MiniCon 2023

The stars at night are big and bright

Deep in the heart of Texas

The prairie sky is wide and high

Deep in the heart of Texas

The sage in bloom is like perfume

Deep in the heart of Texas

Reminds me of the one that I love

Deep in the heart of Texas

Join us on February 20, 2023 at Van High School to experience the latest in innovative learning practices while celebrating where we've come in our journey as educators!

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A Message From our CTO

Thank you for your interest in our Ed Tech MiniCon. A few years ago, we decided that we would no longer offer boring in-service sessions. We wanted to offer a professional development product that was fun for us to plan and fun for educators to be a part of as well. Educational technology should be fun and engaging for our students, and thus, we wanted it to be for our teachers as well. We hope that you learn something new and that you take what you learn and pass it along to your fellow educators and more importantly, your students. You are welcome to visit us anytime. We are always willing to share ideas and help a colleague engage in creative problem-solving. Enjoy your time in Van ISD!

Jason Johnson

Director of Technology Services

Special Guest: Averie Bishop

Hi, I'm Averie

I'm the 85th anniversary Miss Texas and the first Asian American woman to represent the Lone Star state. I'm a first - generation law school graduate, social media consultant, viral influencer, and international nonprofit CEO.

Averie Bishop

Miss Texas

@averiebishop

Schedule & Session Information

SCHEDULE

SESSION INFO

MiniCon 2023 Presenters

Janet Corder

Janet is an educational technology consultant with experience as a classroom teacher, instructional technology coordinator and adjunct professor. Her passion for assisting educators learn new strategies for successfully integrating technology into their curriculum has provided her with many opportunities to present at national, state and local conferences and in school districts throughout the United States. She has co-authored four books on technology integration and professional development. Janet's served in various positions for the TCEA Board of Directors and was awarded ISTE’s Making It Happen award given to leaders in educational technology.

Andy Adams

Back in the 1900s, armed with the knowledge gained from Howard Payne University, Andy Adams started his teaching career in Abilene, Texas with a room full of 5th graders. He taught 4th and 5th grade for 11 years with other stops in Nacogdoches and Kilgore. For some reason, he obtained a Master’s degree from Stephen F Austin University and found himself as an assistant principal and then principal working with the stakeholders of Kilgore Intermediate School. His last role with the district was serving as the Instructional Technology Coordinator.

Since 2014, Andy has had the privilege of “clicking for a living” as the Digital Learning Coordinator at Region 7 ESC. His purpose is twofold--find tools and resources to allow students to THINK, CREATE and LEARN and help teachers become teaching gurus who use technology, not tech gurus who teach. Most of what he knows comes from Twitter and YouTube!! His mother thinks he is an engaging presenter with relevant ideas to implement in the classroom to impact student achievement.

Ps. He's met his rule of "80" with TRS, so be nice, or he might just take his marbles and go home.

MiniCon 2023 Van ISD Presenters

Destyn Crow

VHS CTE Teacher

Kelly Diaz

VMS Teacher

Abby Doring

VISD Communications

Berny Duke

Instructional Tech

Halee Haynes

1st Grade Teacher

Ginny Housden

VHS English Teacher

Kalen Hansen

Network Administrator

Brittany Kiefer

Instructional Tech

VHS Teacher

Joel Krouse

Jonatan Romero

JER Principal

Annie Byrd

1st-6th G/T Teacher

MiniCon 2023 Presenters

Carmen Dowdy

James Slaughter

Sonia Garcia

Sonia has been in education for 17 years, with 5 of those years at Region 10 in the BE/ESL and Data Solutions teams.

Carmen is in her 18th year of education. She spent seven years teaching 5th - 8th graders, five years as a district curriculum coordinator, and now she is in her 6th year as a curriculum coordinator at Region 7.

James is in his 15th year in education and his 7th year at the Region 7 ESC. He is a science nerd who enjoys spending time with his family, rock climbing, and dreaming of joining the Avengers. Teaching is his superpower, and he loves challenging, encouraging and inspiring people to learn.

Glenn Hervieux

Glenn Hervieux is an E-Rate Coordinator & consultant. He came from N. California where he worked as an educator, teaching multiple grade classrooms for seven years and then as a technology coordinator for several small school districts, including Siskiyou Union HSD, where he helped develop a technology program that included GSuite for Education, blended learning, and a 1:1 Chromebook program.

Erica Norman

Erica is a wife, mother of 3, and taught for 12 years. Last year she taught Anatomy and Physiology at Van High School, but before that, she taught 7th grade math for 3 years. She is currently a stay at home mom and enjoying every minute of it. In the future she plans to pursue a masters in education and would love to be an instructional coach.

Mandi Bush

Steffanie Palmisano-Lopez

Tiffany Crites

Mandi works as a Digital Learning Coach in Frisco ISD. In that role, she spends time collaborating with teachers to meaningfully integrate technology for student success. She has been in education for 20 years.

Mandi designs and leads engaging professional development trainings both online and virtually through various district LMS platforms (Moodle, Canvas, and Echo). Additionally, Mandi presents at local and state conferences (TCEA, TCCA, IdeaCon) on various topics in educational technology, coaching, and instructional best practices.

Steffanie is not only a teacher, but also a dental hygienist . She has been employed by Frisco ISD for 3 years and has been implementing project-based learning in her classroom for 2 years. She has presented at the ESC Region 11 conference and the TCCA TechTrek Conference.

Tiffany is a HS Librarian & Media Specialist in Frisco, TX at Panther Creek HS. After spending 8 years as a classroom teacher, transitioning to the library was the next step to impact all students and teachers on a larger scale.

She is a proud book hoarder, thrives on supporting teachers with resources and instructional strategies, and will join any club that involves coffee and conversations about books.

Hunter McConnell

Hunter McConnell has 5 years of experience teaching 6th and 7th grade Math, and 6 years of experience as an Instructional Technology Specialist for Tyler ISD and currently in Jacksonville ISD. Hunter has also started a robotics program in Tyler ISD for students in 1st - 12th grade from the ground up and he was the robotics coordinator for 4 years.

Brianna Hulshouser

Brianna is the Media Technology Specialist at Holloway in Whitehouse. She has been an MTS for 6 years and an educator for 11. She received her Master's Degree from Texas A&M Commerce in Educational Technology and Leadership and her undergraduate work was completed at The University of Texas at Tyler.

Kelci Meadows

Kelci spent 8 years in the Junior High history classroom and is currently in her 4th year as a Technology Integration Specialist. She has presented sessions in Tyler ISD, Whitehouse ISD, Region 7 & TCEA.

"Floral Designing Deep in the Heart of Texas"

iteam

Angie Reed

VHS

neumorphism white drop shadow banner sale

Kambryn Dunn

MiniCon 2023 Student Presenters

Coco Brown

"Giddy Up with Gimkit! "

Aranza Velazquez

Keaton Thomas

Alyssa Garner

Cassidy Stewart

floral

Keely Roberts VHS

Outline Lupine or Bluebonnet flower illustration.

STEAM Bus

Catch us at TCEA 2023

The STEAM Bus is Van ISD's newest learning resource for teachers and students in grades Pre-K – 12. It provides students with learning opportunities across a variety of STEAM disciplines. The beauty of the STEAM Bus is it's ability to travel to neighboring school districts to provide state-of-the-art, hands-on learning experiences. These activities are carefully designed to align with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS).

The Technology Services Department believes that effective and relevant technology integration leads to student engagement and success in the classroom and then in the world. It is our mission to help equip teachers, staff, and students to fulfill that goal.

Our team works to provide reliable technology to our students, both in-person and virtually. We value responsive, effective technical support of our hardware, software, and Internet service, and provide instruction and support in the use of technology programs and digital tools to achieve district goals.