The countdown is on! The Digital Learning Annual Conference (DLAC) is only a few weeks away in Austin, TX, on Feb. 26-28. This unique conference brings together digital learning leaders and practitioners from across the nation, allowing them to share best practices and insights with each other to elevate the work they’re already doing and support even more students. 

I’m excited to share that our FlexPoint team has four sessions at DLAC 2024, featuring online learning experts across our instructional, curriculum, and human resources teams. Each session will speak to a challenge Kindergarten-12th grade educators are facing, like teacher shortages, ways to embrace artificial intelligence, and how to make curriculum decisions that fit your students’ needs. 

To help DLAC attendees plan out which sessions to attend, I’ve put together a summary of each FlexPoint session including the date, time, and topic. Mark your calendars because these are four DLAC presentations you don’t want to miss. 

1) Artificial Intelligence Best Practices for Curriculum Development

Details at a glance:

• Format: Workshop (1 hour and 15 minutes) - Session 6Y
  
• Date: Tuesday, Feb. 27
• Time: 3 - 4:15 p.m.
• Location: JW Ballroom Salon 2
• FlexPoint Presenters: Robin Winder, Chief Academic Officer, Jason Schultz, Senior Director of Instruction, and Amy Clark, Director of Instruction

With teacher and school leader shortages continuing to be a challenge for schools and districts across the nation, Robin Winder, Chief Academic Officer, Jason Schultz, Senior Director of Instruction, and Amy Clark, Director of Instruction will discuss how professional development should be individualized and continuous to increase job satisfaction. 

During this session, attendees will:

• Learn best practices to welcome and onboard new staff members to set them up for success, including 30-, 60-, 90- day goals, mentorship programs, and more
• Engage with other participants to learn about the successes and challenges they’ve had at their schools or districts
• Hear from virtual team members about their experience with onboarding and professional development programs
• Walk away with practical tools, such as how to build a pipeline of teachers who want to become school leaders, to implement new strategies that strengthen your professional development program

To add this workshop to your calendar, visit the DLAC 2024 program.

Details at a glance:

• Format: Organized Session of Talks (3 Sessions, 20 minutes each) - Session 8C
  
• Date: Wednesday, Feb. 28
• Time: 10:30 - 11:45 a.m. 
• Location: Room 203
• FlexPoint Presenters: Jason Odom, Director of Instruction, Nash Lash, Implementation Manager, and Heather Berry, Internship Program Manager

Teacher shortages continue to be a major challenge, with more than three-quarters of U.S. states experiencing teacher vacancies. Despite these national stats, the retention rate among teachers at FlexPoint Education Cloud and Florida Virtual School has stayed above 93% over the past two years. 

During this organized session of talks, Jason Odom, Director of Instruction, Nancy Lash, Implementation Manager, and Heather Berry, Internship Program Manager will discuss how to reach, recruit, and retain teacher talent to address teacher shortages that may be prevalent in your school or district. 

• Segment 1 - “Reach” - Attracting teacher talent requires a comprehensive and multifaceted approach. During this segment, attendees will learn innovative strategies to reach a passionate, dedicated, and diverse pool of talented educators.
• Segment 2 - “Recruit” - Teachers make the magic which is why it’s important that you focus on hiring staff and teachers who are passionate and excited about online learning. During this segment, attendees will learn recruitment strategies and examples to help you hire skilled teachers that create a thriving online learning environment.
• Segment 3 - "Retain" - Now that you’ve hired your incredible teachers, it’s important that you implement school-wide initiatives to retain their talent. During this segment, attendees will learn strategies to retain and support teachers including implementing comprehensive and intentional professional development and ways to foster a positive school culture.

To add this organized session of talks to your calendar, visit the DLAC 2024 program. 

4) The Truth About Digital Curriculum: Quality Counts

Details at a glance:

• Format: Contributed Talk (One segment, 20 minutes) - Session 9R
  
• Date: Wednesday, Feb. 28
• Time: 2:20 - 2:45 p.m. 
• Location: Room 402
• FlexPoint Presenters: Martin Kelly, Senior Director, Curriculum Development, Amy Heflin, Senior Manager, Curriculum Development, and Neida Ortiz, Quality Analyst, Curriculum Development

With more than 20 years of experience developing a comprehensive and engaging digital curriculum, the FlexPoint Education Cloud Curriculum Development team knows what it takes to build, refine, and maintain digital courses that drive student outcomes. In this session, Martin Kelly, Senior Director of Curriculum Development, Amy Heflin, Senior Manager of Curriculum Development, and Neida Ortiz, Quality Analyst of Curriculum Development will share questions school and district leaders should ask themselves when curating the best digital learning experiences for students. 

Attendees will discover:

• What it takes to build high-quality digital courses including time and resources
• The importance of understanding your audience’s instructional needs and interests when building courseware
• Accessibility best practices and guidelines for digital curriculum
• How to curate well-balanced and appropriate learning experiences for students 

To add this contributed talk to your calendar, visit the DLAC 2024 program. 

If you’re attending DLAC, we hope to see you there! Visit us at booth #500 in the exhibit hall to get a quick demo of a Kindergarten-12th grade digital course, and a chance to win a comprehensive guide to elevate your career and technical education program valued at $129. To receive up-to-date information during the conference, please follow us on LinkedIn and X (formerly Twitter).