STLinATL

After COVID forced schools all over the world to dive headlong into experiments with online learning, most educators are delighted to have the chance to return to in-person classrooms. But what if the answer to a number of challenges in education— access, student agency, efficiency—actually lies in going more deeply into the virtual realm? Adam will discuss the launching of the world’s first virtual reality charter school in August 2022. Why, at a time when the world is opening back up for in-person instruction, would a deeply experienced educator and champion of education begin to advocate for teaching in virtual reality? Far from creating a depersonalized experience of learning, Adam maintains that virtual reality offers teachers and students the chance to return to the kind of relational, ambulatory learning. Arguing that our current model of industrial-age education was created for high utility and standardization, he makes the case that it’s time to begin educating for genius. Optimizing human potential, Adam says, means “walking alongside the learner.” In his estimation, virtual reality education allows for that deeply relational exchange to occur more effectively than in a traditional classroom or in other known online delivery systems. By grounding the experience in relationships and the pursuit of equity, Adam believes that virtual reality education can improve the experience of school for everyone.

Using Technology to Uncover and Address the Diversity Gaps in Children’s Literature
This workshop is for elementary-level educators who want to improve how the books in their school libraries elevate the worth, agency, and excellence of people of color. The literature we expose students to shapes their perspective of the world; thus, intentionally creating diverse classroom libraries is essential for educators committed to equity and justice in teaching and learning. In the first part of the workshop, one will learn about how a team of researchers used artificial intelligence to measure the representation of race, gender, and age in children's books. In the second part of this workshop, one will learn how to apply this research to the classroom using booksource.com and the app BookBuddy to measure and elevate your library's diversity.