Presenters

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. Andy now has 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.

Sessions: Discovery Eduction 101, Discovery Education 102-the Next Level, Stop Repeating Yourself - The Power of Instructional Video, The Adventure of Small Groups - Using Tech to Manage Stations

Katherine has been teaching Floral Design at VHS for seven years. In those seven years, her students have earned numerous awards for local events.

Session: Teaching in Reverse

Outstanding floral design students at Van High School who have done an outstanding job in UIL competitions! Check them out!

Session: Teaching in Reverse

Joyce is in her 5th year of education at Van Intermediate. She has a Master's Degree in Curriculum and Instruction. This will be her fourth year to present at MiniCon! She loves using technology to engage her students and to make her job a little easier.

Session: Mission: Tech Possible

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 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. And she's just a lot of fun! Check out her website!

Sessions: Guided Adventure with Nearpod, Tech. Tools for Early Learning, Tech. Tools You Have Forgotten About, Transform Your Classroom Activities - Tech. & Non-Tech.

Kelly is in her 20th year in education (including a year run in substitute teaching all grade levels) Kelly is no stranger to MiniCon and loves sharing her expertise with her colleagues and district-wide. She enjoys learning about technology and how to best engage her students with it.

Session: Adventure Awaits: Bringing Stories Alive with Storyboard That

Berny is currently in her 9th year of being in the education world. With eight of those years being in the foreign language classroom. Even though she is still semi-new to the ed. tech. world, her contributions to Van ISD in the previous years officially allowed her to join the district's innovative Instructional Technology team this year.

*Google Certified Educator

Sessions: Lunch & Learn Twitter Chat

Kalen has been with Van ISD for 14 years serving the last 2 years as the network administrator. He graduated from Tyler Junior College in 2012 and the University of Texas at Tyler in 2018. His hobbies include PC gaming and miniature modeling.

Sessions: Cybersecurity, Infosec

Chessa has taught for 14 years in the Elementary classroom. She enjoys using technology in the classroom and is excited to share things she has learned!

Shawnna has 17 years of experience in Elementary Education. Shawnna has previously presented on Seesaw and Scratch Jr. to Elementary teachers and is currently a Seesaw Ambassador. Shawnna is a lifelong learner and enjoys sharing her expertise with her colleagues.

Session: Getting Creative with Book Creator

Glenn Hervieux is an E-Rate Coordinator & consultant after spending the past six years as an Instructional Technology Specialist for Van ISD. 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.

Session: Mobile Minds - Drive Your Own Learning!

Marcie has been in education for 25 years. Thirteen of those years she spent in the classroom teaching science and math. Marcie has been a counselor for the past 12 years

Session: Helping Students on Their Crusade to Navigate a Digital Life

Joel Krouse has taught at VHS for the past 38 years. He is known for fully engaging his students. When not in the classroom, you can find him at local events making balloon animals.

Session: Stop Motion Animation for iPad

Erica has been in education for 9 years. She came to Van during one of the most difficult times in education, but having a supportive team and an innovative district guiding her, allowed Erica to succeed in the classroom and virtual teaching. Erica currently teaches Spanish at VHS, leads the student council, and has taught adult ESL classes for the past two years. This will be her first time presenting at MiniCon.

Session: Make Art with Google Sheets

Ashley has been in education for 14 years, with those first six years being in dual language -first grade. Ashley is no stranger to presenting at MiniCon. She has previously presented on topics ranging from classroom management to Google sites. Ashley enjoys traveling, going on mini-vacations, movie nights with the family, and playing games.

Session: iMovie Projects and Canva

Amy is a 12-year educator. She has taught High School Biology, 7th Grade Science and even had a stint teaching Pre-K! Amy has presented at TCEA and ISTE. When she’s not helping teachers integrate tech into their lessons or aboard the STEAM bus, you can find her cheering on her boys at Vandal sporting events.

*Google Certified Educator

Sessions: STAAR Online - A Sneak Peek

This may be Dawn’s first year at Van ISD, but not her first year in education. Dawn has been in the education world for 25 years. With some of those years being international. She has presented previously at ASCI (Association of Christian Schools International) When not helping her students navigate the English language, Dawn can be found supporting her daughter Alicia at Vandal sporting events.

Session: Creating Intentional Academic Conversations, Use GET for Math

Erica is a wife, mother of 3, and is in her twelfth year of teaching. She currently teaches Anatomy and Physiology at Van High School, but before that, she taught 7th-grade math for 3 years. She is always looking for ways to "upgrade" her teaching software and meet her students where they are in this digital world.

Session: Flipped Classroom

Mr. Rainey has been in education for over 35 years. When he is not teaching Chemistry at VHS, you can find him supporting his children at Vandal Sporting events.

Session: Indiana Jones Jeopardy

Ms. Sneed is an 18-year educator. After obtaining a B.A. ('03) from the Texas A & M University-Corpus Christi, Ms. Sneed began her teaching career at United South HS in Laredo. After moving to East Texas, she taught English for several years at Terrell HS and then moved to Canton HS where she taught English and was a Speech & Debate Coach for 10 years. Ms. Sneed has taught 9th and 10th grade English at Van HS for the last 5 years and is proud to be a Vandal! A life-long learner, she enjoys all of the new and innovative technology that Van ISD has made available for classroom use in their district. Ms. Sneed is a member of TCEA and is a Google Level 1 Certified Educator.

Session: Interactive Digital Notebooks

After obtaining a B.A. ('98) and an M.A. ('00) from the University of North Texas, Mrs. Stewart briefly taught at Blinn Community College and Trinity Valley Community College before finding her true home in the public school classroom. She currently teaches 11th grade English and is leading the iTeam for Van High School. Joanna is married to her high school sweetheart and they have 3 very active children. When she is not getting her kids to practices and games, she enjoys traveling with her family, teaching in youth programs at her church, and following her favorite EdTech heroes on Twitter.

Sessions: X Never, Ever Marks the Spot - Lunch & Learn Twitter Chat

Erin has a wide body of experience as a teacher, Instructional Media Specialist, Makerspace coordinator, and supervised & directed Van High School's student iTeam. She's a frequent presenter and is a very creative lesson and graphics designer. In her free time beyond teaching and family life, she is a musician and animal lover.

Session: Google Classroom Update

The iTeam's mission is to inspire innovative education through student leadership. Come be inspired as they share their learning!

Session: Where Shall I Find a New Adversary So Close to My Own Level - Level-Up with Game-Based Learning!

The iTeam's mission is to inspire innovative education through student leadership. Come be inspired as they share their learning!

Session: STEAM Adventure Boxes You Can Afford

The iTeam's mission is to inspire innovative education through student leadership. Come be inspired as they share their learning!

Session: Teleport Your Classroom Using Green Screen Magic

The iTeam's mission is to inspire innovative education through student leadership. Come be inspired as they share their learning!

Session: #Teacher TOK: Using TikTok to Connect with Students

The iTeam's mission is to inspire innovative education through student leadership. Come be inspired as they share their learning!

Session: Digital Portfolios