frisch
Assistant Director, Dazzling Discoveries STEM Education Center
Co-creator, Engineering with Paper
Paula Frisch is a visual artist, educator and lifelong maker. She is Assistant Director of Dazzling Discoveries STEM Education Center and a co-creator of Engineering with Paper, a methodology for teaching hands-on projects. Paula holds an MFA in Social Practice from Queens CUNY and an MA in Developmental Psychology from Teachers College Columbia University.
Digital Storytelling in the Age of AI
The workshop "Be Your Best SELfie: Digital Storytelling in the Age of AI" will explore the use of artificial intelligence (AI) as a creative and critical thinking catalyst in digital storytelling projects for the Language Arts Literacy Classroom. AI tools can be used to create interactive stories, generate realistic visuals, add voice and emotion to student work. These tools can also be used for vocabulary enhancement, video production, and game design. This workshop will provide participants with the skills and knowledge they need to use AI tools to promote critical thinking in a makerspace classroom while amplifying student voice and creating powerful digital stories.
Dr. Shantel Scott
Founder, The Learning Doctor Consulting
Dr. Shantel Scott, a secondary educator for 20 years, aims to build calm, confident communicators through the development of innovative and personalized learning experiences. She advocates for social-emotional and culturally responsive technology integration in the classroom for students to be their best #Selfie. She holds a doctoral degree in Instructional Technology and Distance Education with a focus in online self-presentation. Through The Learning Doctor Consulting, and her roles as a Google for Education Certified Innovator and Trainer, Global GEG Leader, Monmouth University 2024 Social Justice Academy Fellow, and motivational speaker, she promotes the use of technology to amplify voices with educators across the globe.
Experiential Education: A Success Story
Join Christie Miga and Dale Dougherty as they discuss the Mayor Clayton's WonderLab, a STEAM activity center at Give Kids The World Village. This lab provides an approachable and accessible introduction of STEAM to guests on property. Give Kids The World Village is an 89-acre, nonprofit "storybook" resort in Central Florida. Here, children with critical illnesses and their families are treated to weeklong, cost-free vacations.
Christie Miga
Manager of Experiential Education, Give Kids The World Village
Christie Miga is an Atlanta-born experiential educator, artist, and innovator. With degrees in Studio Art and History, she taught in the classroom for over sixteen years. Through innovative and creative thinking, Christie became her school’s Director of Experiential Education. Christie now works as the Manager of Experiential Education at Give Kids The World Village, an 89-acre nonprofit resort in Florida that provides critically ill children and their families with week-long wish vacations at no cost. There she has recently opened a hands-on S.T.E.A.M. activity center for visiting families called Mayor Clayton’s WonderLab. She had a part in designing the lab alongside her husband, produced the scenic construction and fabrication, and designed all operational elements.
Hands-on with Tinkercad's Newest Tools and Features
Tinkercad, the popular CAD program used for designing 3D printable objects, has an amazing assortment of other free built-in capabilities. In this workshop, Tinkercad's newest tools and features will be explored along with techniques to integrate these features into your classes. We will review the redesigned Sim Lab which enables users to incorporate mechanics and physics simulations into their 3D models, and review Tinkercad's newest tools for prototyping and vector design creation.
Jason Erdreich
Educational Leader
Jason Erdreich is an educational leader, patented inventor, and all around tinkerer and maker of things. With more than 10 years of experience in K-12 and higher education technology, engineering, and design classrooms, Jason has worked to create engaging instructional spaces for students of all ages. Working with LulzBot, Makera, Autodesk, Packt, and more, Jason has become a leader in developing content and resources to empower learners of all levels to become effective problem solvers through design thinking, computer science, and STEM concepts as they bring their own incredible ideas to life.
Making a Difference with Infy Makers Awards: Small Grants and Professional Development Support for Educators
During this session you’ll have an opportunity to learn more about the Infy Makers Awards, a prestigious program designed to support your efforts in broadening access to maker education for K-12+ students and create pathways for students to engage in computer science. The program is open to educators from K-12 schools, universities, colleges, libraries, museums, makerspaces and youth-serving non-profit organizations.
Winning educators each receive a $10,000 grant and the opportunity to participate in the Making CS Inclusive Cohort, a personalized professional learning experience in 2025. The application for this year’s program will be open from Sept. 24th - Nov. 7th.
You’ll also hear directly from two amazing previous winners, Jeff Branson, Senior Director of STEAM Education & Partnerships at The Possible Zone (Boston, MA) and Aynul Dean, Teacher at BM Hanson Elementary School (Harvey, ND) who will share more about their projects and experience as Infy Makers Awards winners.
Infy Makers
Infosys Foundation USA
The Infy Makers Awards contest by Infosys Foundation USA is open to educators from K-12 schools, universities, colleges, libraries, museums, makerspaces and youth-serving non-profit organizations using maker education to promote equitable and inclusive pathways for K-12+ students in computer science. Ten winning educators will receive a $10,000 grant and the opportunity to participate in the Making CS Inclusive Cohort, a professional learning experience facilitated by Digital Promise from January to August 2024. The grant is flexible funding that can be used for materials, projects, research, community engagement and more. The awards are part of Infosys Foundation USA's support for maker education, including the #WhyIMake initiative.
Maker Projects for Classrooms: Lessons from the MIT Edgerton Center
From the K-12 Maker Lab at the MIT Edgerton Center, we will share project ideas and tutorials that are adaptable to a variety of curricula, content, and student readiness. All are free on our website and Instructables page. We also share resources on how to set up a Makerspace and how to get a maker culture going in school.
Diane Brancazio & Justin Schmidt
MIT Edgerton Center
Diane Brancazio is the founding leader of the K-12 Maker initiative at the MIT Edgerton Center. We support teachers in becoming facilitators of Maker projects and in creating a school culture of experimentation, collaboration, self-direction, and joy in learning.
Earlier in my career I worked in product design as a mechanical engineer and taught engineering design and computer science in public school. I love how the K-12 Maker program allows me to learn lots of new technologies, work with students, and serve teachers.
Justin Schmidt- Since I could hold a screwdriver, I've been making, breaking, and fixing things. My passion lies in empowering others to do the same. Prior to joining the MIT Edgerton Center, I established a Makerspace in a public middle school where I collaborated with teachers across subjects to engage students in meaningful Maker projects. I organized activities for ages 6-14 at a kid-centric makerspace and student-led school alternative. I facilitated public tool trainings at a community FabLab. At MIT, I support teachers in bringing making into their teaching practice, while also mentoring MIT students in our Student Project Lab.
STEAM for ALL Learners
Makerspace Alphabet Soup: The ABCs of STEAM for ALL Learners
STEAM activities foster SEL and executive functioning skills and are engaging for all students, especially those with special education needs or accommodations. I'll share UDL-aligned Makerspace lessons created to help increase accessibility and inclusive creative spaces for all students to engage, collaborate, share, fail forward, and learn together.
Emily Thomas
Technology Integrator and Trainer
Emily is a Technology Integrator and Trainer for Northeast Metro Intermediate School District 916, a former middle school German Teacher, and a Google Certified Trainer & Coach, ISTE Certified Educator, and one of the ISTE 20 to Watch in 2023. Throughout her time at 916, she has worked with staff and students to grow their instructional technology skills and meets everyone where they are at.
Emily's most recent project is an accessible STEAM Mobile Makerspace that will provide emergent education technology access to all students from pre-K through post-high school transition students. The kits provide students a differentiated means to complete different STEAM activities matched to their unique needs and abilities so every student has the opportunity to explore topics, like computational thinking, design thinking, robotics, VR and AR, and 3D printing!
Emily has presented at a variety of local, regional, national, and international conferences, both in-person and virtually. She uses her professional experiences, passion for technology, and drive to innovate student learning to inform and plan her training sessions, including one-on-one, group, and online.
Micro:bit Projects for Cross-Disciplinary Learning
This presentation will showcase a range of creative Micro:bit projects that demonstrate how this tiny device can be seamlessly integrated into the curriculum, making strong connections between curriculum, problem-solving, and real-life applications, exploring innovative ways to incorporate the Micro:bit into teaching practice and empower students to become active, engaged learners. This session will inspire students and educators by discovering the power of the Micro:bit in enhancing learning across various subjects and cultural contexts.
Cora Yang
Learning Tech Innovation Coach
Cora Yang, a Learning Tech Innovation Coach at an international school in Hong Kong, and a valuable member of the ACAMIS Technology Committee, as well as a part of the Learning2 Planning Team. She has experience in American curriculum, MYP and DP. She is renowned for her global contributions, sharing her insights at international schools, Google events, university conferences, and within the AutoDesk Community. An expert in MYP and DP technological innovation, Cora's expertise encompasses coding, robotics, VR, MakerEd, and AI. With a fervent belief in technology as a catalyst for transformation, she connects students to tangible experiences, fostering their resilience in the face of societal shifts. Cora's relentless curiosity drives her to continually delve into emerging technologies, empowering students to thrive in our evolving world.