Jennifer Casa-Todd

Add to My Shortlist

Education, Literacy and Digital Classroom Expert

Jennifer Casa-Todd is a gifted speaker and workshop facilitator. She has been described as engaging, inspirational, knowledgeable, and passionate. She balances research, stories, and humour, with practical take-aways and hands-on opportunities for learning. She is currently a Teacher-Librarian in Aurora, Ontario Canada, and author of the book, Social LEADia, published by Dave Burgess Consulting. Before this, she spent six years at the District level as a Program Resource Teacher for Literacy and Literacy Consultant, respectively.

In my district-level role, Jennifer Casa-Todd has had the honor of working with teachers from Kindergarten to grade twelve in practically every subject area to integrate technology in the classroom, to support literacy, assessment, and differentiation, and to promote twenty-first century competencies. She has also had the privilege to write curriculum for the Ministry of Education of Ontario’s 21st Century Learning office as well as the Catholic Curriculum Corporation. She is a life-long learner currently studying at the University of Ontario, Institute of Technology with a focus on social media in education and Digital Citizenship.

Jennifer Casa-Todd is a wife and mom of two teens. Wearing her parent hat, she has been the co-chair as well as an active member of the Parent Council for over a decade, bringing parent and school communities together for a variety of issues. She has also worked closely with the Bully-Free Alliance of York Region with whom she initiated a panel discussion, “Fears, Cheers, and Unclears: Parenting in a Connected World.” Jennifer is also the lead organizer for the Digital Citizenship Summit, Canada happening in Fall of 2018.

Casa-Todd is the also the author of Social LEADia: Moving Students from Digital Citizenship to Digital Leadership. It is full of examples of students who are leveraging social media for good, and the teachers who are empowering them to do so. Teachers and Schools have banned and blocked social media for over a decade, and the results are only limiting ongoing learning opportunities and disconnecting teachers from students. It’s time for a new approach.

Jennifer Casa-Todd loves learning and connecting with other educators from across the globe, and is passionate about connecting students to each other and to the world. Technology has the potential to transform learning in ways we can only have imagined when we were in school! With awesome power, comes awesome responsibility too! She believes we need to think critically about issues of equity, access, privacy, and safety.

Jennifer Casa-Todd brings her experience as a teacher, consultant, student, and a parent to equip a variety of audiences to think differently about the power of technology and social media to transform learning experiences. She was honored to be mentioned as one of the Top 10 Newsmakers of the Year in Tech in 2016. She is passionate about showing teachers and students how they can use technology and social media to make the world a better place.

Topic Presentations

Social LEADia: Empowering Students to Be Digital Leaders

We so often tell kids what they CAN’T do online. It’s time we focus on what they CAN do. This session will highlight Student Digital Leaders who are using technology and social media to learn and share learning, address social inequality, and be a more positive influence in the lives of others. We talk about connected educators, and yet connecting our students and engaging them in opportunities for Digital Leadership teaches them to be confident problem-solvers and must be a moral imperative in an age where they themselves will be Googled.

Participants will be guided to start their journeys to inspire staff and students to use social media beyond the social. It will showcase students who are not waiting until tomorrow to demonstrate leadership. It will provide educators with ideas about how to contextualize important digital citizenship lessons in positive and empowering ways, shifting away from the fear and negativity.

*Can be customized to Administrators and Teacher-Librarians

The Teacher-Librarian Superhero

The importance of Teacher-Librarians cannot be understated. We have always been at the forefront of helping students find credible sources, detect bias, and curate information. In our roles, we can empower students to leverage technology and social media to learn & share learning, to stand up for others, and to be a more positive influence on others. We can connect students to each other and to the world. We can be the adult mentors who help change the trajectory of social media use in school. What the world needs now, more than ever is us!

Fears, Cheers, & Unclears: Parenting in a Modern World (parent keynote) Do you wonder . . .

How much technology is too much?

How to keep your children safe online?

What you need to know about privacy and online safety?

How technology can be connected to issues such as cyberbullying but how it can also contribute positively to social interactions?

How technology can be transformational for learning as children move from kindergarten to adolescence?

This presentation will inform, educate, and provide a variety of perspectives and strategies for parenting in a connected world.

The Power of Twitter for PD (workshop)

There are literally hundreds of thousands of educators currently using Twitter for learning and sharing. If you’ve heard about Twitter but you just don’t understand what the fuss is about, but are interested in learning more about the ways in which you can use it for your own professional learning, then this workshop is for you.

Participants will create an effective bio and learn how to create tweets, reply, and retweet.

They will also learn about common Twitter etiquette, the power of hashtags and use lists to follow some incredible educators in the world.

Connecting Students to Each Other and the World (keynote or workshop)

This session will allow you to walk away with ideas to connect your students to other students in your school, district and in the world. Participants will learn about exciting projects happening right now and discover how easy it really can be to move beyond the walls of your classroom using technology. There will be a focus on the following tools:

Google Hangouts

Google Hangouts on Air

Google Plus Communities

Flipgrid

Twitter.

The Amazing Race EDU (workshop)

What happens when Amazing Race meets a Breakout EDU escape-like game? Why critical thinking, creativity, problem-solving, and FUN of course. Play a sample game and learn how to get your own students in grades 7-12 get started to create their own Amazing Race EDU games for a global audience.

Share On:

Check Availablity

Language Spoken

English

Travels From

Toronto, Ontario

VIDEOS

BOOKS

Social LEADia

Equipping students for their future begins by helping them become digital leaders now. In our networked society, students need to learn how to leverage social media to connect to people, passions, and opportunities to grow and make a difference. When people think of kids and their devices, it is often with dismay. But technology is here to stay, which means we must educate, empower, and inspire our students to use social media to ...learn and share learning, address societal inequality, share their voices, and be a more positive influence in others' lives Social LEADia addresses the need to shift our conversations at school and at home from digital citizenship to digital leadership. Inside, you'll read about some amazing kids who are leveraging social media in positive and powerful ways. They are passionate and empathetic leaders online and offline, and they model the reality that students don't need to wait for tomorrow to lead--they can be world-changers TODAY.

ARTICLES & MEDIA

TESTIMONIALS

“The presentation was excellent and relevant for our families …thank you so much for allowing parents the opportunity to network with you via the twitter feed. The fact that you continue to support families on your own time really highlights your care and passion. Thank you!”
–Kellie Berndt, Principal, Britannia Public School

“I found Jennifer Casa-Todd to be an engaging speaker who engaged the groups. She had solid content knowledge and adapted her presentation to the needs of the group. I felt she addressed my needs because I am a consultant with the board who is trying to promote cross-curricular connections and to encourage people to try something small with google as a first step”.
Ontario Summit attendee, April 2016