Tag: speakers

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Kara Knollmeyer

Biography

Kara Knollmeyer is a wife, daughter, sister, and administrator in St. Louis, Missouri.  Kara is an award-winning educational leader who has been recognized for her contributions to the educational field. In 2017, Kara received the Midwest Spotlight Educator (METC) Award and in 2013 received the Missouri Outstanding Beginning Teacher Award (Missouri Association of Colleges for Teacher Education).

Kara has had the honor of being apart of incredible opportunities throughout her journey in elementary and secondary education. Kara has an abundant amount of experiences as a teacher, Language Arts Team Leader, New Teacher District Facilitator, Language Arts and Social Studies Curriculum Writer and Mentor Teacher. Currently, Kara serves as a Middle School Assistant Principal.

Kara believes everyone has unique gifts that only they can share with the world. Therefore, her mission is to unleash the talent of ourselves and others so we ALL can become who we were born to be, inside and outside of the school setting. She believes that through lifting and building up the people within our school communities, we can ignite a culture of purpose so we can see the strengths of all learners, adult and children alike!

Kara is also a passionate blogger and speaker in the educational sphere. You can connect with Kara on her blog, karaknollmeyer.com and through Twitter on @karaknollmeyer and #UnleashTalent.

Areas of Expertise

  • Unleashing the Talents Within You, Colleagues, and Students!
  • Building a Positive and Collaborative School Culture
  • Inspiring Staff, Teacher, and Student Leadership
  • Effective Language Arts Instruction
  • Developing Meaningful Professional Development
  • Purposeful Technology Tools for Learners
  • Social Media for Staff, Students, and School Communities

Keynotes and Workshops

  • Unleash Talent for You, Staff Members, Teachers, and Students!

Talent is underrated. In our school systems, we see our students as talented, but often do not reflect those same thoughts when it comes to ourselves as adults. We often fail to recognize that we as staff members and teachers are the foundation of our school; Our talents, strengths, and passions are valuable and precious, just like our students. Just as we teach and reach the whole student, we need to teach and reach the whole adult. Therefore, we need to start finding, noticing, appreciating, embracing, and supporting the talents that our ADULT learners have. Not only will this radically change the school system by boosting teacher retention and happiness, but it will positively shift the way we interact and teach alongside students. No matter what your role is in education, we each have talents waiting to be awakened.

This keynote is based on Kara’s book, Unleash Talent: Bringing out the Best in Yourself and the Learners you Serve. Based on what you or your group needs, this keynote/session can be centered on how to bring out the talent in all parties, or it can focus on a singular group: Yourself, Staff, Teachers, or Students!


  • Discover Your T3’s (Passions, Personality Traits, and Skills)
    Dive into a guided session filled with learning, journaling, and deep self-reflection. Take a closer look to become one with your passions, personality traits and skills by honing in on T3 you already have, while noticing new T3’s you may have never noticed before. In addition, before leaving the session, you will be guided through ways that you can personally use your T3’s to live a more fulfilled life at school and at home!
  • Teaming Up for T3’s
    Every single person in our school system has T3’s that they are either untapped or could be taken to another level. How we approach our colleagues and acknowledge their unique strengths and abilities will form a direct correlation to true teaming, collaboration and unity. During this session, you will be guided with your teams to determine your own T3’s, and to learn about the specific talents of your team members. You will also be guided through team and reflection hands-on exercises to discover how we can lift one another up while gifting our school with the gifts we have to offer one another and our students!
  • Showcase Student TalentsOnce we understand our own T3’s, how do we help our students bring our their own talents in their lives and in the school setting? Learn how to guide students into discovering their own T3’s, while exploring and diving into practical and innovative ways to integrate the talents of your students into the school day to help make school a more purposeful place for each student who walks in our buildings.School culture is not one more thing to add it to your day- It is the essential piece that must be woven into everything we do, no matter what our roles are. As staff members and leaders, we each have to take personal accountability for the energy we bring to the spaces we occupy: Hallways, classrooms, and every inch of our building. Our values and actions have to match up in order for our culture to flourish. Whether we realize it or not, we each are currently setting either a positive or negative tone in our building- And our people are taking notice. Within this session, you will learn the top habits of positive educators, how to use your talents to make school a better place for you and those around you, and to learn many practical ideas to embed into your classroom and school. As you leave this session, you will be inspired to cultivate a positive school culture now, while leaving a meaningful trademark for years to follow. 
    • Developing Engaging and Meaningful Teacher Professional Development

    With teacher workloads heightening by the year, every minute of teacher professional development (PD) should be valued in gold! Learn how to: Purposefully build and organize a meaningful PD vision for your school (and how to adjust along the way), properly gain insight from staff members and stakeholders, and how to empower teachers and staff to lead based on their talents so together we can make progress on your school vision, mission, and purpose.This session can be differentiated based on the specific PD needs of your building.

     

    • Engage Students, Staff, and Your School Community with Social Media

    Are you wondering how you can use social media in your school or classroom? Would you like to take digital learning and sharing to the next level? Receive an in-depth look at how to use social media in the classroom and school safely to engage students, families, and staff members in ways that will transcend learning! By gaining a focus and following simple strategies and ideas, you can get students and families even more excited about school, build endless connections with the world around you, and boost student learning and performance in more ways than you could ever fathom! This session can be differentiated to focus on different social media platforms and can be catered to staff members, families, students, and/or school leaders.

    Paperwork and medial tasks can drown any administrator if they are not careful. It is crucial, that through our hectic and important days, that we build ourselves for efficiency. Within this session, you will see ways to get the biggest bang for your buck, while gaining more of your sanity and happiness back! You will see and receive practical ideas, tools, and a multitude of resources I have created that have helped me, as a current administrator, spend more time on building relationships and making a difference, while spending less time on paperwork!

    • Cultivating a Positive School Culture for Today, Tomorrow, and Years to Come

    School culture is not one more thing to add it to your day- It is the essential piece that must be woven into everything we do, no matter what our roles are. As staff members and leaders, we each have to take personal accountability for the energy we bring to the spaces we occupy: Hallways, classrooms, and every inch of our building. Our values and actions have to match up in order for our culture to flourish. Whether we realize it or not, we each are currently setting either a positive or negative tone in our building- And our people are taking notice. Within this session, you will learn the top habits of positive educators, how to use your talents to make school a better place for you and those around you, and to learn many practical ideas to embed into your classroom and school. As you leave this session, you will be inspired to cultivate a positive school culture now, while leaving a meaningful trademark for years to follow.

    • Developing Engaging and Meaningful Teacher Professional Development

    With teacher workloads heightening by the year, every minute of teacher professional development (PD) should be valued in gold! Learn how to: Purposefully build and organize a meaningful PD vision for your school (and how to adjust along the way), properly gain insight from staff members and stakeholders, and how to empower teachers and staff to lead based on their talents so together we can make progress on your school vision, mission, and purpose.

    This session can be differentiated based on the specific PD needs of your building.

    • Engage Students, Staff, and Your School Community with Social Media

    Are you wondering how you can use social media in your school or classroom? Would you like to take digital learning and sharing to the next level? Receive an in-depth look at how to use social media in the classroom and school safely to engage students, families, and staff members in ways that will transcend learning! By gaining a focus and following simple strategies and ideas, you can get students and families even more excited about school, build endless connections with the world around you, and boost student learning and performance in more ways than you could ever fathom!

    This session can be differentiated to focus on different social media platforms and can be catered to staff members, families, students, and/or school leaders.

    • Tips and Tools for Administrator Efficiency: How to Get the Biggest Bang for Your Buck so you Can Spend Less Time on Paperwork and More Time Making a Difference

    Paperwork and medial tasks can drown any administrator if they are not careful. It is crucial, that through our hectic and important days, that we build ourselves for efficiency. Within this session, you will see ways to get the biggest bang for your buck, while gaining more of your sanity and happiness back! You will see and receive practical ideas, tools, and a multitude of resources I have created that have helped me, as a current administrator, spend more time on building relationships and making a difference, while spending less time on paperwork!

     

  • How Do I Even Blog?
    Blogging is a transformative way to reflect on your own learning, while connecting with the world around you. Learn my process for blogging: How I capture what inspires me, plan and make the time for blogging, and what tools and resources I use along the way. By the end of this session, you will be able to walk away and have a strong sense of how to blog professionally and personally, while being able to transfer these skills and ideas for students as well.Book Kara Knollmeyer
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George Couros

 

Biography

George Couros is a leading educator in the area of innovative leadership, teaching, and learning. He has worked with all levels of school–from K-12 as a teacher and technology facilitator, school and district administrator, and is the author of the book “The Innovator’s Mindset; Empower Learning, Unleash Talent, and Lead a Culture of Creativity”. He is one of education’s most sought after speakers, and speaks on the topic of innovative student learning and engagement and has worked with schools and organizations around the globe. George is also the creator of connectedprincipals.com, an initiative that brings educators and leaders together from around the world to create powerful learning opportunities for students.

Although George is a leader in the area of innovation, his focus is always the development of leadership and people and what is best for learners. His belief that, meaningful change happens when you first connect to people’s hearts, is modelled in his writing and speaking. His keynotes are known for making you laugh, cry, and think, and will inspire you to become a better educator.  You can connect with George on his blog, “The Principal of Change” or follow him on Twitter (@gcouros).

Keynotes and Workshops

Create, Innovate, and Voice  


Description: In this talk, George will highlight some of the trends that are happening in education and the world and how we create a learning environment that is engaging for students.  By giving them the ability to create meaningful learning, be innovative, and empower them with a voice, we will see students succeeding long after their time in school.

5 Questions You Should Ask Your Leader 


Description:  The role of school or district administrator has changed dramatically and instead of people serving the leader, it is more important that it is the other way around.  In this talk/workshop, I discuss five key questions that we need to be able to answer as leaders and the innovative ways that we need to look at our role as administrators.

The Networked Leader/Educator 


Description:  The role of school/district administrator is essential to what happens in the classroom, yet we often are unaware of some of the amazing opportunities that social media is not only providing our students and teachers, but ourselves as well.  As school administrators, we need to be the “Learning Leader” for our organization and social media gives us the opportunity to connect, openly learn, and humanize our organization.  When we learn together first, only then can we effectively lead our schools to continuous improvement.

Leading Innovative Change 

Description: Although schools are moving forward, change is always something that many struggle with.  Focusing on an innovator’s mindset and our “why”, this workshop is meant for leaders to help others within their organization not only accept change, but embrace it, to create better powerful learning opportunities for our learners.  It is not focused on the “how to” of technology, but is more focused on the conversations that will help staff move forward in a way that they will be excited yet feel supported in their journey.

Learning By Design 

Description: We know that the role of school has change, but it is important for people to understand why it needs to change.  Once that can be established, then we are more likely to embrace this change, and move forward with the learning of ourselves, and more importantly help our students move forward as well. In this talk, George will discuss the “why” of change, and then using the ISTE Nets, give examples on “how” we can make this happen.

The Myths of Technology and Learning  


Description: This keynote helps to address some of the “myths” or pushback that many organizations go through in moving technology forward in their organizations.  With many powerful and personal stories of how technology can improve learning and relationships, this has been a great opportunity to help those reluctant move forward in their thinking and adopt a growth mindset.

What to look for in Today’s Classroom 


Description:  The focus of the classroom has, for the better, shifted from a focus on the teacher to a focus on the learner.  In this talk, I will share several elements of what we should be looking for in today’s classroom, knowing that focusing on only a few at a time, can start the move towards a transformational learning environment.

Your Digital Footprint 


Description: We all have a digital footprint, as do our schools and organizations.    “Googling” ourselves makes this apparent whether we have had any say in it or not.  As individuals and as organizations, what can we do to actually shape this footprint?  With open sharing of our learning, a digital footprint can easily be developed for either an individual, school or organization.  This is not about branding as much as it is about modelling for our students that we are learners along with them.

Involving Parents in the Process of Learning

Description: Parent involvement in the learning process of schools is the number one factor for student success.  As schools look forward towards using social media to improve learning in their schools, many parents are fearful of what this means.  Social media provides an opportunity for parents to have meaningful engagement in the learning of their child.  This can greatly change the conversations not only at school, but also at home with the child.  This talk provides peace of mind to parents while also engaging them in considering the unique opportunity they have to participate in their child’s learning.

From Digital Citizenship to Digital Leadership

Description: We often tell our students that what they do online can affect their future, but do we share or teach them how their online presence can also provide them opportunities that we never had as kids?  There are many great examples of people and students doing things to not only improve their own opportunities, but to improve the lives of those in their school, communities, and around the world.  Kids have an opportunity to make a difference and we need to focus on giving them both the opportunities and tools to make a difference in their world through the effective use of technology and social media.

Workshops

When working with groups, I encourage discussing the “why” through a keynote then following up with hands-on workshops.  This pushes learning forward, having participants leave with ready to use tools and educators ready to implement their new learning immediately.  Examples of workshops on specific ideas and tools that I provide are:

  • What is innovation in education and how do we move forward?
  • Twitter for administrators/educators/parents
  • Blogs as a portfolio
  • Google Apps in the Classroom
  • Web 2.0 Tools for learning/communication
  • Creating a Digital Footprint for our Students
  • Digital Literacy
  • Digital Identity
  • Creating Blended Learning Environment

Book George Couros