BOLT Conference 2025

In this session, I will empower my audience to be brave in their writing as I take them on the journey of how my latest book, BETWEEN TWO BROTHERS came into fruition. I will interactively introduce my formula for creating a story that can and should be used in the classroom to ignite students to write.

Join P. J. Hoover, author of the ""Pick Your Own Quest"" series and the instructional guide ""Write Your Own Quest,"" for an engaging presentation on how interactive stories can inspire a love for reading and writing in children. In this dynamic session, Hoover will delve into the unique power of interactive storytelling, where readers become active participants in the narrative, making choices that shape the story's outcome.
Discover how this immersive approach can captivate young minds, encouraging them to explore different scenarios and develop a deeper connection to the characters and plot. Hoover will share insights from her own experiences, demonstrating how interactive stories can transform reluctant readers into enthusiastic ones and motivate budding writers to craft their own tales.
Attendees will learn practical strategies for incorporating interactive narratives into educational settings, fostering creativity, critical thinking, and literacy skills. Whether you're a teacher, librarian, parent, or writer, this presentation will provide valuable tools and inspiration to make reading and writing an adventure for every child. Don't miss this opportunity to explore the magic of interactive stories and their potential to ignite a lifelong passion for literacy.

During this insightful and life-changing session, Tierashia Adair will share information with and engage the attendees in thought-provoking conversations and activities to implement solutions, structures, systems, and strategies to promote the social and emotional development of students through authentic literary experiences.

Cheryl's presentation not only introduces her audience to careers as a writer that cover a multitude of skills, styles, and interests, but shows the importance of words in our world and the opportunities in our globally connected society to express our creativity in ways never available before.

Need a way to keep up with tasks, save links, and make lists wherever you are that syncs across multiple devices? Try Google Keep! This app is available in IOS and Android plus connects in the Chrome browser to your Google account. Keep is an awesome planner for both students and staff. Plus, uploads images, can be organized by color/labels and turns an image into text.
Stay organized and never lose a post-it note again!

Want to take your students on field trips around the world, but don’t have the budget or passports? Technology makes it easy and free to explore the globe. Use Google Geo tools, like Maps, Streetview and Earth to get close and personal to the world’s most iconic sites without leaving your classroom! Plus we will explore how to use links and embed codes to add these geo elements to lessons and projects.

We have all seen the Sci-Fi movies where computers and robots take over the world. Many educators feel like Artificial Intelligence or AI is having that effect on education. But remember that saying “Work Smarter Not Harder?” Can AI help us do that? This session will concentrate on tricks and tools that make your life easier with the use of some AI tools created to make your life as a teacher, librarians or administrator easier.

Let's talk about Ed-Fi and how your raw data from the TEA IODS is flowing into OnDataSuite. Given this new world of data reporting, how can you utilize ODS to not only analyze your data but give you an environment during this transition to verify that ALL of your data is being reported within in the new TSDS Upgrade framework. A brief overview of each 'suite' of products within OnDataSuite.