Building Learning Communities® 16

MIKE PENNINGTON

Director of Technology, Independence Local Schools, Ohio

Mike Pennington and Garth Holman have a combined twenty-seven years 7th grade social studies teaching experience. Garth currently teaches in Beachwood City Schools where he piloted their 1:1 initiative eleven years ago. Mike recently left Chardon Local Schools and is currently working for NORT2H.org and the Lorain County ESC. Their collaboration started seven years ago and has expanded to include their students. Every year Mike and Garth connect their students from two districts nearly thirty miles apart. Collaboration, creativity, critical thinking and intrinsic learning are life-long skills that Mike and Garth’s students use to become passionate learners. Moving beyond grades and linear teaching, Mike and Garth use technology to inspire student learning beyond the classroom.

HOMA SABET TAVANGAR

Growing Up Global

Homa Sabet Tavangar is the author of the widely-acclaimed, Random House/Ballantine Books release, Growing Up Global: Raising Children to Be At Home in the World, named a “Best New Parenting Book” by Scholastic Parent & Child magazine, and hailed by national education and business leaders and media ranging from Dr. Jane Goodall to the BBC, NBC, ABC, Washington Post.com, Chicago Tribune and Sun-Times, Boston Globe, PBS, Parents Magazine, Rodale Press, FoxNews.com, the Huffington Post and many more. Her book is sparking initiatives across the U.S. to help audiences from CEOs to Kindergartners learn and thrive in a global context – and have fun along the way.

Homa is the lead author of The Global Education Toolkit for Elementary Learners (Sage/Corwin, 2014), contributor toMastering Global Literacy, Heidi Hayes-Jacobs, ed. (Solution Tree, Nov. 2013) and is currently working on a 3-book series with Professor Yong Zhao on educating creative, entrepreneurial “World Class Learners.”

She serves as Series Consultant to NBC Sprout TV’s original series, Nina’s World, starring Rita Moreno and Mandy Patinkin. Nina’s World celebrates everyday adventures in a multi-cultural neighborhood and embodies the principles of Growing Up Global. Homa also has been Education Adviser to the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, and has worked with organizations ranging from the World Bank and USAID to Education First (EF), PBS Parents, Sprout TV, Kidshealth.org, and was a Visiting Scholar at the University of Pennsylvania. Her writing appears on National Geographic Education, Edutopia, the Huffington Post, PBS, Momsrising, GOOD, and EducationWeek, among other media, and she is a sought-after speaker around global citizenship, globalizing curriculum, parenting, diversity, and creating inclusive, empathetic working and learning environments.

KRISTIN ZIEMKE

Teacher, Big Shoulders Fund, Chicago

Kristin Ziemke has spent her career teaching and learning from children in both urban and suburban school districts. A teacher and innovation specialist in Chicago, Kristin engages students in authentic learning experiences where reading, thinking, collaboration and inquiry are at the heart of the curriculum. Co-author of Connecting Comprehension and Technology, Kristin pairs best practice instruction with digital tools to transform learning in the classroom and beyond. An Apple Distinguished Educator, National Board Certified Teacher and Chicago’s 2013 Tech Innovator of the Year, Kristin seeks opportunities to transform education through technology innovation. She inspires educators around the globe as a staff developer, speaker and writer. To learn more about her work follow her on Twitter @KristinZiemke.

JORDYN ZIMMERMAN

Student

Jordyn Zimmerman is a student studying to become a special education teacher. Having experienced special education programs while in school herself, Jordyn hopes to become a catalyst for change in education. Jordyn has been challenging the status quo in special education for many years. Because Jordyn has difficulty with verbal communication, the educational system as it was, didn’t realize Jordyn’s true potential.

After a series of events when Jordyn was 18 years old, Jordyn began utilizing a communication device to help her relay her thoughts and feelings. Technology helped bring many opportunities for change for Jordyn and in 2014, she began advocating for special education through a series of speaking engagements including presenting to college students at University of Akron and Kent State University, residence hall staff at the Lake County Board of Developmental Disabilities, a Share A Vision fundraiser, a National School Boards Association (NSBA) Education Technology Site Visit and Mentor Schools Opening Day for hundreds of staff members.

Jordyn attended Mercyhurst University’s Autism Initiative Foundation Summer Program in 2015 to study psychology. Prior to that, a placement at Hudson High School and Mentor Schools’ Cardinal Autism Resource and Education School, known as CARES, brought opportunities for Jordyn to work with students in the classroom. This hands-on work experience included creating lessons for elementary students in Hudson, students with special needs at CARES, and teaching a fourth-grade class in a blended learning setting in Mentor.

The next plan for Jordyn is to attend college, earn her degree, and become a special education teacher. However, that will be just the beginning, as Jordyn is passionate and determined to make a difference in the world of education.

Additional Presenters

The following presenters have been invited to speak at BLC16. This list will be updated as we invite and confirm more presenters.