Creating with Canva in All Grade Levels and Content Areas

Tue. June 24, 2025 | 9:00 am - 2:00 pm | $40
Illinois Valley Community College 815 N Orlando Smith Road, Oglesby, IL, United States

Have you heard of Canva but not taken the time to dive into its robust features? Canva provides lots of exciting content creation opportunities, both for students and educators like you. Join us as we explore several practical classroom applications of Canva across all content areas and grade levels.

Ben Sondgeroth
Ben Sondgeroth
Lead Regional Educational Technology Coordinator | Northern Illinois, Learning Technology Center

SummIT

Tue. June 24, 2025 | 9:30 am - 2:30 pm | $100
University of Illinois- Campus Instructional Facility 1405 W Springfield, Urbana, IL, United States

Gain valuable insights and practical strategies for tackling the toughest IT issues facing your school district while connecting with fellow tech directors and IT staff in a collaborative environment.

Duane Shaffer
Duane Shaffer
Director of Technology Services, Learning Technology Center
Eric Muckensturm
Eric Muckensturm
IT Strategy Manager, Cybersecurity, Learning Technology Center

Area 6 AI Summit

Wed. June 25, 2025 | 9:00 am - 2:30 pm | $100
Rend Lake College Event Center 468 North Ken Gray Parkway, Ina, IL, United States

Come discover AI's current and future role in education during the Area 6 AI Summit, hosted by the Learning Technology Center, ROE 12, ROE 13, ROE 20, ROE 21, and ROE 30.

Brian Bates
Brian Bates
Associate Executive Director of Professional Learning, Learning Technology Center
Ben Sondgeroth
Ben Sondgeroth
Lead Regional Educational Technology Coordinator | Northern Illinois, Learning Technology Center

AA 4054: Designing a Comprehensive CS Program for School Leaders

Thu. June 26, 2025 | 8:30 am - 4:00 pm | $125
Capital Area Career Center 2201 Toronto Road, Springfield, IL, United States

K-12 school leaders: discover how to successfully meet Illinois' computer science learning mandates by following research-informed practices for creating an implementation plan.

Charity Freeman
Charity Freeman
Principal Consultant, CS for Success

AI 101: A Beginner’s Guide to Future-Proofing your Classroom

Wed. July 9, 2025 | 9:00 am - 2:00 pm | $35
ROE 24: Grundy/Kendall 1320 Union St, Morris, Illinois, USA

AI isn’t making our current classrooms obsolete. But if we harness this new tool for learning now, we can future-proof our classrooms and better prepare our students for many evolving learning paths ahead.

Matt Sherrill
Matt Sherrill
Regional Educational Technology Coordinator | East Central Region, Learning Technology Center

Computer Science Series: Strawbees (K-12)

Tue. July 15, 2025 | 8:30 am - 11:30 am | $50
U of I Extension Office, Carmi 1715 College Ave, Carmi, IL, United States

Discover the engaging world of Strawbees! This workshop offers educators a hands-on introduction to this innovative building system designed to foster STEM and STEAM learning through play.

Emily Flach
Emily Flach
Regional Educational Technology Coordinator | Southern Region, Learning Technology Center

Working Smarter with AI

Tue. July 15, 2025 | 9:00 am - 2:00 pm | Free
ROE 48: Peoria 2116 North Sheridan Road, Peoria, IL, United States

Join us for a hands-on workshop for educators ready to advance their AI journey. We'll cover the basics of AI, its impact on education, and practical classroom applications. Through group discussions and activities, you'll explore AI tools and create prompts to boost productivity. We'll focus on integrating AI into teaching strategies while addressing ethical and responsible use. By the end, you'll leave with practical strategies to confidently use AI tools, innovate curriculum design, and adapt teaching practices to meet diverse learners' needs.

Lisa Schwartz
Lisa Schwartz
Regional Educational Technology Coordinator | West Central Region, Learning Technology Center

Computer Science Series: Finch Robot 2.0 (K-12)

Tue. July 15, 2025 | 12:30 pm - 2:30 pm | $50
U of I Extension Office, Carmi 1715 College Ave, Carmi, IL, United States

Bring computer science to life with the Finch Robot 2.0 powered by micro:bit! This hands-on workshop will guide you through the exciting possibilities of this robot, designed for learners of all ages, from kindergarten to 12th grade.

Emily Flach
Emily Flach
Regional Educational Technology Coordinator | Southern Region, Learning Technology Center

An Educator’s Guide to Canva

Wed. July 16, 2025 | 9:00 am - 2:00 pm | Free
ROE 48: Peoria 2116 North Sheridan Road, Peoria, IL, United States

This hands-on session will guide you through using Canva’s templates presentation tool, the whiteboard, and docs for lesson plans and student collaboration. Through group discussions and activities, we will explore Canva's Magic Studio tools like Magic Write, Design, Edit, and Eraser to help you effortlessly generate creative text, design captivating visuals, and enhance images.

Lisa Schwartz
Lisa Schwartz
Regional Educational Technology Coordinator | West Central Region, Learning Technology Center

Unleash Student Creativity with Digital Storytelling in Canva

Tue. July 22, 2025 | 9:00 am - 12:00 pm | Free
ROE 45: Monroe/Randolph 107 E Mill St, Waterloo, Illinois, USA

What if you could tap into the captivating world of TikTok and YouTube to bring your lessons to life? This workshop explores the art of digital storytelling in the classroom. Learn how to guide your students in creating their own content using Canva, connecting your curriculum to the digital narratives they love. Join us and discover the power of student-created stories!

Emily Flach
Emily Flach
Regional Educational Technology Coordinator | Southern Region, Learning Technology Center

Tinkercad & Other Tech Tools to Engage Students with STEM Concepts

Mon. July 28, 2025 | 9:00 am - 3:30 pm | Free
ROE 40 Carlinville Office 225 E Nicholas St, Carlinville, IL, United States

Teachers (4th-12th grade) will explore how to incorporate Tinkercad into the math, science, or computer classroom. Teachers will design their own object with TinkerCad which will be printed using a 3D printer. Teachers will learn about Spheros and also discover free tech tools (pattern blocks, sweethome3d, flipanim, Phet.Colorado.EDU, Physlets.org/tracker, GIS, Desmos) that add in the teaching, learning, and application of STEM topics.

Kelly Remijan
Kelly Remijan
Director of STEM Initiatives, ROE 40
Lisa Schwartz
Lisa Schwartz
Regional Educational Technology Coordinator | West Central Region, Learning Technology Center

FarmBeats for Students: Hands-On Precision Agriculture with micro:bit

Tue. July 29, 2025 | 9:00 am - 12:00 pm | Free
Lincoln Land Community College 1 Lincoln Land Dr, Litchfield, IL, United States

This program enables students to explore modern farming technology, data-driven decision-making, and real-world applications of STEM. With a flexible, web-based platform, it’s also accessible on any device, making it easy for educators to integrate into their teaching.

Sarah Phelps
Sarah Phelps
Program Manager, Computer Science and STEM, Learning Technology Center