The Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted conventional learning environments and left K-12 schools and universities with a huge dilemma. How do we create a learning environment that produces positive student outcomes while keeping all of our stakeholders safe and healthy?

This fall, many K-12 schools and universities across the globe are planning to adopt a blended learning model, which includes elearning and face to face instruction. In response to this unprecedented change in instructional modalities, new technologies will need to be adopted. Also, educators and administrators must ensure that students who are learning remotely are engaged academically.

Learn how to prepare for the “new normal”

How can educators and administrators ensure that they are up for this “novel” challenge? Enter, the 2020 Presence Summit, a virtual conference that will hold its first convening on July 15, 2020. Attendees will learn how to develop and deliver engaging learning experiences that will produce positive student outcomes. They will also learn innovative video communication strategies that will allow them to effectively teach remote students.

The conference is a full-day event and will feature motivational keynote speeches and interactive breakout sessions with leaders and experts from companies such as Zoom. Attendees can choose to follow the paid professional development track, with sessions, and breakouts, or the free live stream track. If you want to hear thought leaders discuss the future of education post Covid-19, then the 2020 Presence Summit is a must-attend virtual event.

The summit is designed as a first of its kind, professional development conference for video communication. Attendees are sure to love the collaborative Zoom rooms and interactive experiences. They will also enjoy learning how to provide effective instruction and engage learners using video, and without even realizing it, become better on-camera communicators in the process.

The keynote speaker, Joseph Pine, author of The Experience Economy, will give a rousing keynote that will help attendees create better customer experiences through the use of video. Fatima Doman, author of Authentic Resilience, will give a talk on activating personal engagement, resilience, and mindfulness, through high-performance actions. Author Paul Richards, and host of the popular live streaming show StreamGeeks, will discuss podcasting and how to use it as an effective communication medium.

The event offers a diverse range of topics, such as identifying and responding to non-verbal cues, developing engaging presentations, increasing the size and engagement level of community members, and more. Collaborative learning activities will allow participants to become conscious of their communication styles and learn how they can successfully interact with their polar opposites. After the conference ends, attendees will be able to take the knowledge and skills that they gain back to their teams to improve video communication across their entire organizations.

If you love adventure, make sure you check out the Presence Summit halftime show, which features filmmaker and the founder of Urbanist, Ariel Viera, guiding a tour through the busy streets of NYC on a live Zoom excursion. Doesn’t that sound like fun? And guess what, the fun does not stop there. Artist G. Love (Garrett Dutton), will give a special interactive performance for the Presence Summit finale.

The tech panel is worth the price of admission

If you know anything about my background, then you are aware that I love writing about innovative ways to use tech to improve the teaching and learning process. So, I was pleased to find out that the conference features a tech panel, made up of some amazing edtech trailblazers. The title of the panel is Reimagined Campus & Workplace Learning, and the following speakers will headline it:

1. John C. Ittelson, Ph.D. Professor Emeritus, CSU Monterey Bay
2. Joe Way, Ph.D., CTS Dir of Learning Environments at the USC
3. Julian Phillips SVP Global Workplace Solutions at AVI-SPL
4. Sean Brown Chief Strategist at Campus Reimagined

Trust me, the tech panel alone is worth choosing the paid professional development track.

Concluding thoughts

Continuing education is a necessity for educators, especially with Covid-19 forcing schools to adopt a blended and remote learning instructional delivery system. Conferences like the Presence Summit are a convenient way for them to access training from the comfort of home. In my opinion, this event is a must-attend for teaching and learning professionals around the world. The Presence Summit is where education and innovative technology come together to solve modern problems.

After participating in this virtual event, you will leave refreshed and revitalized and ready to take on whatever teaching and learning challenge comes your way. The full-day Presence Summit is co-sponsored by HuddleCamHD, makers of the popular HuddleCamHD SimplTrack2 camera, which helps users simplify their lecture capture or conference recording workflow, and AV distributor Starin, a Midwich Group company. The July 15 schedule can be accessed at: https://presencesummit.com/. The live stream is free, but those interested in the professional development track with access to Zoom breakout sessions can purchase tickets here.