Motivated by her passions and driven by her courage, Dr. Timmer is an inventor, a visionary, a writer, a software engineer, a long-distance runner, a teacher, a student, an advocate, an athlete, and a philanthropist.  She holds doctorates in Business Philosophy and Educational Administration, an MBA as well as undergraduate degrees in arts and sciences.  She is the owner of a successful assistive technology company and a published writer.  Dr. Timmer has spent the last decade promoting technology and creating and educational revolution.  She will present a workshop on the future of learning and how Premier will lead the way to that future.  Her workshop is sure to entertain, inform and empower.

Keynote speaker, Todd Cunningham, is a Ph.D. student and researcher from the Ontario Institute of Studies in Education, University of Toronto and the Hospital for Sick Children will discuss strategies for students with learning disabilities and the potential of assistive technology. A talented speaker with the power to motivate, Todd shares his personal struggle with dyslexia and how he used learning technology to overcome it. His engaging presentation will provide a personal perspective on how technology and learning strategies can students with learning challenges be successful.

Ken Grisham is the Co-Founder, President and CEO of Premier Assistive Technology and has more than 35 years of business experience in the field of Information Technology.  His ability to lead in the present while remaining focused on the future has played an integral role in the Premier success story.  With an innate ability to spot and develop opportunity, Ken has been fostering innovation within the fields of assistive technology, literacy tools and learning solutions.  His success and his dedication have made learning technology more available to millions of students, faculty and professional practitioners across Canada and the United States.

Ken will host a discussion of the newly emerging definition of digital literacy with particular emphasis on the trends and challenges that face students, parents, educators and professionals in the global economy. Schools are under tremendous pressure to change in response to the rapidly evolving demands of literacy in the digital age in the 21st century.  Participants in this workshop will learn to identify emerging technology trends that are directly impacting education at all levels, identify sources of digital content and how they might be used in a classroom, learn how new definitions and expectations for "literacy" are changing our requirements for educating our children and how to integrate tools and curricula into the classrooms for the 21st Century education.

Pat, a retired teacher from the London District catholic School Board, has spent the last ten years working with special need students and their families. Her experience spans several levels of the education system and her dedication to students was, and continues to be, unsurpassed.  Pat introduced Premier technology to the London District Catholic School as a way of providing a collection of effective learning tools for her students both in school and at home.  Pat now works for Premier as Education Resource Consultant in southwestern Ontario.

Pat will host a workshop designed to provide teachers with the assessment tools necessary to track student assistive technology skill acquisition using Premier technology. Participants will discuss grade and divisional skill expectations as well as realistic AT goals using Premier technology within the classroom setting. The Future of Learning Conference venue will be the debut for our new Premier Skills Assessment Charts for each program within the Literacy Pack. Each participant will receive the Premier Skills Assessment Charts for the Primary, Junior and Intermediate/Senior divisions as well as program Training Guides.

Siobhan Liabotis is the North Affiliate Resource Teacher for the LDCSB.  She has been teaching for 20 years and has expertise in the area of Assistive Technology and a Masters Degree in Science, specializing in Cooperative Learning and Curriculum Design.

Siobhan and Steve are presenting a workshop centered on the Integration of Premier with SMART Board Technology.  Aspects of this workshop will include: how to embed Premier into unit plans, how to utilize SMART Boards and Premier to develop learning skills and how to develop greater academic and social participation for students with learning challenges.

Steve Chiras is a Grade 8 Teacher at St. Mary Choir and Orchestra School, London, Ontario.  He has been teaching for ten years at both the high school and elementary levels.  Steve’s passion for teaching is contagious and his skill is unsurpassed.

Siobhan and Steve are presenting a workshop centered on the Integration of Premier with SMART Board Technology.  Aspects of this workshop will include: how to embed Premier into unit plans, how to utilize SMART Boards and Premier to develop learning skills and how to develop greater academic and social participation for students with learning challenges.

Jennifer Dolson and JoAnne McGrath share a passion for learning and a commitment to making it more accessible.  Their experience, both extensive and hands-on, spans multiple social and educational forums and organizations that include several learning disability associations as well as Laurentian University.  Strong leadership in planning and implementation of student training, educator workshops, and special events provide the foundation of their philosophies on the delivery and usability of learning technologies.  Their company, True Learning Coach, was born from these philosophies and an unmatched dedication to learning. 
Together, Jennifer and JoAnne will be presenting The True Potential of Learning—Turning Knowledge into Action and Action into Success.  Their session will focus on minimizing the realities of technology abandonment and maximizing success with true integration and implementation across settings.  Jennifer and JoAnne will lead an engaging presentation designed to demonstrate how complete vertical integration of learning technologies in the learning process significantly increases student success. 
The presentation will include such topics as:

1. A demonstration of the integration of Premier Literacy with other software
2. A demonstration of the implementation of Premier Literacy with reading, writing, or test taking strategies
3. The significance of  the use of learning technologies across multiple settings

Bruno Pileggi began his teaching career working with children with special needs and specialized in this area over the last 20 years. He teaches Additional Qualification courses in Special Education and lectures on various topics including the future of learning. He has developed an extensive repertoire of ideas and learning experiences for children using creativity and innovation.

Mario Addesa started his teaching career in Section 20’s TRE-ADD program. This program supported children and young adults diagnosed with severe Autism Spectrum Disorder and Developmental Delays.  Mario’s interests include the future of education and new literacies associated with technology. He often lectures on 21st Century learning and has been a keynote speaker on the subject. He also lectures on the use of technology for all students at conferences, workshops, Universities, and other school boards. Mario also teaches AQ Courses in particular Special Education Parts I, II, III.  He is an active participant of his teachers association (Toronto Elementary Catholic Teachers).

Mario and Bruno will present a workshop entitled Thinking 21st Century Classroom? Think Premier!  This workshop will look at the 21st century learner and engage participants in exploring ways to motivate and support learning.  Students, who learn, live and, will ultimately, work in the 21st century must be literate in more ways than we can imagine.  They require skills that will prepare them for a digital world that is still evolving.  They require abilities to solve problems not yet defined.  Mario and Bruno will facilitate a practical and meaningful exploration of ideas designed to prepare students for today as well as carry them into the future prepared for whatever they find there.

Bob Minnery is the Manager of Alternate Format Material at the Resource Services Library and has supervised the Resource Services Library 10 years.  The Resource Service Library, under the direction of Ontario's Provincial Schools Branch, has created an online catalogue and repository that enables advisors to download alternate format text directly to their computers.  Dedicated to the clients he serves, Bob’s skill and dedication earned the Resource Library the 2009 Showcase Ontario Award of Merit in the innovation category for creating and developing the Resource Services Library system.

Bob will present a workshop that highlights a remarkable system, tailored made to meet the needs of students with print disabilities.

The demonstration will outline:

• A brief history of the Resource Service Library's commitment to service
• What materials are available
• Why the system was created
• How the system was created
• Who the system is designed to serve
• The savings realised through creation of the system
• How many students have benefited from the service to date
• Future directions
• And finally a demonstration on how easy the system is to use

The Education Quality and Accountability Office is dedicated to enhancing the quality and accountability of the education system in Ontario.  The EQAO and Assistive Technology session will examine the necessity of matching the needs of the student with appropriate assistive technology and the correct format of the EQAO Test.   Linking the student to the correct accommodations and providing effective learning technologies is essential in measuring academic performance. This session will detail the matching process and will cover several different technologies, including Premier.

Topics discussed in this session will include:

1. How and where to acquire the EQAO test in accessible formats.
2. Available formats and what assistive technology works with the different formats.
3. A discussion of what formats work best to accommodate different needs of students
4. A test-taking demonstration on how to take the test using various assistive technologies.

A sample test will be provided and, if time allows, attendees will have an opportunity to use Premier learning tools with the EQAO sample test.  This presentation is designed to be interactive and participants are encouraged to bring question and laptop to experiment.

Remember to check back as we will be updating this information regularly!