Indiana’s 2024 Summer of Learning Recap
Written by: Eric Nentrup
Ever since the inception of Candice Dodson’s vision, Indiana’s Summer of Learning events have been a mainstay in advancing professional learning for Hoosier educators. Though hosts often attract education experts from around the country for the keynote sessions, more often than not these “in real life” and virtual events are planned and designed voluntarily by local educators, for local educators. This annual tradition aims to provide both content and skills for educators, not only needing the required continuing education credits but seeking guidance in a volatile time. In addition to heartfelt gratitude from presenters sharing their work, a special thanks to the Indiana Department of Education and invested sponsors from the field allows practitioners a chance to start the new school year with fresh insight, inspiration, and ingenuity.
The general operations of schools, what is taught, and how it’s taught are all somewhat in flux as a result of the shifts in the landscape and our necessary educational technology (edtech). In addition to learning to apply more general edtech approaches, Generative AI (genAI) is now a constant variable, entering our practice in exciting ways but with new demands and scrutiny to protect student and teacher private data along with a necessary vigilance for ethics and bias.
As educators make their elections for which events to attend over the summer, topics covered included effective use of technology in the classroom, engaging and motivating students, and best Attendees had the chance to learn from experts, network with other educators, and earn professional development credits. Here are some highlights from a few of the events this summer:
The Tech InspirED Conference
Event Host: Dianna Knox — Clay Community Schools
This was Dianna’s first year as the event host for The Tech Inspired Conference which took place at the end of May, saying “I really had a rockstar committee of teachers that jumped in to help and that teamwork was amazing.” She recruited from within her network talent to conduct 40 sessions for applying edtech to all areas and ages. Science, reading, AI, digital and blended learning were prevailing topics, but sessions had to include practical application of theory to quickly get teachers equipped for the new school year. Dianna continued saying, “Teachers struggle with change and there is a lot of apathy with edtech, now with GenAI. How much is too little or too much?” Hosting it on the Northview High School campus in west-central Indiana gave other nearby districts a shorter commute for investing in their own PD, with the nearest events being SPARK southeast of Indy, or IGNITE in Lafayette.
SPARK Summit
Event Host: Nadine Gilkison — Franklin Township Consolidated School Corporation
Nadine Gilkison is a veteran edtech influencer in the state and has been leading Franklin Township Consolidated School Corporation’s teachers for years. This is the third year of her organizing FTCSC’s SPARK Summit, themed as a celebration of outgoing and innovative instruction. She relied upon her network and reputation to attract inspiring talent with the energetic Willie Spears holding down the keynote and sessions by Holly Clark, Tyler Tarver, and Lisa Highfill. The event had a banner year for Nadine with 600 educators from 70 different districts who made their way to southeast Marion county and attended the event’s inspiring keynotes and dozens of sessions to spark educators’ passion for teaching and learning before returning to their schools.
Joy Jam — Eastern Hancock
Event Host: Dr. George Philhower — Eastern Hancock Schools
Like, Dianna, Eastern Hancock Schools Superintendent, Dr. George Philhower wanted to bring a valuable learning opportunity to educators in eastern Indiana and conceived of Joy Jam to do just that. In their sophomore year, George drew from his relationships with the likes of Jasmine Cox of the Institute for Education Innovation, Tom Murray of Future Ready Schools, educator and inspirational speaker, Kevin Honeycutt, and Dr. Buddy Berry to infuse the audience with the energy needed to show up for students and fellow staff in meaningful ways when the first day arrives. With an emphasis on cutting-edge teaching strategies born of George’s commitment to learner-centered strategies, attendees left motivated, equipped, and rich with new friendships.
“Attendees left motivated, equipped, and rich with new friendships.”
The Indiana Ed-Fi Summit
Event Hosts: Dr. Chantell Manahan and Stacy Cunningham — Noblesville High School
In addition to the Summer of eLearning events, data coordinators along with other roles that attend to their district’s state reporting needs had the opportunity to attend the inaugural Indiana Ed-Fi Summit, held at Noblesville West Middle School. This event was a grassroots effort by some of the most passionate data practitioners and champions in Indiana, including Dr. Manahan, Mrs. Cunningham, Kami Call, Kimberly Gilbert, Lisa Hartke, Julie Brown, and Lindsey Thompson to unite the data community in a positive, solutions-focused effort. Several hundred school district data coordinators from across the state gathered to learn about updates to data collection, management, and reporting for education compliance. Aspirationally, attendees also discussed data-based decision making and data visualizations that can impact teaching and learning. Since May of 2018, Indiana has partnered with the Ed-Fi Alliance to enhance data warehousing functions for local education agencies at the state level. Conference attendees engaged in discussions on various data concerns, such as changes to reporting schema and data formatting and data governance and hygeine. State officials, including Dr. John Keller, who has led the way to this more modern data platform for Indiana schools, provided insights into the timeline for implementing these changes and how Ed-Fi would support the process. MSD Steuben County’s Dr. Chantell Manahan also presented Dr. Molly Stewart et. al’s work on student data privacy and data justice, giving a local district’s perspective and emphasizing the importance of educators being vigilant in protecting student data to prevent unintended harm.
Also during the summit, attendees heard from the event’s several sponsors. Resultant’s Debbie Daily, Nate, Josh, and Jacob discussed the necessity of improving data structures in education to enable the safe adoption of AI-enabled solutions. They also shared a “Data Maturity Scale” as a tool for assessing readiness for AI implementation. Solution providers, including SIS vendors and edtech data companies, offered practical guidance on using their tools effectively while fostering collaboration among different districts. Representatives from these companies also shared their AI roadmaps, providing valuable insights into the future of edtech and AI integration.
Overall, the Indiana Ed-Fi Summit 2024 proved to be an invaluable opportunity as it ever is for Indiana educators and administrators to stay up-to-date with the latest developments in education data management and to explore innovative solutions for the benefit of their students. The legacy of Candice Dodson continues. People across the state have been impacted by her vision and it still goes on every summer.
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