MACE: Full Schedule

1:45pm CST

Not just Drones, a STEM Technology Playground

Thursday March 6, 2025 1:45pm - 2:30pm CST

Curious about incorporating STEM into your curriculum but unsure what tools to use? Step into this STEM Playground, where you’ll get hands-on with tools like Makey-Makey, Sphero Bolt and RVR, Ozobot Bit, Edison Robots, Micro:Bit and a drone. Explore everything from basic electronics to block coding and advanced programming. Not sure if you’ll have funds to pay for STEM materials? I’ve got you covered with resources and guidance to help you secure funding. Best of all, you’ll have time to play and discover which tools best fit your classroom!

Speakers

Laura Leis

Tech Integration Support Specialist, Smoky Valley

I am a technology integration specialist and work with staff and students from preschool to 12th grade for Smoky Valley. My ultimate goal is to use technology to engage students with meaningful and relevant instruction and activities that enhance their learning. I am passionate about... Read More →

Thursday March 6, 2025 1:45pm - 2:30pm CST
KSU Union Room 206

STEM, Drones

Audience ALL

3:00pm CST

SPOTLIGHT SPEAKER- Sparking Positive Disruption (REPEAT)

Thursday March 6, 2025 3:00pm - 3:45pm CST

KSU Union Forum Hall

Technology can easily replace paper and pencil in the classroom, which makes teacher life more efficient. What if we used technology as a positive disruptor instead of just a replacement for paper and pencil? In this session, I will introduce you to the T3 Framework and how you can level up the use of technology to disrupt the normal day to day use. We will explore different platforms that can elevate student engagement and learning outcomes and help you spark a positive disruption!

Speakers

Rachel Meenen

Instructional Coach, Andover Public Schools

With 15 years of experience in education, I have dedicated my career to helping students reach their potential. For the first eight years of my career I was a classroom teacher and for the last seven years I have been working as an Instructional Coach. Both of these roles have allowed... Read More →

Thursday March 6, 2025 3:00pm - 3:45pm CST
KSU Union Forum Hall

STEM

Audience ALL
Subject STEM

3:00pm CST

Sunderland Foundation Innovation Lab Tour at Hale Library

Thursday March 6, 2025 3:00pm - 4:45pm CST

Alumni Center Front Entrance

The Sunderland Foundation Innovation Lab is K-State's shared learning environment and makerspace that's open to all faculty, staff, students, and the surrounding community. This collection of spaces blends innovative and emerging technologies with experiential learning on two floors of K-State’s historic Hale Library. Join Innovation Lab staff for a tour of this exciting environment and learn more about how our media, data, and prototyping resources add value to the K-State experience and advance the University’s Land Grant mission.

Speakers

Lindsay Mazouch

Thursday March 6, 2025 3:00pm - 4:45pm CST
Alumni Center Front Entrance

STEM

4:00pm CST

SPOTLIGHT SPEAKER- Sparking Positive Disruption (REPEAT)

Thursday March 6, 2025 4:00pm - 4:45pm CST

KSU Union Forum Hall

Speakers

Rachel Meenen

Instructional Coach, Andover Public Schools

Thursday March 6, 2025 4:00pm - 4:45pm CST
KSU Union Forum Hall

STEM

Audience ALL
Subject STEM

8:00am CST

Digital Explorers: Introducing Students to Coding with Modern Tech

Friday March 7, 2025 8:00am - 8:45am CST

Alumni Tadtman Board Room

During this session, get some ideas of how you can incorporate coding into your classroom. Explore free, paid, hands-on, and tech free ideas to incorporate into your classroom tomorrow.

Speakers

Brittany Horning

Library Media Specalist, USD 259- Wichita Public Schools

Prek-5th grade Library Media Specialist

Friday March 7, 2025 8:00am - 8:45am CST
Alumni Tadtman Board Room

STEM

Audience All
Subject Coding, STEM

8:00am CST

Growing a Makerspace – Successes and Challenges

Friday March 7, 2025 8:00am - 8:45am CST

Alumni Purple Pride Conference Room

Ignite creativity in your school through the development of a makerspace. We'll explore sources of funding to kickstart and sustain your makerspace, technology and supplies to maximize student engagement and creativity, concepts for layout and space optimization, and ways to navigate potential challenges and hurdles. This session aims to equip you with practical tools and inspiration to transform your makerspace vision into reality.

Speakers

Jenny Karr

Instructional Technician, Manhattan-Ogden USD 383

Jennifer Karr has worked with the Manhattan-Ogden school district since 2017: five years as a 9th grade biology classroom teacher and currently as a Technology Integration Specialist. She works with secondary teachers and students to implement various educational technology tools... Read More →

Friday March 7, 2025 8:00am - 8:45am CST
Alumni Purple Pride Conference Room

STEM

Audience All
Subject STEM

8:00am CST

Python Programming Made Easy with CMU

Friday March 7, 2025 8:00am - 8:45am CST

KSU Union Room 226

CMU CS Academy is an online, graphics-based computer science curriculum taught in Python provided by Carnegie Mellon University. They create novel, world-class Computer Science education for your classroom —and it’s entirely free.

Speakers

Jason Maisog

Teacher, EJSHS

First year CS teacher.

Friday March 7, 2025 8:00am - 8:45am CST
KSU Union Room 226

STEM, CMU CS Academy

Audience All
Subject Computer Science

8:00am CST

Synergize! Maximizing Your Collaboration Opportunities

Friday March 7, 2025 8:00am - 8:45am CST

Alumni Banquet Room A

Want to improve student engagement? Want students to gain valuable real-world tech and problem solving skills but classroom teachers feel stretched just covering core content? Learn ways to leverage and maximize the collaboration between your certified Library Media Specialist and classroom teachers! Walk away with practical ideas for planning, scheduling, collaborating, and integrating library, technology, and core skills even if you have fixed, flexible, or hybrid schedule!

Speakers

Amy Allen

Library Media Specialist, USD 308

Friday March 7, 2025 8:00am - 8:45am CST
Alumni Banquet Room A

STEM, Student Engagement

9:00am CST

Energy is Electrifying Through STEM!

Friday March 7, 2025 9:00am - 9:45am CST

Alumni Tadtman Board Room

Come learn about how to integrate energy into your classroom through STEM projects like building solar cars and building wind turbines and if you attend you get to take FREE classroom materials home with you! Also learn how USD 273 has created a business/school partnership to make their school more energy efficient by turning their school into a Living Learning Lab through installing sensors and letting students look at their own building data analytics in the classroom! Come hear how motivation to learn spikes when students are using their own building data!

Speakers

Christie Fouts

Junior High Technology/STEM Teacher, USD 273

I am a 7th & 8th grade Technology/STEM teacher at Beloit Jr. Sr. High School. In 2014 USD 273 decided it was vital to implement a STEM program into our schools. We have continued to strengthen and grow our program into a K-12 STEM program. I would love to share with you my STEM... Read More →

Friday March 7, 2025 9:00am - 9:45am CST
Alumni Tadtman Board Room

STEM

Audience ALL
Subject STEM

9:00am CST

Reading, Math, and Robots! Oh My!

Friday March 7, 2025 9:00am - 9:45am CST

Alumni Lecture Room

Explore hands-on strategies that enhance literacy through storytelling with robots, make math come alive with interactive problem-solving, and dive into the basics of coding in a fun, accessible way. Collaborate with fellow educators to learn and share creative lesson ideas, all while fostering a tech-savvy mindset in your students.

Speakers

Melissa Love

K-4 STEAM Teacher, Vermillion Elementary School-USD 266

Friday March 7, 2025 9:00am - 9:45am CST
Alumni Lecture Room

STEM

Audience All
Subject STEM

9:00am CST

Tinkering with Tinkercad- Using 3D Modeling in the Classroom

Friday March 7, 2025 9:00am - 9:45am CST

Alumni Purple Pride Conference Room

Join us for a workshop aimed at equipping educators with the skills and knowledge to effectively integrate Tinkercad into their classrooms. In this session, you will create a free account and get hands-on experience in using Tinkercad, an intuitive online platform for 3D modeling that can spark creativity and innovation in students.

Participants will explore the features of Tinkercad, learn how to create engaging 3D projects, and have some time to brainstorm how you can use it in your own classroom.

While being able to 3D print student designs is a great bonus to Tinkercad, you can still use it effectively in your classroom without having access to a 3D printer, so don't let that stop you from coming!

By the end of this session, educators will feel confident in using Tinkercad to enhance student engagement and learning outcomes. Join us to unlock the potential of 3D design and inspire your students to think critically and creatively!

Speakers

Jessica Buchanan

Engineering Teacher, Maize Middle School

Hi! I’m a middle school engineering teacher and absolutely love my job! I get to teach Automation & Robotics, Design & Modeling, and Flight & Space at Maize Middle School. They are PLTW courses, but I love to incorporate additional creative opportunities for my students. We are... Read More →

Friday March 7, 2025 9:00am - 9:45am CST
Alumni Purple Pride Conference Room

STEM, Tinkercad

Audience ALL
Subject STEM

10:00am CST

Blown Away by Data: How 4th Graders and High Schoolers Use Technology to Capture the Power of Wind

Friday March 7, 2025 10:00am - 10:45am CST

Alumni Purple Pride Conference Room

Get ready to be inspired by a hands-on journey into renewable energy and data science through the eyes of two teachers - a fourth grade teacher and a high school science teacher. In this session, you will discover how learners were challenged to think critically while building skills in data literacy and environmental stewardship. Fourth graders and high schoolers experimented with wind turbines, used energy sensors to capture data, and analyzed the data to uncover surprising insights about energy efficiency - each at their own level. Curiosity and lots of questions inspired students to design and then make adjustments to wind turbine blades in an attempt to get maximum energy output. These scientists observed real-time results that revealed fascinating patterns about energy in motion -- all while building an excitement for STEM.
Join us to see how technology can spark curiosity and equip the next generation of problem-solvers, all while bringing the power of wind and data into the classroom.

Speakers

Jennifer Tillberg

Fourth Grade Teacher, Smoky Valley

Friday March 7, 2025 10:00am - 10:45am CST
Alumni Purple Pride Conference Room

STEM

Audience Elementary
Subject Science, STEM

10:00am CST

How I Snuck Teaching Coding to My Students

Friday March 7, 2025 10:00am - 10:45am CST

Alumni Tadtman Board Room

Some students believe only smart students can code. In my lab, all the students code.
Using Block Coding in different forms, students can move robots, an Agent in Minecraft, make basic apps for their iPad, run a microprocessor, or fly a drone. Depending on your comfort level and accommodations, there are multiple ways to bring Coding into your lessons. I will demonstrate Block Coding for the group and give participants time to code a Shero Bolt (you will need to download Sphero Edu on your device to participate in the demonstration). Even if you only use "Hour of Code" in your room, you can still expose students to an exploding career field in STEM.

Speakers

David Maneth

Technology Educator, USD259 Wichita Public School

I have been teaching for twenty years but I keep refreshing how I teach so I keep my students engaged in my content. Currently I am working on supplementing my teaching with LEGO Bricks and Minecraft Education Edition.

Friday March 7, 2025 10:00am - 10:45am CST
Alumni Tadtman Board Room

STEM, Block Coding

Audience All
Subject STEM

10:00am CST

STEM Adventure: Build, Code, and Conquer the Challenges!

Friday March 7, 2025 10:00am - 11:45am CST

Alumni Banquet Room A

In this 90-minute session, you'll collaborate in teams to tackle two exciting challenges. First, you'll design and build a device capable of carrying a payload while navigating a course powered by a Sphero. In the second challenge, your team will create a device to drive and retrieve rings from a custom-built gateway. This hands-on activity encourages critical thinking, engineering design, physics, coding, and more. While this session lasts 90 minutes, this project would typically take multiple class periods to fully complete.

Speakers

Jess Blouvan

Tech Specialist in Coding and Robotics, Bishop Development Center, Topeka Kansas TPS 501

Gail Ramirez

Curriculum Technology Integration Specialist, Topeka Public Schools

I am a district-level Curriculum Technology Integration Specialist. I am certified as a Google Trainer, Seesaw Certified Teacher, Wakelet Coach, Apple Learning Specialist, Microsoft Trainer, and Adobe Certified Expert/Trainer. I work with our computer science curriculum and coding... Read More →

Friday March 7, 2025 10:00am - 11:45am CST
Alumni Banquet Room A

STEM, Sphero

Audience Middle School, High School
Subject STEM

11:00am CST

Bridging STEM and Literacy: Makerspaces as Hubs for Cross-Disciplinary Learning

Friday March 7, 2025 11:00am - 11:45am CST

Alumni Tadtman Board Room

This session will explore how makerspaces and library media programs can blend STEM with literacy skills such as reading, writing, and storytelling. Participants will discover practical strategies and projects that foster creative thinking by encouraging students to apply STEM tools and thinking strategies to narrative-driven learning experiences. The goal is to demonstrate how hands-on activities can enhance comprehension, engagement, and innovation across subject areas.

Speakers

Erica Minton

Technology Teacher, Prairie Ridge Elementary

Friday March 7, 2025 11:00am - 11:45am CST
Alumni Tadtman Board Room

STEM

Audience All
Subject STEM

11:00am CST

Custom AI Chatbots

Friday March 7, 2025 11:00am - 11:45am CST

Alumni Banquet Room B

Learn how you can easily create custom chatbots for students, staff, and parents. Create custom personal learning chatbots as well as chatbots staff and parents can use to get school/distirct information quickly and at any time.

Speakers

Travis True

Curriculum Technology Specialist, Topeka Public Schools

Travis True is an accomplished professional with a strong foundation in instructional design and development, e-learning, and curriculum development. With a career that spans over 20 years and various roles, including Technology Integration Specialist/Instructional Designer at Topeka... Read More →

Friday March 7, 2025 11:00am - 11:45am CST
Alumni Banquet Room B

STEM

Audience ALL

11:00am CST

Empowering Students Through Real-World Energy Efficiency: The K-12 Energy Benchmarking Project

Friday March 7, 2025 11:00am - 11:45am CST

Alumni Purple Pride Conference Room

Join Kansas Energy Program for an informative and interactive session on the Kansas Energy Program’s K-12 Energy Benchmarking Project—a unique, no-cost STEM initiative that brings energy efficiency to life in your classroom! Don’t miss this opportunity to bring energy efficiency into your classroom and give your students a chance to make a real-world impact!

Speakers

Mandy Putnam

Kansas State University

Friday March 7, 2025 11:00am - 11:45am CST
Alumni Purple Pride Conference Room

STEM

Audience All
Subject STEM