2019 BPSTechTalk

Boston Public Schools will be hosting its first BPSTechTalk during the 2019 Computer Science Education Week!

Download printable flyer

Join us for the inaugural BPSTechTalk! In honor of Computer Science Education Week, BPS is excited to spotlight the talents and best practices of our teachers and students working in technology and computer science.

BPSTechTalk

When: Thursday, December 12, 6:30-9pm (Doors open at 6pm)

Where: Bruce C. Bolling Building, School Committee Room

2300 Washington St. Roxbury MA 02120

The event is free and open to the public but please register to help us plan. Walk-ins are welcome.

Watch the event live.

Presenters

Anne Spitz

Itinerant Teacher of the Visually Impaired in BPS Related Services

For over twenty years, Anne has worked with children who are visually impaired or blind in preschool, resource room, and itinerant settings. She has developed specific interests in braille literacy and technology presenting at state and national conferences. She also creates webinars for professionals in the field.

Artenisa Osmani

7th Grade Student at Boston Latin Academy

Artenisa Osmani is a seventh grader at Boston Latin Academy. She originally came from Albania to the US when she was four. Artenisa is visually impaired due to retinopathy of prematurity and reads and writes in braille, and also uses a variety of pieces of technology to communicate. In her spare time, she enjoys reading mystery books and writing stories. She hopes to one day become an assistive technology professional.

Javier Ellis

12th Grade Student at Snowden International School

Javier Ellis is a senior at Snowden International School. He is an outgoing athlete and very passionate about basketball and fashion, especially shoes. He also likes poetry and video games.

Nilüfer Johnson

Teacher at Snowden International School and Advisor to Javier Ellis

Nilüfer Johnson is an ESL/ELA teacher at Snowden International School at Copley, teaching ESL and World Literature classes designed around technology. She is passionate about innovation and project based learning. She designs cross-curriculum learning opportunities for her students who are multilingual learners. This way they are exposed to real life situations where they need to demonstrate 21st century skills. Nilufer earned her B.A. in English Language Teaching from Uludag University, Turkey.

Marcus I. McNeill

10th Grade Student at Fenway High School

Marcus McNeill is a sophomore at Fenway High School and is passionate about community service, social justice, and politics. He likes to write and is in the process of completing his first novel. People describe Marcus as: ambitious, intelligent, and caring. Marcus' goal is to have a career in politics.

Cliff Freeman

BPS Alum and Director of STEM Programs at The Young People's Project

Cliff Freeman is a native of the Dorchester neighborhood in the very vibrant city of Boston, Massachusetts. He studied Computer Information Systems in undergrad and Technology Management as a graduate student at Wentworth Institute of Technology. Since the 10th grade, Cliff has been passionate about technology as he discovered the gifts that a STEM education could produce for himself and others who he cared about. Cliff is on a mission to develop a national model that will help broaden the participation in STEM education for communities like the one he grew up in, with emphasis on computing and computational thinking principles.

Robert Comeau

Teacher at Another Course to College

Robert Comeau has taught English at ACC for 20 years and, for the past two years, he has taught technology in ACC's new makerspace. He has a passion for constructivist education, where students create their own understanding of complex texts and a dynamic world. He sees the maker movement as a natural extension of constructivism, where students bring their ideas to life and impact change in the world through their inventions and creativity.

Michelle Callaway

Teacher at McKay K-8 School

Michelle Callaway is a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania native who initially came to Boston to study at Boston University. After working in Newton as a special education aide, she joined BPS in 2017 as a STEM teacher at the Samuel Adams Elementary School in East Boston. This school year, she started working in the same position at the McKay K-8 School, also located in East Boston. She is passionate about teaching computer science and digital citizenship to elementary-aged children.

Yuyu Chen

Teacher at Josiah Quincy Upper School

Yuyu Chen has taught at Josiah Quincy Upper School for the past 8 years and Excel High School for 3 years. He is currently teaching Physics and Engineering Design. He was the FIRST Robotics Coach for two years and has worked for Boston University's U-Design Program for the past 5 years teaching Lego Robotics under the BU's School of Engineering's Department for middle and high school students.

Jessica Kahan

Teacher at The English High School

Jessica Kahan is a veteran teacher for over twenty years and an ESL Technology teacher at The English High School in Boston, where she has worked for the past five years. Over the course of her career, Jessica has worked with students from a variety of socioeconomic backgrounds in school systems including Georgia, New Jersey, New York, and Massachusetts. She is incredibly passionate about helping her ESL students manifest their potential and achieve real-world success beyond high school.

Special Thanks To:

Video recording of the event is made possible by students in the Media Arts program at Madison Park Technical Vocational High School.

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