2024 ICTE Fall Conference

SPARK VIDEO: Bot or Not?: All ELA educators are thinking about the growth of AI and its impact on writing instruction. AI tools can help our students with certain tasks, and they can be a hindrance in others. In this session, I will share a game I play with my students to help them recognize the benefits and drawbacks of AI-generated writing. We call the game "Bot or Not," and it's fast, fun, and easily customized. Participants in this session will learn, laugh, and leave with tools to help students engage in authentic conversations around the things AI writing can and cannot do.

SPARK Rural YA: This spark session will share findings and insights from previous book club discussions with Iowa teachers. Additionally, there will be an opportunity for teachers to sign up for the Spring 2025 iteration of the Reading Rural Book Club. Attendees will walk away with Rural YA Literature titles to share with their students.

SPARK Thought Experiment: I believe students like to go deeper than they think they can with their learning! Therefore, several years ago I began teaching a philosophy unit in my Advanced Placement Language and Composition classes.  In this session I will explain how I set up the unit (student-led Socratic seminars), offer a list of philosophical essays, and include a few philosophical thought experiments. There's more than a trolley problem!

Marci Rickords, Kaitlin Ritland, Quinn Dreasler, and Rachel Wagner, alums of Iowa Writing Project's Level I Institute 2023-2024, came away from class with a clear sense of the pedagogy and instructional practices it takes to create confident and capable student writers. Join these teacher-learners/teacher-leaders as they share what they know to be true about teaching writing: adult and peer response to student writing is crucial, student SEL is strengthened and supported through classroom writing, and reflective practices amplify student voice.

PRESENTATION MATERIALS (click on link here)

Come learn about how a rural English teacher brought a True Crime podcast into her curriculum and enhanced her students ability to openly discuss their opinions, accurately research, work as a team, and create their own podcasts.

Secondary students thrive when their identities are recognized, their skills honed in intellectual pursuits, their concerns honored with the chance to critically solve problems in their community, and their joy is centered in the classroom. Join a literacy professor, an English Language Arts /ELL educator, and Reading/SPED teacher in this interactive session as they share the insights, strategies, lessons, and assessments inspired by a year-long study of Gholdy Muhammed’s Unearthing Joy. Engaging strategies, authentic assessments, and on-line resources wll be shared with partipants.

Nothing bolsters us more as teachers of writing than producing writing ourselves. This session offers inspiration and time to compose around the theme of joy, specifically capturing moments of joy in our classrooms. No expertise is needed. No matter your creative writing experience, this session is for you.

Participants in this session will learn how to effectively collaborate with community organizations on impactful service learning projects that enhance student learning. Regardless of which texts students study, there are ample opportunities to take their learning beyond the classroom, bring what they read to life, and make a difference in their wider communities. Exploring high school students' experiences learning about the Syrian Civil War through literature and assisting with a home makeover for a refugee family in their community will provide both inspiration and a template for similar service projects.

Why do we still teach writing when Snapchat's AI will just write it for us? This session focuses on equipping students with pre-writing strategies that support them throughout a unit, reducing the temptation to rely solely on AI-generated essays. By building a robust student toolbox of effective pre-writing techniques, writing teachers can empower students to develop critical thinking, creativity, and writing skills.

Canva Presentation
AI Articles Bibliography

As a teacher of 10th-12th grade reluctant writers and presenters in a Composition course, I saw a need to go beyond traditional forms of essay writing. Data showed us that many students in our district do not go on to complete four-year degrees, and most of them stay in our community. Couple these pointers with the wild success of the show Hot Ones, and an idea was born! Learn how to empower your high school students to consider that their future community and career opportunities are waiting within your classroom!
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