Paul published a book entitled, "Learn Like a PIRATE," which gives teachers ideas for empowering students to collaborate and become stronger leaders while effectively leading the classroom. In 2015, he was named a Top 50 Finalist for the Varkey GEMS Global Teacher Prize and was also named the 2014 Educator of the Year by Illinois Computing Educators.

Learn Like a PIRATE: Empower Your Students to Collaborate, Lead, and Succeed

Paul describes how he creates a classroom environment that breeds collaboration and student leadership at any grade level. He highlights the most important points in the book Learn Like a PIRATE, and goes further into detail and provide additional examples. He will also provide time for reflection, collaboration between colleagues, and questions.

Rethinking The Way We Teach - How do today’s students learn best?

This workshop is designed for teachers and schools that want to improve their instruction, increase student learning, and integrate effective technology use in the classroom. We look at our professional goals, philosophies, and missions as educators, and learn specific ways to meet those goals. Unit planning, lesson planning, and personalizing learning are major areas of focus.

Implementing Passion Time (Genius Hour/Personalized Learning) in the Classroom

One of the best ways to provide students with time for meaningful, in-depth, personalized learning is through Genius Hour (we call it Passion Time). With 8+ years of experience implementing 60-120 minutes of Passion Time each week in our classroom, Paul explains what works & what doesn't the reasons behind what he does, and the IMMENSE benefits of providing this opportunity for your students.

Student ePortfolios & Classroom Websites

Although the platform doesn't matter, Paul describes how he has used Weebly in the classroom as a resource for parents, an ePortfolio for students, and a blended learning platform for instruction. He explains the benefits of ePortfolios & Blended Learning, provides hundreds of examples, and gives in-depth instruction on how it can be implemented in your school or classroom.

Additional Presentations:

• STEAM Like a PIRATE: Integrating LearnLAP Concepts into Your STEAM Programs
• Unlocking SEL in the Intermediate Grades: Social Emotional Learning in Our 5th Grade Classroom
• Creating Student-Centered Classrooms That Prepare Children for Their Real World
• New Teacher Training
• Blended Learning in our 5th Grade Classroom
• How to Schedule & Run a Mystery Skype Session
• Creating Your 21st Century Classroom
• Developing Units through Backwards Planning with 21st Century Skills in Mind
• Who Owns the Learning? Examples of 5th Graders Running the Show
• Twitter for Educator