Cultivating Digital Creators
in Elementary School

Focus: Building Sustainable Student Agency

Most schools adopt technology tool by tool, trend by trend — and wonder why nothing sticks. The Essential 5 Cs (Clickable, Choice, Curation, Collaboration, and Connection) gives your teachers a repeatable, pedagogy-first framework that turns technology from an add-on into a genuine engine for student agency.

Focus: AI-Assisted Tool Building, with Pedagogy-First Creation 

Learn to describe what your students need in plain language and let AI write the code. No technical background required. Every tool is grounded in UDL, the Essential 5 Cs, and real classroom practice. 

Focus: AI as a Thought Partner

AI is only as inclusive as the educator using it. Learn how to use AI tools as a custom thought partner — generating leveled texts, building visual scaffolds, and designing learning experiences that ensure every student, including multilingual learners and students with disabilities, has a voice in the room.

Focus: Moving Beyond "Answer-Getting in Elementary Math 

The goal was never the answer — it was the thinking behind it. Learn how tools like Amplify Desmos and Wixie can transform math instruction from silent, individual answer-getting into rich, visible mathematical discourse where every learner can show what they know.

Focus: Collaboration Continuum

Collaboration isn't a personality trait — it's a skill we teach. The Collaboration Continuum gives educators a clear, scaffolded path: from structured turn-taking to color-coded digital spaces to guided inquiry — building the habits young learners need to thrive in truly student-led, project-based work. 

Format: Keynote or Workshop 

In this session, you won't just hear about student agency — you'll experience what it looks like when a framework actually holds. We'll move through each of the 5 Cs hands-on, explore how Project Zero's thinking routines help students organize and communicate ideas, and build a clear picture of what this looks like across K–5 classrooms. You'll leave with a roadmap you can implement the very next day — not someday.  

Perfect for: District-wide tech integration, Digital Literacy initiatives

Featured in Edutopia: 

Using Technology to Enhance Student Voice 

Format: Workshop (2-3 hours) or Breakout Session

In this hands-on session, you'll move from observer to builder. Using AI-assisted coding and the TannenbaumTech Design Frame, you'll describe what your students need in plain language — and watch it become a real, interactive, UDL-aligned digital tool. No coding background needed. You'll leave with something your students can use tomorrow, and the confidence to build again on your ow . .

Perfect for: Elementary tech coaches, instructional specialists, and classroom teachers ready to move from tool consumers to tool creators  

Read my Reflections post:

Why I Started Building My Own Tools

Explore the toolkit:

TannenbaumTech Vibe Coding →

Format: Workshop (3 Hours) or Breakout Session 

This session puts the latest UDL guidelines in one hand and practical AI tools in the other — and shows you exactly how to use both together. You'll explore real classroom examples, try strategies designed specifically for multilingual learners and students with disabilities, and leave with tools you can adapt immediately. Every student having a voice isn't an aspiration here. It's the outcome we design for. 

Perfect for: Inclusion specialists, Tech coaches, General Ed teachers

Featured in Edutopia:
Using AI to Support Universal Design for Learning
in Elementary School

Format: Workshop or Breakout Session

This session will change how you see a math classroom. We'll explore how tools like Amplify Desmos, Wixie, and Pear Deck's Flashcard Factory make student thinking visible — turning quiet, individual work into rich, whole-class discourse. You'll experience these tools as a learner first, then leave with ready-to-use activities and a clear plan for bringing mathematical conversation to life in your own classroom. 

Perfect for: Math specialists, Elementary classroom teachers.

Read my Edutopia article:
Using Tech Tools to Energize Young Students
Math Learning

Format: Breakout Session 

In this session, we slow down and actually teach collaboration — the way we teach reading or math. You'll walk the Collaboration Continuum yourself: experiencing turn-taking structures, color-coded digital spaces, and guided inquiry scaffolds that give young learners the safety and skills to work together independently. You'll leave with concrete tools, clear entry points for your grade level, and a path toward genuine student-led, project-based learning 

 Perfect for: Early childhood and elementary educators, New teacher induction.

 Read my Edutopia article:
Fostering Collaboration Among Young Students Using Digital Tools