Shift Happens - Offered Workshops

Tara Baird

Tara Baird is an energetic and enthusiastic middle school teacher originally from North Vancouver, BC. She has over twenty years of experience teaching in the Saanich and Victoria school districts. Tara specializes in the transformative use of technology in K-12 classrooms and is a sessional instructor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Victoria. Her presentations include relevant, creative ideas that highlight classroom management and differentiated instruction techniques.
 

Share resources I use with grade 6 middle schoolers—intro lesson to define AI, bias, integration with learning, students don’t use AI but teacher leads. the foundation is modelling appropriate AI strategies. I do this with my UVIC students. 

Target Age: Intermediate, Secondary    

Target Audience: Tech beginner, Pretty Comfortable

Area of Focus: Instructional Strategies and Support, AI, Efficiency with Technology

Shannon Hagen

Tips and tricks for using the built-in features in Canva to teach AI in the classroom

Target Age: Primary, Intermediate, Secondary, General

Target Audience: Tech beginner

Area of Focus: Multimedia Tools, AI, Efficiency with Technology

Darcy McNee

Darcy McNee is the District Teacher Leader for Curriculum and Innovation in the Saanich School District and an Adjunct Professor for the Teacher-Librarian Diploma Program at the University of British Columbia. Darcy supports student learning and fosters staff development through innovative educational practices. She works at the intersection of education and technology, emphasizing the importance of transferable skills.

Happy to provide sessions on: Digital Literacy, GenAI. or Co-creating Digital Resources with Indigenous Communities (Live It Earth Project).

Target Age: Intermediate, Secondary, General

Target Audience: Tech beginner, Pretty Comfortable

Area of Focus: Instructional Strategies and Support, Multimedia Tools, AI, Efficiency with Technology

Victoria Woelders

Victoria Woelders is the ARC-BC Provincial Outreach Coordinator for the Accessible Resource Centre – BC, where she has spent the past three and a half years helping educational staff access ARC-BC accessible digital books. With a background in classroom teaching and a passion for inclusive digital design, she delivers engaging sessions across the province that bring the Accessible BC Act to life and show how simple accessibility practices can open learning to everyone. To learn more please visit arc-bc.org. 

Canva offers powerful accessibility tools that empower us to design inclusive newsletters, slide decks, posters, and more. In this session, you’ll learn about the Accessible B.C. Act, accessible design and explore how to create digital materials that everyone can enjoy and learn from—whether they are colour blindness; have low vision, and/or use a screen reader. Discover how small Canva design choices can make a big difference and build your confidence that everyone can interact with your Canva design.  

Target Age: Primary, Intermediate, Secondary, General

Target Audience: Tech beginner, Pretty Comfortable, Tech expert

Area of Focus: Instructional Strategies and Support, Multimedia Tools, AI, Efficiency with Technology, 

Did you know you have free access to thousands of accessible digital books funded by the Ministry of Education and Child Care? 

The Accessible Resource Centre – BC (ARC-BC) is a special provincial outreach program that creates accessible digital books for IEP students with perceptual disabilities (e.g. reading learning disabilities, eye tracking etc.) in our Vancouver office. 

This session will show you how to get an ARC-BC account and access a huge repository of textbooks and books at the Kindergarten to Grade 12 levels. You will learn how to search, download, extract, open, and share our digital books in many different file formats, including PDFs, audiobooks, EPUBs, DOCXs, and more. 

Whether you're hearing about the Accessible Resource Centre – BC (ARC-BC) for the first time or just need a refresher, you're sure to learn something new in this session.

Target Age: Primary, Intermediate, Secondary, General

Target Audience: Tech beginner, Pretty Comfortable, Tech expert

Area of Focus: Google, Instructional Strategies and Support, Multimedia Tools, Office 365, AI, Efficiency with Technology, Digital Resources

Blue Netherclift

Educator, podcast host, and engagement specialist with Live It Earth, I bring over 20 years of experience in outdoor education, youth development, and experiential learning. I’ve worked as a youth expedition leader, climbing instructor, canoe coach, and outdoor education teacher, supporting students from elementary through secondary in both traditional and alternative settings. 

This virtual tour is designed to guide you through how to get started, and navigate the Live It Earth platform and make the most of its real-world, curriculum-connected resources. You’ll see how to quickly find lessons, use ready-to-go activities, and integrate experiential learning into your classroom. Supports bilingual learning across English and French, with flexible resources designed for cross-curricular use. Activities are adaptable for multi-grade K–8 classrooms, making it easy to engage diverse learners at different levels.

Target Age: Primary, Intermediate, General

Target Audience: Tech beginner, Pretty Comfortable, Tech expert

Area of Focus: Instructional Strategies and Support, Makerspace / STEAM, Multimedia Tools, Indigenous, Inquiry Mindset 

Esther Maloney

Esther Maloney is a writer, multidisciplinary artist, and educator based in Toronto. She is the Manager of Engagement and Community Development with the National Film Board of Canada’s Education team.  Her animated short Another World (2020), supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, was featured at several film festivals. Esther has published fiction, children’s literature, and articles in the Toronto Star, The Globe and Mail, and academic journals. She has taught at various post-secondary institutions and founded Illumine Media, producing youth-led films in partnership with the Toronto District School Board and the Regent Park Film Festival.

Discover classroom‑ready resources that bring powerful Canadian storytelling into grades 7–12 with the National Film Board of Canada’s Education team. This interactive workshop showcases new films, mini‑lessons, curated playlists, and study guides that support media literacy, critical thinking, and social‑emotional learning. Participants will explore the newly released King’s Court Playbook for Success, a film‑based SEL resource built around a special‑education version of the short documentary King’s Court. Through seven basketball‑inspired “plays,” educators experience ready‑to‑use lessons focused on identity, resilience, and growth, with materials adaptable for Language, Health & Physical Education, and Social Studies classrooms. 

Target Age: Intermediate

Target Audience: Pretty Comfortable

Area of Focus: Google

Indigenous Voices is a new media‑based learning resource from the National Film Board of Canada for students 12+, launching Fall 2026. Designed by Indigenous educators in collaboration with the NFB, the platform centres Indigenous perspectives on history, community, justice, and Reconciliation. This hands‑on workshop invites educators to explore 13 inquiry‑based learning pathways featuring curated short films, interactive activities, and youth Indigenous mentors as guides. Participants will engage with themes such as land, governance, treaties, and healing, and receive a practical walk‑through of the educator guide and student notebook. Educators will leave better prepared and more confident to facilitate meaningful, respectful classroom conversations.

Target Age: Intermediate, Secondary

Target Audience: Pretty Comfortable

Area of Focus: Multimedia Tools

Steve Roy

Steve Roy is a bilingual educator and school leader from Nanaimo, British Columbia, who loves turning big ideas into practical classroom innovation. Working in the Conseil scolaire francophone (CSF), he has taught across elementary, secondary, and district contexts. His work blends inclusive teaching, assessment for learning, Francophone identity, and meaningful technology use. Lately, he has been exploring how AI can help teachers build smarter workflows for planning, documentation, and reflection. Steve is especially interested in creating practical systems that reduce cognitive load, strengthen professional judgment, and make educational work more sustainable, creative, and future-ready.

Teachers generate a constant stream of observations, tasks, plans, and follow-ups, yet much of that professional knowledge gets lost across notebooks, emails, and memory. This workshop presents a practical approach to building an educational knowledge base that helps teachers capture daily work, organize planning, track responsibilities, and preserve useful records over time. Grounded in real classroom practice, including daily journaling and report card preparation, it examines how AI agents can support documentation, retrieval, and workflow consistency without replacing professional judgment. Participants will leave with concrete ideas for creating a sustainable knowledge base that reduces cognitive load and supports reflective practice.

Target Age: Primary, Intermediate, Secondary, General

Target Audience: Pretty Comfortable, Tech expert

Area of Focus: Assessment and/or Portfolios, Instructional Strategies and Support, AI, Efficiency with Technology

Kent Lui

Kent Lui is a 22-year classroom veteran and the Science Department Head at Moscrop Secondary. He has become a highly sought-after speaker across North America because he delivers what traditional professional development often lacks: a wealth of real-world, boots-on-the-ground experience to back up big educational theories. Teachers value Kent’s sessions because his strategies aren't just great in principle - they are actively tested and proven in a modern classroom.

A featured presenter at major national events including the ASCD conference and the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) Engage, Kent has worked with school boards continent-wide to modernize instructional practices. Beyond the stage, he shares actionable resources and lesson strategies through his podcast (Testing Testing), website (realsciencechallenge.com) and YouTube channel (@realsciencechallenge), helping educators everywhere bring practical innovation to their daily routines.

AI has changed the game - so our assessments need to change with it. In this fast‑paced workshop, teachers learn how to design tasks that highlight real student thinking: framing questions, evaluating AI outputs, and adapting work using their own judgment. Using the Human → AI → Human framework, participants will practice smart prompting and co‑create assignments that push deeper learning instead of surface‑level responses. Walk away with ready‑to‑use assessments that embrace AI collaboration while keeping human reasoning front and center.

Target Age: General

Target Audience: Tech beginner, Pretty Comfortable

Area of Focus: Assessment and/or Portfolios, AI

Lila Armstrong

I am currently teaching grade 8 digital literacy - the first stand alone course of the kind in our district. As a former elementary teacher, and elementary/secondary teacher librarian, I come with a diverse experience in learners and content. I am passionate about professional development for teachers, and helping students learn to successfully navigate the changing  information landscape. Critical thinking skills for digital media and AI need to be developed in a variety of contexts and curricular areas. 

I am collaborating with Digital Moment to connect digital literacy and AI literacy for teachers. School districts are approaching these skills in different ways, but empowered and confident teachers can lead this critical skill development in their classrooms. 

Target Age: Intermediate, Secondary

Target Audience: Tech beginner, Pretty Comfortable

Area of Focus: Instructional Strategies and Support, Social Media, AI

Darren Yung

Darren is a teacher at Cariboo Hill Secondary School in SD41 Burnaby. He's been teaching since 2000, with most of his years teaching math and computers in SD36 Surrey. He switched districts in 2019/2020 when his daughter started grade 8 in Burnaby and the opportunity to teach the Palo Alto Cybersecurity at Cariboo came up. He is also a member of the CUEBC Exec and currently in the role as one of the Vice Presidents.

Interested in learning how to make your own video lessons using your presentations and camera? In this session I will show you how to do a simple talking-head video recording from your laptop or desktop computer, to more sophisticated scene switching using OBS.

Target Age: General

Target Audience: Pretty Comfortable

Area of Focus: Multimedia Tools, Office 365, Efficiency with Technology

Robert Bennet

Robert Bennett is a former animator, layout artist, and storyboard artist with credits that include hit shows My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and Transformers: Rescue Bots. He teaches game design to elementary students in the Lower Mainland and film and animation to high school students.

Learn about the fundamental principles of animation while engaging in and practicing pixel based and
stop motion animations.

Target Age: Primary, Intermediate, Secondary, General

Target Audience: Tech beginner, Pretty Comfortable

Area of Focus: Multimedia Tools

Dave McCristall

Dave McCristall a long time teacher at Terry Fox Secondary School in Coquitlam and is the current president of CUEBC.

Want to throw out your Gradebook? I haven't had one in years, this is how... Plus: Learn tips and tricks to streamline your report card comment writing. Personalized comments for all your learners is easy after learning these hidden tips and tricks.

Target Age: General (All Grades)

Target Audience: Tech beginner, Pretty Comfortable

Area of Focus: Assessment, Other

Richard Cooper

Richard is a Science teacher is SD43 Coquitlam, teaching Biology and Junior Science at Pinetree Secondary School. He's a unapologetic tech nerd and loves the convergence of how technology lets us make change in the world.

Come play and exploring designing objects in 3D using Tinkercad. Do you have a 3D printer gathering dust in a closet that you want to make use of it? Let's play and build together. (Please bring a laptop with a mouse to the session)

Target Age: General (All Grades)

Target Audience: Tech beginner, Pretty Comfortable

Area of Focus: ADST

Cari Wilson

Cari is the District VP of Innovation and Technology for West Vancouver Schools.

In this fast-paced session we will take a whirlwind tour of some of the cool digital tools that are out there for elementary school teachers and kids. From Literacy to Numeracy to ADST and AI, there's a digital tool for almost everything!

Target Age: Primary, Intermediate

Target Audience: Tech beginner, Pretty Comfortable

Area of Focus: Digital Tools

Dennis Wong

Dennis is a recent retired ICT teacher who taught for 34 years in the Coquitlam School District. He has used Blender in his classroom for over 20 years and continues to be amazed at it's capabilities. Dennis is currenlty the Treasurer for CUEBC after serving previously as publication chair and webmaster.

Join this introductory workshop to explore Blender, the open-source 3D software. You’ll discover how 3D animations are brought to life, learn essential modeling techniques using the Extrude tool, and configure settings to prepare your models for 3D printing. We will share practical tutorials, tips, and tricks to help you keep building your skills after the session. Blender can be downloaded at Blender.org. Bring a 3 button mouse to the workshop along with your laptop.

Target Age: Intermediate, Secondary

Target Audience: Tech beginner

Area of Focus: Multimedia Tools

Brianna Sustiak

Brianna is a teacher in SD36 Surrey  teacher with over 15 years teaching secondary STEM subjects, including Computer Science, Physics, Mathematics and IT. Brianna runs currently run the Computer Science Co-op Program at Fleetwood Park Secondary and  enjoy sharing my knowledge with other teachers and have presented in various topics involving use of technology in education, especially AI.

Explore simple ways for students to capture evidence of their learning as it happens using photos, short reflections, QR codes, and digital tools. Learn how these process journals can help students reflect on their growth and prepare to discuss their work in portfolios and conferences. This approach can be adapted to art, ADST, science, programming, and other project-based courses.

Target Age: Intermediate, Secondary

Target Audience: Tech beginner, Pretty Comfortable

Area of Focus: Assessment and/or Portfolios, Instructional Strategies and Support, Multimedia Tools, AI