• EdTech Team Google Summit, Hong Kong (2013 & 2015)
• ACAMIS Conference (Feb. 2015, March 2018)
• Apps Events Summit, Korea (2015) and Hong Kong (2016)
• 21CLHK 2016 (Smartphones), (Adventures in LMS) 2017, (Learning Spaces) 2018
• 21CL GELS (April 2017)

You can follow him on Twitter: @varga_mel

• IBO DP External Curriculum Review Committee of Design Technology (2017-present)
• IBO MYP Workshop Leader (2016-present)
• IBO DP examiner (2012-present)

Amita Patel is the Technology Director at YCIS Shanghai Pudong and is a member of the planning committee for ACAMIS Technology Conference. Being a technology teachers since the late 90s, she has a passion to engage educators to creatively integrate technology in education. Combining tactile, hands on and collaborative mediums she strives to give students the opportunity to use technology to enhance learning.

Tom is Director of Technology at Concordia International School Shanghai where he has worked with educators and learners for 10 years. Tom’s background is in engineering and Information Technology and his focus lies in using technology to support experiential learning in a web of close relationships. Tom has worked extensively to provide the most appropriate technologies for teaching & learning at Concordia. He has a special interest in building Maker Space resources.

Julie Terry is the Lower School Vice Principal at Hangzhou International School. She has been working in education for the past 14 years, 11 of which have been on the International circuit. She started out her teaching career in Scotland but then moved abroad to Taiwan in 2007. She spent two years in Egypt, five years in Vietnam and has now settled in Hangzhou, China. Julie has taught in Early Childhood and Grades 3 to 5, and has spent many years learning how to support EAL learners. Julie is passionate about many things in education, including curriculum design, professional development and finding creative ways to inspire young learners.

Katie is the Learning Collaborator at the Western Academy of Beijing and has been teaching in China for 7 years. She has also taught in the UK and Malawi. She has been working in Early Years for 18 years and is passionate about our youngest learners. Katie was part of the organising committee for the last ACAMIS Early Childhood Conference.

Rebecca has significant experience in schools in a wide variety of education systems within Australia, the Middle East, Hong Kong and China. She has worked as a classroom teacher, school Principal, systemic curriculum consultant and is currently the Senior Fellow at the Chor Hang Educational Research Institute. Rebecca’s educational passion lies in enabling teachers to be the best that they can be as they strive to empower children to meet the challenges of the future.

Leda is the PYP Coordinator at SIS, her fourth IB World School. She has been in education for the past 23 years, working in the Philippines, Japan, South Korea and China. She has been in the international school circuit since 2005 and has devoted a significant portion towards working in the early childhood classroom and curriculum development. Together with the SIS and ACAMIS planning teams, Leda is looking forward to meeting more early years educators in the next ECE conference at Shekou International School!

Sir John Jones

Sir John is one of a small, select band of educational professionals who have not only had their achievements recognised in the New Year's Honours List (2003), but have been able to help and inspire others with their knowledge and passion. One of the most entertaining, inspiring and sought-after speakers on the global educational stage, his achievements and reputation for straight-talking, leadership and creativity have led him to be invited on to a number of panels and think-tanks.

When Headteacher of three secondary schools over a period of 17 years, he was asked to join the Government's Policy Action Team for Neighbourhood Renewal at the Social Exclusion Unit. He was also a member of the Headteachers' National Focus Group on Truancy and Exclusion and the Excellence in Cities Project at the DfES. Sir John was part of the National Remodelling Team and the Leadership and Development Unit sponsored by the National College for School Leadership.

Working part-time at the Centre for Educational Leadership at Manchester University, he presented on a range of programmes as well as designing and delivering a Master's Course at Liverpool University focused on the leadership of change. A Non-Executive Director on the board of Aintree Hospitals Trust, he was also a Governor of two schools on Merseyside.

Sir John has written two books; 'Truancy and exclusion: a teacher's guide' and the best-selling 'The Magic-Weaving Business' and has co-authored 'Winning the H Factor: the secrets of happy schools'. He enjoys travelling, keeping fit, the theatre, golf, walking in the mountains and good food and wine. In his past he has played football semi-professionally and earned his living as a singer/guitarist in rock duo! He is a season ticket holder for his beloved Everton and feels privileged to be Chair of the Board of 'Everton in the Community' and a Governor at The Everton Free School. He is a governor at Bolton St Catherine's Academy, a 3-19 all through school in Bolton and is also proud to be the Chancellor of Sefton's Children's University.

Keynote: The Magic Weaving Business - Teaching in the 21st Century.

Dr. Sascha Heckmann

To learn more about Heckmann’s work, go to www.8degreesup.com, or follow him at @8degreesup.

Keynote: Creating Space for Student Innovation

This session will focus on the shifts schools must consider to empower all students to be exceptional through a personalized, innovative, focused learning experience.

This one-day workshop will involve participants in an interactive session that provides accreditation updates within the context of China and addresses the following areas:

• The international and Chinese accreditation protocols, processes and Team Visit options that provide for multiple awards of accreditation from various associations:

• A brief examination of all aspects of the accreditation process as an ongoing school improvement process from the initial application, the assessment of the school’s student program and its impact on students through the Self-Study, the Visit by fellow international educators and the ongoing refinement of the schoolwide action plan in response to accreditation recommendations.
• CIS and NEASC will present information sessions to introduce the new CIS International Accreditation 2016 protocol, and the new NEASC ACE protocol developed by the NEASC Commission on International Education. (See Note Below)
• A Focus on Learning visiting committee member training session with an emphasis upon becoming eligible to serve on a WASC and NCCT Visiting Committee, specifically including the following:
  • gaining a sense of what constitutes an 'effective' visit, i.e. asking quality questions, responding appropriately to sensitive or controversial issues or events, conducting classroom visits in a constructive way and establishing positive relationships between the Team and the school using the Focus on Learning protocol, both the 2014 and the 2017 editions.
  • gaining practice in analyzing a Self-Study to obtain key information
  • becoming familiar with the Visiting Committee Report format and gain experience in writing report sections
  • gaining experience working in teams and reaching consensus
  • developing the ability to discriminate between major/minor issues in order to identify major commendations and recommendations
  • understanding the accreditation status options and the process to reach consensus on the status recommendation.
  • CIS and NEASC will conduct information sessions to introduce the new CIS International Accreditation 2016 protocol, and the new NEASC ACE protocol developed by the NEASC Commission on International Education.
  • Overviews of the new protocols developed by CIS and NEASC
  • Question and answer session addressing how the new protocols will be utilized by the schools jointly accredited, and how future training will be provided. This includes CIS/WASC or NCCT/CIS/WASC and CIS/NEASC or NCCT/CIS/NEASC.

Please note that the training portion for participation on a visiting team is provided only for WASC member or candidate member schools and is not training for potential team visitors for CIS or NEASC.

• Heads and representatives from schools interested in learning about joint accreditation of NCCT and one or more of the international accreditation agencies
• All interested educators who have never served on an accreditation team or have served previously but are eager to learn more about serving on an international accreditation team that represents one or more agencies, including NCCT.
• All interested educators who want to be trained to serve on an ACS WASC Focus on Learning visiting committee
• All interested educators who want to learn more about the new accreditation protocols from CIS and NEASC.

The workshop will be capped at 40 participants. The initial suggested number per school or organization would be 3 to provide an opportunity for as many schools to send participants. However, as the enrollment is monitored, more can be added from a school or organization.

Tan Huynh, Vientiane International School

Tan loves meeting new colleagues. Please find the time to introduce yourself and have a chat with him while at ACAMIS, or send him a tweet to start the conversation.

Keynote#1: Shifts Happen: Embracing Changes that Empower English Learners

The ESL classes that I was placed in when I first arrived in the U.S in the 1980s look quite different than those many ELs have now. This keynote address will discuss the different shifts in EAL instruction in past 30 years, from pull-out to sheltered instruction, from self-contained to co-teaching, from low-challenge work to high-support learning, and, most importantly, from the “can’t do” to “can do” mindset. Participants will learn how to design instruction that honors the shift towards more inclusive instruction.

Breakout Session: Soups vs Salads: Using Talk-Read-Talk-Write to Develop the 4 Language Domains

Learning language can occur while learning content. Learn how to use Nancy Motley's Talk-Read-Talk-Write approach to teach speaking, listening, reading and writing skills in every lesson. In this interactive workshop, you will leave with a clear framework to share with content teachers to help them be teachers of language.

Nicky Bourgeois has over 15 years of elementary teaching experience in New Zealand, Vietnam and currently at NIST International School in Thailand. Nicky holds a Bachelor’s degree in Education and Sociology and has recently completed the IB Leadership Series. She collaborates globally in a variety of ways, such as being a member of the Advisory Board for The Wonderment and as guest speaker for a Teaching as a Profession class at the University of Washington. Additionally, she has shared her thoughts on global education at the 2016 International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Conference, in Denver, and after presenting her Conceptual Co-teaching model at both the IB Annual conference and EARCOS in 2016; she has now developed this into a two-day workshop. Conceptual Co-teaching brings a unique spotlight on multi-teacher collaboration, de-privatization of practice, and equity within the international classroom. Nicky is known as a creative, conceptual thinker yet her extensive classroom experience brings a practicality to her educational consulting. She tweets as @bourgeois1 and endeavors to only share what is truly evident in her classroom and teaching practice.

Keynote: The Kaleidoscope of Collaboration: Harmonies, Contrasts and Combinations

Breakout Session: Start the Conversation!

Building effective collaborative relationships is enhanced when we become more aware of our beliefs about practice. Why do we do what we do? What are our values? What are our intentions? What do we think is important to pay attention to? By articulating the beliefs driving our practice, and working to share and align them with those we are collaborating with it is our students who benefit. This workshop will be a guided, interactive session that leaves you ready to start the conversation!

John Astbury, Dulwich College Beijing

John comes from the UK, has lived in Northeast Asia since 1999, with a couple of periods spent back in the UK for study. John has spent all of his teaching career with children from 2-7 and recently completed his second MA with a focus on working with families and on cultural differences. This is his 10th year in Dulwich Beijing.

Us and Them? How we can begin to understand cultural differences

An overview of various approaches offering perspectives through which to view school relationships where there are two main cultures, e.g. Chinese families attending with all teacher being foreign trained. How can we explain and understand some of the things that make us feel uncomfortable?

This will be a chance for practitioners to reflect on their own learning since being here and how they can view the relationships and interactions between the Chinese families and themselves. This matches your theme of culture into the classroom, by means of teachers being encouraged to be reflective on what they see and feel.

Target Audiences: Teachers, leaders, anyone who is in a setting with the majority of children being from East Asia.

Marcella Cooper, Keystone Academy

Marcella taught in Canada, her home country, for many years before moving abroad to teach in Thailand, Japan, and now China. Although she has taught English Literature for most of her career, Marcella has developed a love of teaching English Language Acquisition after doing her Master's Degree with this focus.

Command Terms in Assessments

The overall goal of this workshop is to create clear assessment instruction to be used across the curriculum. Teachers will review IB Command Terms and have a greater confidence in using them in both formative and summative assessments.

These command terms are universal to the IB. If students are regularly exposed to these command terms across their curriculum, their understanding of the assessment will increase and so will their achievement level.

Target Audiences: Any teacher who wishes to improve on the clarity of their assessments will benefit from this presentation. As well, any teacher who wants to share assessment ideas or be exposed to how other teachers are assessing at the secondary level will benefit.

Dr. Maureen McCoy, Keystone Academy

Maureen is the head of middle school at Keystone Academy in Beijing, where she also teaches MYP grade nine Language and Literature. Before her work as an administrator, Maureen taught ELL, French, and History in the United States for more than twenty years. She says that she can't help teaching language, since we use language in all our teaching. Her doctoral dissertation was on Mainstream Teachers' Experiences with English Language Learners' Acquisition of Academic Language.

Help me! I want to give feedback, but all I can see are the English errors

This workshop will talk about and provide hands-on experience with ways that you can give meaningful feedback without feeling obliged to correct all of your students' English language errors.

It connects with the theme because it recognizes that language and language goals are part of our teaching, but don't have to overwhelm our other content-area or skills-related goals.

Target Audiences: Subject area teachers and English teachers will all benefit from the presentation.

Who will benefit from the presentation:
Students of intermediate or higher level of language proficiency are the subject group.

Addie Loy, International School of Nanshan Shenzhen

Addie is from Detroit, Michigan and received her undergraduate degree in teaching with an emphasis in social sciences from Eastern Kentucky University. She developed a passion for teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language (ESL). Addie holds a Master's degree in Teaching, with a focus English as a Second Language (TESOL) from Western Governor's University in Utah. She has taught English Language courses, was a Director of an ESL/EAL program and she is now the IB Director that oversees teaching and learning at the International School of Nanshan Shenzhen.

Exploring Collaboration Models that Support Co-Teaching

Emma McBride, Nanjing International School

The Culture Map: Here’s what, Now what?

Collaboration between teachers and between students is key to getting the job done! I will be presenting research from “The Culture Map" a book by Erin Feyer, so that you can find out why collaboration may be trickier than you first thought. With these new and fascinating insights in to different cultures, we will consider how this knowledge can empower us to strengthen our collaborative relationships with colleagues and students.

Target Audiences: Anyone who is working in a team or partnership in an international school setting.

Who will benefit from the presentation: Teachers, and students

Chris McCarthy, Qingdao Amerasia International School

Chris is a veteran international school teacher-leader, having worked with ELLs in mainstream classes for over 25 years. Chris has taught in private and public schools in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Asia, as an ELL teacher, mainstream Language and Literature teacher, as well as a grade level coordinator, team lead and writing coordinator.

Power of Independent Reading as a Collaborative Tool

An often-overlooked component for ELL instruction is developing a robust independent reading program. This workshop will make the case for independent reading as a center-piece of English language development, sharing current research that illustrates the power of independent reading while offering resources to ELL teachers and mainstream teachers who want to work together to bring a focus on independent reading to their schools.

Target Audiences: ELL, Mainstream teachers, school leaders

Who will benefit from the presentation: Primary, Secondary

Target age level/Language proficiency level: Grades 1-10, all proficiencies

Melanie Sanchez, International School of Tianjin

• 2 Continents She Calls Home
• 2 Subjects - ELL and English
• 2 Languages
• 7 Countries
• 5 International School
• 18 Years Teaching and Learning
• And a Creative Drive for Curriculum that Never Ends

She teaches her students the way she wants to be taught using humor and a variety of ways for students to engage not only in language, but in content as well. She enjoys collaborating and believes that the best way to reignite teaching and that passion for learning is by sharing it with others.

Vocabulary and Content – One in the Same

This workshop focuses on vocabulary enhancement using lessons already developed by content teachers. Embedding language into lessons supports the idea that content and the vocabulary that goes with it are equally important to the teacher and the student. Having the language lesson seamlessly flow into the content supports ELL and MT students by giving them a different perspective on the same topic. They then use these activities to develop their academic word banks and understanding of key concepts in the subject area and MYP/DP.

Target Audience: · Grade 6– 12, All language levels

Julie Anne Vielma-Clegg, Yew Chung International School of Qingdao

Equal Access for Learners with Limited English

A group of secondary teachers at YCIS Qingdao collaborated on a differentiation learning communities project. We agreed that a major cause of the lack of progress in their science, humanities, maths and arts classes was the students' poor vocabulary. They couldn't access class content because they didn't have the words. How can we ensure equality of access for learners with limited English?

The presentation looks out how 'pre-loading' vocabulary and key words can help. It reports on how YCIS implemented this across lower secondary and how this changed our classroom approach. It also examines the resulting student achievement. The workshop shares tried and tested strategies for busy non-language teachers to use with their students – practical vocabulary worksheet takeaways.

Target Audiences: Lower secondary non-language specialists.

Target age groups/language proficiency level: Teachers of Lower secondary students of all language proficiency levels.

Irish Farley, International School of Tianjin

Irish has a master's degree in ESL and a master's degree in Special Education. She taught for 10 years in public schools in Denver, Colorado, USA then 4 years at Korea International School in Seoul. For the past 2 years Irish has been in Tianjin, China teaching at the International School of Tianjin.

Using Music Technology to Develop Vocabulary

Music is a very effective way to help students remember vocabulary words, but the songs available on the internet for basic English vocabulary are aimed at young children.

My older students rolled their eyes and wouldn't participate in singing these songs and I couldn't blame them. This year my students and I have taken matters into our own hands and started making our own songs and music videos to help remember vocabulary words using imovie and garageband. I am a terrible singer, but have figured out a way to make this work for us and I'm happy to share this fun and creative way to teach vocabulary.

This topic is related to the theme of the conference in a couple of ways. These songs could be written to help students with content area vocabulary words, which would help all learners.

Target Audiences: Upper elementary and middle school ELA and classroom/content area teachers

Please refer to the Guidebook app as the final version.