MEET OUR CONTRIBUTORS
The Connecting the DOTS website is here to support teachers and families in navigating the changing terrain of remote and hybrid learning during COVID-19. As we find our way forward, this site is here to provide the latest approaches positively influencing teaching and learning.
You will find 10 Considerations in the menu above. For each topic you will find resources curated by ISU's College of Education faculty. You will also find a free webinar you can join to talk with fellow educators who have promising practices to share.
MEET YOUR
Featured
SPEAKERS & EDUCATORS
Meenoo Rami
Author of Thrive: 5 Ways to (Re)Invigorate Your Teaching
Senior Manager, Minecraft Education
Lauren Alsene
Assistive Technology Coordinator
Unit 5 Bloomington, IL
Calley Gautschi
Special Education
Stevenson Elementary School, IL
Courtney Pleasant
Special Education
Bloomington Junior High School, IL
Dr. Teresa Lawrence
Master Teacher, Glenbard East High School & Co-founder, Student-Teacher Equity Partnership (STEP)
Racism as a Global Pandemic:
Dismantling Anti-Black Pedagogy
Allania Moore
Principal
Chicago Public Schools
Teaching Black History
White or Right
Tamekia Bailey
Coordinator of Undergraduate Studies and Student Services
Criminal Justice Department, ISU
Blackness as Cultural Wealth
Angela Shamaa
School Counselor
Thornton Fractional North High School
Good Pedagogy Extends Beyond the Classroom
Kristel Foster
Tucson Unified Governing Board President,
Tucson Unified School District
Reflecting on Leadership & Courage in the time of COVID-19
Joy Noriega
Culturally Responsive Pedagogy and Instruction (CRPI) Teacher, Cholla High School
Rethinking Collaboration for Pandemic/Zoom Anxiety
Crystal Schilling
Special Education/Inclusion Teacher, Pueblo Gardens PK-8 School
Care & Caring Realized through the
Authenticity of Hope
Deann Tucker-White
First Grade Teacher, Roosevelt Magnet School, Peoria Public Schools
Fostering Caring Relationships at a Distance
Janelle W. Henderson
Third grade teacher born, raised, and teaching in Louisville, KY.
They Still Learning: Co-Constructing Your Child’s Educational Experience in a Virtual Setting
Dra. Mari Becerra
Professor of Latin American languages and cultures at CSU Channel Islands.
Homeschooling for the Meme Generation
Dra. Vivian E. Presiado
Assistant Professor of Bilingual & Bicultural Education
Engaging Family Literacies Through Funds of Knowledge
Angelica I. Taylor
Instructional Assistant Professor
at Illinois State University
Learning at Home with Loose Parts for All
Wendy Maa
PhD candidate at UIUC & 2nd grade at John Middleton Elementary Schoo
Activating Agency, Voice, and Choice
Ashley Mayor
4th Grade Teacher,
Carrie Busey Elementary School
Designing Collaborative Conversations with Students and families
Christine Yu & Alex Chun
2nd & 4th Grade Teacher
Southside Elementary School
Student Collaboration Using Digital Tools
Natalie Lessaris
4th Grade Teacher
Booker T. Washington Elementary School
Exploring Student Websites with Google Sites
Carla España
Bilingual/TESOL Instructor at Bank Street College Graduate School of Education
Supporting Emergent
Bilinguals in Remote Learning
Jeanette Delgado
Kindergarten Dual Language Teacher
Early Childhood
Emma Lewis
2nd Grade Dual Language Teacher
Elementary
Lupe Delgado
5th Grade Teacher
Upper Grades
Antero Garcia
Assistant Professor, Graduate School of Education at Stanford University
We Are What Could Be: Building Relationships from Afar Through Empathy and Vulnerability
Brandon Thornton
Bloomington High School
Regional Teacher of the Year
Build Your Army:
Fostering Relationships through a Pandemic
Janelle Henderson
Third Grade Teacher born, raised, and teaching in Louisville, KY.
We In This Together: Cultivating Authentic Relationships During Remote Learning
Winnie Nuding
Chiddix Jr. High
Behind the Scenes:
Building Relationships Beyond the Screens
Assessment & Grading
in Remote Instruction
November 16, 2020 7pm CT
Starr Sackstein
Author of Hacking Assessment:
10 Ways to Go Gradeless
in a Traditional Grades School
Assessment & Grading in Remote Instruction
Aaron Blackwell
English Teacher
Woodland High School, WA
Quality Feedback:
How to Provide It
and Why It Matters
Rae Hughart
Mathematics Teacher
Evans Junior High School, IL
Using Your Time
Intentionally with a
Feedback Focused Lens!
April Schermann
Mathematics Teacher
Normal West High School, IL
Standards-Based Grading During Remote Learning
Accessible Learning
November 18, 2020 7pm CT
Natalie Shaheen
Assistant Professor
Illinois State University
Accessible Learning
in Remote Spaces
Lidia-Bella Brazovan
Illinois State University
Preservice Educator
Video Accessibility
Treva Olivero
Paraprofessional
Lincoln Parish School, Louisiana
Slide Deck Accessibility
Maria Conchita Hernandez Legorreta
Maryland Statewide
Blind and Low Vision Specialist
Document Accessibility
Sonia Ruiz
Associate Principal
Northwood Junior High School
North Shore School District 112
Rethinking Leadership
for Equity
Jorge Sanchez
Dean of Students
District 87
Glenbard, IL
"If you don't know, now you know.": Tapping into Students' Voice & Agency
Dr. Cyndy Alvarez
School Psychologist
District 87
Bloomington, IL
Decolonizing
Social-Emotional Learning
Kim Taber
Multilingual Services Coordinator
District 87
Bloomington, IL
Community Oriented Practices in the Time of Covid
MEET YOUR
College of Education
FACILITATORS
Robyn Seglem
Connecting the DOTS Co-Leader
Professor
School of Teaching and Learning
An expert in English Language Arts, Dr. Seglem is on the NCTE Middle Level Section Steering Committee & co-founder of the Studies in Literacies and Multimedia Assembly.
Christie Angleton
Assistant Professor
School of Teaching and Learning
An early childhood teacher for 12 years, her research focuses on young children’s understanding & performance of gender, critical literacies & diverse children’s literature as a vehicle for social justice.
Beth Hatt
Professor
Educational Administration and Foundations Department
Dr. Hatt has published numerous articles on the cultural production of smartness, school-to-prison pipeline & funds of knowledge curriculum development.
Grace Kang
Assistant Professor
School of Teaching and Learning
Dr. Kang taught at the K-6 grade levels for ten years. She specializes in culturally sustaining pedagogies, digital literacies & social justice in teacher education.
Sandra Osorio
Associate Professor
School of Teaching and Learning
Dr. Osorio teaches courses in early childhood, bilingual education & ESL, emphasizing culturally sustaining pedagogies that put students’ dynamic community languages, practices & knowledges at the center of the classroom.
Natalie Shaheen
Assistant Professor
Special Education Department
Dr. Shaheen's research and teaching focus on equity and access for disabled students in technology-mediated K-12 learning environments.
Anna Smith
Connecting the DOTS Co-Leader
Assistant Professor
School of Teaching and Learning
Dr. Smith brings over 20 years of teaching experience & dedication to humanizing learning to her research on writing development, transliteracies & technologies in education.
.jpg)
Linsay DeMartino
Assistant Professor
Educational Administration and Foundations Department
Dr. DeMartino's P-12 teaching, leadership, and research experience is grounded in transformative practices and justice-based schooling.
Pamela Hoff
Professor
Educational Administration and Foundations Department
Dr. Hoff is a mother, “sista” and friend to many. She is an activist scholar who believes that education should be transformative for the individual & the community.
Allison Kroesch
Assistant Professor
Special Education Department
Dr. Kroesch specializes in training teachers and paraprofessionals in the field to use evidence-based practices, specifically for students to gain access and succeed with the general education curriculum.
Jay Percell
Assistant Professor
School of Teaching and Learning
Dr. Percell teaches secondary education methods courses on implementing literacy & technology and is the course instructor for the ISU Secondary ProfessionalDevelopment School.
The Illinois State University College of Education is the largest preparer of teachers at the bachelor's or initial level in Illinois. More than 1 in 4 first-year public school teachers hired in Illinois graduated from Illinois State. The College of Education's laboratory schools enroll around 1,000 students and serve as learning labs for education majors.
To learn more about the College of Education go to https://education.illinoisstate.edu/
If you have ideas to future speakers or topics, use the Suggestion or Request box below.
Connect with the College of Education on social media!
