Registration Opens in DeVos Place Atrium (by Hall C)
Workshop Slot #1
Lunch Break
(lunch on your own, meals are not provided)
Workshop Slot #2
Snack Break for All Workshop Attendees
Workshop Slot #3
MACUL 2024 will be give every attendee access to cutting edge tools, classroom resources and learning strategies for today’s technology driven schools.
As an attendee, you will be able to learn, get inspired and grow from the following:
The annual Michigan Association for Computer Users in Learning (MACUL) Conference will be held in Grand Rapids, MI from March 13-15, 2024. We are excited to bring you the 48th Annual MACUL Conference.
Leslie Fisher’s interest in technology began while studying music at the University of Southern California. She quickly realized the value of utilizing computers for music mixing and recording. She grabbed her 300 baud modem, jumped on the Internet (before anyone really called it the internet) and started looking for music resources. She soon realized she was spending more time discovering technology than playing music so she changed her major and tried to figure out what geeky thing she could do for the rest of her life.
After graduating from USC with a Business and Marketing degree in 1989 and a quick stint as a Trainer, Leslie joined Apple Computer in 1992. When the Internet took off in 1994, Leslie was one of the first Apple employees assigned to study Internet growth and implementation.
In 1997, Leslie was roadkill on Apple’s road to recovery and part of their massive lay off. Leslie planned to spend most of her huge severance package golfing and waiting a few months to look for a job. The day after her layoff, her phone began to ring with Apple customers requesting consulting, training and presentation services. Before she could say fore, Fisher Technologies Inc. was created to help educators with their technology implementations and decisions.
Fisher Technologies Inc. is now a worldwide company (meaning one employee named Leslie gets to travel the world teaching) specializing in presenting emerging and practical technology solutions to educators all over the world.
Jennifer Hall has been an educator for more than twenty-five years and currently serves as a district Digital Learning Specialist for Atlanta Public Schools. Before taking on her new role, this school year, Jen spent eights years as a district Educational Technology Specialist (ETS).
Jen’s passion is leveraging instructional technology to foster student engagement and personalize learning.
Jen is a speaker, trainer, National Board Certified Educator, ISTE Certified Educator, Google Certified Educator, Innovator, and Trainer, Apple Learning Coach, as well as a Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert.
She created her Tech Tips 411 website to share apps, tools, resources, ideas, and more for teachers. She also shares on her Tech Tips 411 YouTube channel quick tips, how-tos, tutorials, lesson highlights, student projects, and live-streamed professional development. Jen is passionate about all things #edtech and loves working with teachers to enhance instruction and engage students.
Jen has presented at international, national, state, and regional conferences and enjoys sharing with teachers ways to effectively integrate technology in standards-based lessons, highlighting resources to develop students’ college and career readiness skills, providing targeted training, as well as facilitating timely and relevant professional development.
Before becoming an ETS, Jen had the joy of being a middle school language arts teacher for seventeen years, teaching gifted language arts for nine years.
In her spare time, Jen is an avid traveler and photographer. www.jlhallphotos.com
Michelle Emerson taught 2nd grade and 4th grade for seven years and now supports teachers around the world by creating digital teacher resources, producing educational videos for teachers on her YouTube channel, Pocketful of Primary, and sharing productivity tips on her podcast, Teaching to the TOP. She believes all teachers should feel empowered by their profession instead of overwhelmed and seeks to help educators master technology and create a work-life balance through her tips and strategies.
Meet Holly, a passionate educator and digital learning pioneer who has made significant contributions to the field of educational technology. With over 25 years of experience, Holly is an international speaker, bestselling author, and dedicated advocate for digital learning. She was one of the first teachers in the nation to have a 1:1 classroom and she now shares her knowledge and insights to help other teachers tap into their blended learning genius.
Holly’s work with thousands of educators across the globe has helped transform teaching practices through the purposeful use of technology. Her work has made her a go-to resource for educators looking to enhance their students’ learning experiences.
With over 24 years of experience teaching in 1:1 classrooms and providing strategic initiatives and teacher training to schools globally, Holly has established herself as a leader in educational technology. Her extensive expertise in integrating technology effectively has made her a highly sought-after resource for educators worldwide.
Holly’s impact on the education industry is reflected in her acclaimed books, “The Google Infused Classroom” and “Chromebook Infused Classroom,” which are highly regarded by educators worldwide. She is a Google Certified Innovator, a Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert, and a National Board Certified Teacher.
Eric has been in education for 32 years, starting out as a math teacher at North Canton Middle School in Ohio. After teaching middle school math for seven years, Eric transitioned to a new position in North Canton City Schools as the district Technology Integration Specialist, where he served for the next fourteen years. In this role he supported teachers in how to integrate technology into teaching and learning, as well as overseeing technology initiatives across the district. During this time, Eric implemented G Suite for Education for his district, and became a Google for Education Certified Trainer and Google for Education Certified Innovator.
After twenty-one years at North Canton City Schools, Eric moved to a new position at SPARCC (the Stark Portage Area Computer Consortium) and the Stark County Educational Service Center. This regional service center supports more than thirty school districts in Northeast Ohio. In this role as a Technology Integration Specialist, Eric continues to support teachers in using technology for teaching and learning. This includes implementation, training, and support for Google Workspace for Education tools for all of the schools in the consortium, as well as other technology initiatives. Eric also oversees and manages the annual SPARCC Educational Technology Conference held each August which draws educators from across the entire state.
In addition to being a Google Certified Trainer and Innovator, Eric also serves as the co-leader for GEG-Ohio, the Google Educator Group of Ohio. This includes hosting a monthly online meeting covering everything new in Google Workspace from the last month, as well as resources and best practices for using Google tools in schools. All of the GEG-Ohio resources and meeting details can be found at bit.ly/gegohio
For many years Eric has been sharing all of his technology resources on Control Alt Achieve, his award-winning blog at www.ControlAltAchieve.com. The site includes hundreds of blog posts, as well as training videos, help guides, templates, podcast episodes, and more. All of the resources are entirely free, and focus on creative ways for educators to use technology, and especially Google tools, in the classroom for student learning, creativity, collaboration, and more. Many of these resources are compiled in Eric’s first book called “Control Alt Achieve: Rebooting Your Classroom with Creative Google Projects” from Dave Burgess Press.
In addition to sharing resources through his blog, Eric has traveled the country for more than twenty years providing training, keynotes, and consulting. He has provided training for school districts from coast to coast, as well as keynotes and conference sessions at events including ISTE, FECT, TCEA, OETC, and many more.
Outside of educational technology, Eric spends his time with his two beautiful grandchildren, as well as hiking, biking, tabletop gaming, cooking, and writing.
