In Canyons School District, we believe that all stakeholders benefit from purposeful technology integration within the learning process, focusing on student achievement. Educational technology will be used to empower teachers, students, and other stakeholders to gain the knowledge and skills needed to adapt, create, consume, and connect responsibly and ethically with the broader world in preparation for meaningful life opportunities.
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This will be an introduction on how to log in to Data Dashboard, dive into class data, look at specific student profiles, and record discipline and more that is under the umbrella under the basics of Data Dashboard.
"Designing for All: UDL in Elementary” is a professional learning session that explores how Universal Design for Learning (UDL) supports inclusive practices in elementary classrooms. Participants learn the three UDL principles—Engagement, Representation, and Action & Expression—and how proactive design increases equitable access for students with IEPs while benefiting all learners. Through real-world examples, collaborative activities, and lesson planning practice, educators explore practical strategies such as choice, visuals, assistive technology, and flexible assessments. The session emphasizes that small, intentional design changes can create more inclusive, effective learning environments for every student.
In this fun and fast-paced presentation, teachers of all content areas will be given ideas and actionable steps to support their students in practice and review work while motivating them through competition and creative presentation.
This session explores how AI can be used to strengthen feedback cycles and support high-quality teaching and learning. Participants will examine how timely, actionable feedback helps students refine their thinking, deepen understanding, and take ownership of their learning, while also reducing the burden on teachers.
It will introduce teachers to Snorkl, which is a tool for students to record and explain their thinking, and then get immediate and personalized feedback from AI. Students insights are also shared educators so they can better understand how their students think, including their strengths and where they need more support.
Maggie Kenny is a former middle school special education teacher and a member of the Snorkl team. She works with schools and districts across the country to support AI-powered formative assessment and help teachers provide more timely, individualized feedback. Drawing on her classroom... Read More →
During this reflective session, teachers will work to align their values with their teaching practice as one step towards protecting against burnout and demoralization.
I am an instructional coach at Mount Jordan Middle School with a background in science education and physics teaching. After moving from Connecticut to Utah in 2008, I earned a Master’s in Secondary Education and a Master’s of Science in Physics Teaching from the University of... Read More →
Are you struggling to grade your Multilingual Learners? Wondering if your grades reflect what students know—or just how well they speak and write in English? In this interactive session, we’ll tackle one of the most common challenges educators face: how to grade MLs in ways that are both rigorous and equitable. If you’ve ever second-guessed a grade, adjusted expectations on the fly, or felt unsure how language proficiency should factor in—you’re not alone. You’ll learn how to separate content understanding from language development and make grading decisions that are accurate, consistent, and fair.
Amy has dedicated the past 26 years to education in various capacities, starting as a middle and high school ESL and Spanish teacher, then serving as a Culture and Equity Coordinator. Currently, she is a Teacher Specialist for Canyons School District in Sandy, Utah. Throughout her... Read More →
In this fun and fast-paced presentation, teachers of all content areas will be given ideas and actionable steps to support their students in practice and review work while motivating them through competition and creative presentation.
BJ Weller, Ed.D., LCSW, is an Assistant Principal at Park Lane Elementary in Canyons School District. He began his career as a school social worker and school counselor in Granite School District, where he helped design a K–12 school counseling model focused on supporting the whole... Read More →
Chanci Loran is the mother of two amazing boys. She grew up in rural Montana and relocated to Salt Lake with her husband after teaching in Vancouver, Washington and Glendale, Arizona. Chanci’s background includes serving as a principal, assistant principal, adjunct instructor, data... Read More →
This presentation shares a system I created to help teachers know what interventions are needed and how to track the data as we refer students for special education. I put all of the information into one place for each teacher and we refer back to it throughout the year.
This session introduces a curated collection of high-impact digital tools designed to support multilingual learners. Attendees will leave with ready-to-use resources and ideas that seamlessly integrate technology to scaffold learning while maintaining rigor and student voice.
Lesli Morris is a Digital Teaching and Learning Specialist for Canyons School District in Sandy, Utah. She also holds ESL, instructional coaching, and educational technology endorsements, and is an ISTE Certified Educator.
Unlock the potential of inclusive education by mastering the art of mainstreaming. This session provides general and special educators with practical strategies to successfully integrate students with IEPs into the general education setting. Participants will explore collaborative teaching models, methods for differentiating instruction, and ways to foster a welcoming classroom culture that benefits all learners. Join us to learn how to move beyond compliance to create a truly supportive environment where diverse learners can thrive academically and socially.
Participants will learn about the differences between healthy and unhealthy conflict, why conflict is scary, how to facilitate healthy conflict in a team, and how to respond to unhealthy conflict.
Basics: This session provides a practical overview of co-teaching models—from Station Teaching to Team Teaching—designed to enhance student engagement and support diverse learners in general education settings. Participants will learn how to build professional relationships, share instructional responsibilities, and move beyond "one teach, one assist" to create true parity in the classroom.
How a Simple Weekly A-B-C Check-In Improved Attendance, Engagement, and Passing Rates Many secondary schools struggle to make advisory periods meaningful for students and manageable for teachers. At Alta High School, the Building Leadership Team developed a simple weekly check-in system that helps students track three key indicators of success: Attendance, Behavior, and Class performance (A-B-C). During advisory, students review their grades, identify missing assignments, and set short-term goals while teachers engage students in quick academic conversations. This simple structure encourages accountability, increases teacher-student interaction, and helps students stay aware of their academic progress. Since implementation, Alta has observed improvements in attendance, passing rates, and advisory participation, along with stronger relationships between teachers and students. In this session, participants will learn how the A-B-C Check-In works, how it was implemented during advisory, and how other schools can adapt this practical structure to strengthen student engagement and academic awareness.
How do we know when students are truly getting it—beyond just producing the correct answer? As we move toward full implementation of Amplify, this session explores how teachers can recognize and capture the evidence of deep thinking that happens during instruction—not just at the end of it. Participants will briefly explore Amplify’s formative assessment tools, then shift into the heart of the work: making student thinking visible through models, discourse, and strategic questioning. Through real classroom examples, we will highlight how teachers use student work and conversation as powerful informal data sources to guide instruction in the moment. Educators will leave with a clear lens for identifying rigorous thinking and practical strategies for elevating and responding to student thinking every day.
Cynthia Lloyd is the Elementary Math, Science, and STEM Specialist in Canyons School District who helps teachers unlock the power of math to spark scientific inquiry and real-world problem-solving. She is passionate about designing integrated, hands-on learning experiences that connect... Read More →
Attendees will learn how to bring highly engaging real world math problems into their classroom using the 3 Act Math Tasks from the BFF kit. This is our presentation from last year: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/17UVBP3NckJawuaPEYydpDGGtJkTOBcP9KxyS1bkPVNU/edit?usp=sharing
What if AI could help students talk more, not less? In this hands-on model lesson, participants step into a student role and experience a collaborative simulation set in the world of "The Giver". Each person takes on a secret role in a town hall meeting and uses AI guided prompts, hidden memories, moral dilemmas, and character motivations to spark live student to student discussion. Built around the QTEL PIE framework: Prepare, Interact, Extend; this session invites educators to experience the lesson and then debrief how the chatbot supports engagement, peer collaboration, and standards based instruction.
Although the example uses "The Giver," the approach can be adapted across grade levels and content areas, from science debates to historical simulations to collaborative math problem solving. Participants will leave with a practical model for using AI as a behind the scenes facilitator that amplifies student voice, supports purposeful talk, and deepens engagement with content, with one another, and with complex ideas. Ideal for classroom teachers, instructional coaches, and leaders looking for student-centered ways to integrate AI into instruction.
Scott Christensen brings 20+ years of experience in education as a teacher, instructional coach, and education specialist in grades K-12 in public schools and charter schools from Washington State, Florida, North Dakota, and Utah. He has taught English/Language Arts in grades 7-11... Read More →
Do you know your role in the IEP process? This session outlines the crucial contributions general education teachers bring to the IEP table, including data collection, implementing modifications, and supporting student success in the inclusive classroom. Participants will learn how to turn legally required attendance into meaningful collaboration, ensuring students with disabilities thrive in the general education curriculum.
This presentation would go over tips and tricks about how to better use things such as Skyward, Canvas, and Outlook, with things such as how to develop rules to automatically sort emails, how to set up Nightly Sync in Canvas, how to get attendance reports, how to email and print progress reports and missing assignment lists, downloading and uploading XLSX files and analyzing data, etc.
Is your school’s story getting lost in the scroll? Designed specifically for administrators and instructional coaches, this high-energy workshop—AHA! The Three Secrets to Building a Better School Brand—shows you how to transform your school’s identity from generic to giving that “aha” feeling. You’ll learn about the "Heart" of authenticity, the "Face" of humanization, and the "Body" of aesthetic consistency to combat enrollment challenges and cut through the digital noise. Through engaging instruction, hands-on exercises and real-world brand audits, you’ll stop just sharing content and start telling your school’s unique story. You’ll walk away with a design you create with the ParentSquare Canva templates and the confidence to make your school the community's top choice. Join us to turn your branding into a true "Aha!" moment!
Chandra Martz is a Digital Teaching and Learning Specialist for Canyons School District, where she supports DTL and STEAM initiatives. She has been working in educational technology since 2012, helping K–12 educators and students integrate innovative tools and practices that enhance... Read More →
Digital Teaching & Learning Specialist, Canyons School District
Emma Moss is a Digital Teaching and Learning Specialist and AI Project Co-Lead in Canyons School District, as well as the Artificial Intelligence for K-12 Program Director in Utah. She founded the Utah AI Collaborative and leads monthly meet-ups on AI and innovation in education... Read More →
This session will introduce educators to accessible assistive technology strategies that support students’ executive functioning skills. The training will focus on leveraging embedded Google tools (such as Google Docs, Google Keep, Google Calendar, and Google Tasks) alongside emerging AI tools within MagicSchool to scaffold student independence. Participants will explore hands-on strategies for using built-in features—such as checklists, reminders, templates, and AI-generated task supports. By the end of the session, educators will leave with ready-to-use routines and digital supports that can be embedded into daily classroom instruction to strengthen executive functioning and increase student access to learning.
Jonathan Stewart has been an educator for over 20 years. He is a facilitator and trainer for the AI in K12 project for the Utah State Board of Education. He is also the co-lead of the AI team in Canyons School District in Sandy, UT, in addition to other projects related to education... Read More →
AT/AAC Teacher Specialist, Canyons School District
Michaela Ball is a Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) who works to support teachers and SLPs in the Canyons School District in Sandy, Utah and serves on the district’s Utah Assistive Technology Team. She began her journey working in film as a production sound recordist and now uses... Read More →
