Featured Speakers

Dawn Reed, Red Cedar Writing Project
​Research Writing Rewired: Composing with Digital Tools
Sunday, October 2  1:30-2:30 pm EST 

Dawn Reed is an English teacher at Okemos High School in Okemos, Michigan, and is a co-director of Red Cedar Writing Project at Michigan State University, a site of the National Writing Project. Dawn earned her master’s degree in Writing and Rhetoric with a specialization in Critical Studies in Literacy and Pedagogy from Michigan State University. She conducts professional development for teachers focused on technology integration and the teaching of writing. She is co-author of Research Writing Rewired: Lessons that Ground Students’ Digital Learning (Corwin Literacy 2015) and Real Writing: Modernizing the Old School Essay (Rowman and Littlefield 2016), and has published in various journals, books, and websites. Follow Dawn on Twitter at @dawnreed.

Kara Clayton, South Redford School District, MI
​Using Video to Enhance Student Writing
​Sunday, October 2   4:30-5:30 pm EST

Kara Clayton has taught media studies courses for more than 20 years at Thurston High School in the South Redford School District just outside of Detroit, Michigan. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication from The University of Michigan, and a Masters in Reading from Eastern Michigan University. She recently earned a Graduate Certificate in Digital Literacy from The University of Rhode Island Harrington School of Communication. She will complete requirements for her Masters in Adult Education from the University of Rhode Island in 2016. Kara is the recipient of the Courageous Persuaders Courageous Leader Award (2010), the National Council for teachers of English Media Literacy Award (2012), and the Michigan Youth Arts Touchstone Award (2012). Kara also served as a board member for the National Association of Media Literacy Education. 

Richard Kreinbring, Oakland Writing Project
Tumblr: the Ultimate Authentic Student Writing Platform
​Sunday, October 2  6:00-7:00 pm EST

Rick Kreinbring teaches English at Avondale High School in Auburn Hills, Michigan. His current assignments include teaching AP Language and Composition and AP Literature and Composition. He is a member of a statewide research project through the Michigan Teachers as Researchers Collaborative partnered with the MSU Writing in Digital Environments Program, which concentrates on improving student writing and peer feedback. Rick has presented at the National Advanced Placement Convention and the National Council of Teachers of English Conference. He is in his twenty-third year of teaching and makes his home in Huntington Woods.

Lindsay Stoetzel, University of Wisconsin - Madison
​Design Thinking: Digital Writing in the Classroom
Sunday, October 9  1:30-2:30 pm EST

Lindsay Stoetzel is a Doctoral Candidate in Curriculum & Instruction at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her research interests are in teacher education and literacy studies, with a particular emphasis on preparing preservice teachers to develop understandings and practices for teaching with technologies. In addition to teaching literacy methods courses and supervising preservice teachers, Lindsay works as an Outreach Specialist in the Office of Education Outreach & Partnerships at UW, where she develops online curriculum for ongoing professional learning of practicing teachers and instructional coaches. Prior to her current role, Lindsay was a high school and middle school English teacher in southwest Michigan. 

Amanda Cornwell, Lake Michigan Writing Project
What's on the Menu? Blogging Three Ways
​Sunday, October 16  9:00-10:00 pm EST

Amanda Cornwell teaches 7th grade English at Portland Middle School in Portland, Michigan.  She has also participated as a Teacher Consultant with the Lake Michigan Writing Project since 2005, assisting with Summer Institute facilitation, presenting at national Annual Meetings and serving as Technology Liaison for several years. Amanda has been teaching since 2004, having spent the first two years leading a fifth grade classroom and the remainder of that time teaching middle school English. Amanda enjoys learning more about new technologies such as collaborative writing, coding, and makerspace. Amanda writes on her blog, has guest published a piece on the Two Writing Teachers, and quickly produced this video in response to the tornado that touched down in her community last summer. In her free time, Amanda enjoys reading, writing, photography, singing, spending time with family which is even better if it includes sand and sunshine. Amanda is married to Garth, who teaches science across the building, and they have a second grade daughter Seneca and third grade son Calder.  

Ari Dolid, Bay Area Writing Project
Collaborative Writing 2.0: Moves Writers Can Make
Sunday, October 23  1:30-2:30 pm EST

​Ari Dolid is an Instructional Coach in the San Leandro Unified School District, focusing on English Language Arts and strategic integration of technology in grades 6-12.  In this role, he is able to support teachers and administrators as they engage in work to develop authentic, personalized and rigorous reading and writing experiences for all students.  Previously, he taught English Language Arts for 14 years, and is a co-founder of The Social Justice Academy at San Leandro High School, a small school program dedicated to empowering youth to become agents of change in their communities on personal, cultural and institutional levels.  Ari is also a proud member of the Bay Area Writing Project, currently serving as the Technology Coordinator, where he is working with brilliant colleagues to build a hub of innovation around tech-based writing instruction, especially with regard to new frontiers of collaborative writing in digital spaces and new approaches to research based writing.  And it cannot be overstated that he would not have found any of this success without his fantastic partner Anne and his two children, Asher and Isaac, who help him maintain orbit in Oakland, California.