Jay Gross
A classroom teacher of 27 years who travels the country talking to educators and reigniting the passion for the greatest profession ever...
Sessions
Door Handles & Eyes... Continue to Bring the Passion
In a world of test scores, content standards & benchmarks, and evaluation fears, sometimes the main purpose can be pushed aside, even forgotten. That is the kids. Plain and simple they are the heart of what we do. Let me be the reminder...
(Keynote)
(Keynote)
Internet Safety
Our youth today are growing up in a world of instant access... Sometimes positive and sometimes negative. They are leaving a digital legacy that will follow them through life. Listen and learn along with Jay as he explains the highs and lows of all aspects of our digital world and how he has found a way to lead by example and thought. This session will cover everything from FaceBook and Twitter to dangerous apps and how they can be used to harm our kids.
(Keynote & Session)
(Keynote & Session)
Engagement and Personalized Learning - Don't Forget the Kids
This world of educational technology we are living in is moving faster than ever imagined. So much to learn and use and share! During these times it can be easy to lose sight of the central reason for all of it… the students. The best technology in the world is useless if we are not communicating with today’s kids and their parents, and relating to them. Listen as veteran educator Jay Gross shares some of his successes (and even some failures) in engaging students with technology. He will touch your heart, give you some fresh ideas, and get you thinking of “outside of the box” ways to relate to today’s students.
(Keynote)
(Keynote)
Connecting to Today's Students
Fear is NOT the way to live. So much can be accomplished through FaceBook, Twitter, and Texting. How can you make a positive impact on students’ lives (and even parents for that matter!) through a positive, mature use of technology? It’s easy!
(Keynote & Session)
(Keynote & Session)
ePortfolios ROCK!!!
Our students deserve the best! Showcasing their four years of high school and knowing how to promote themselves in today’s job market or getting the best scholarships is crucial. How about just learning to organize and present themselves in the best, most positive way? Our online Portfolios and their structure are proven winners. Let me help you help them!
(Keynote & Session)
(Keynote & Session)
MooGooling!
This session will be centering on and combining the very best of Moodle and Google to create a Blended Learning environment that has been developed with student, parent, and teacher input. It will also include different aspects of cloud-based tools to create a student centered learning environment with the teacher acting as a guide. Stop by and get exposed to such tools as Moodle Lessons, Adaptive Release Tasks, Video and Audio, Badges, My Access (Essay Writing), Shmoop (ACT Prep), and more! I am a current classroom teacher using these in my classroom with direct student /parent input.
(Session)
(Session)
Biography |
On a field trip with my son, 'The Goob'
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I embrace cell phones, tablets, laptops, texting, FaceBook, Twitter, etc in the classroom. Teaching responsible use is crucial with today’s students for the cyber world they live in. Blocking them is NOT the answer. I hope to help open minds through my experiences and stories and pave a pathway to make it easier for educators to join me in today’s cyber world.
After a motorcycle accident in 1986 crushed the 7th thoracic vertebrae in my back and left me less than a ¼ of an inch from being paralyzed from my chest down, I take each day as a gift. While I was recuperating for six months, my Mom mentioned how I would be a good teacher, how the neighborhood kids flocked to me when I was outside to learn football plays and hear me tell stories. It stuck. Here I am after 26 years teaching at Shepherd High School and being told countless times my stories make learning relate, make it easier to understand. One of the greatest compliments I received was after a motivational speech for high school students this past summer: “You are so real”, she said. “We can relate to you because you are real and honest and not afraid to show emotion”. I found myself smiling.
My name is Jay Gross, and I am an English, Speech, & Debate teacher. I also teach as an adjunct professor for English and Speech at Mid Michigan Community College and online with the Blended Learning in the Classroom (BLiC). Educational Technology is my passion, my obsession. I have taught using Blackboard from one of its very earliest versions all the way to Moodle & Google as they are today. I will continue to search for new ways to help improve my classroom and my students’ chances for success post-high school. Throughout this crazy/confusing journey in the ‘techno world’, I have been able to develop a way to decipher it and ‘speak teacher’, helping educators and administrators overcome fears and anxieties and take the first step into a phenomenal world of technology that can enhance, enrich, excite, and simplify lives.
Our lives are a bit busy. Along with teaching, I am lucky enough to be married to my wife JoAnn, the Shepherd Band Teacher and President for the State of Michigan Bands & Orchestras, father to three boys (10, 11, & 12 years old) who we adopted nine years ago. We also continue to foster in hopes of reuniting children with their families or getting them the loving homes they need. We said, 'Good-bye' to one of our foster children who fondly call "Nugget". Our home is filled with 7 rescue dogs who are our ‘furry’ children. We sponsor a child in Rwanda, John B, allowing him a better life. I created and operate Jay Gross Productions where I run our rental properties, my videography business, and all of my speaking enagagements as well as trainings. I also have been ordained and have performed the wedding services for many of my former students.
Speaking to educators around the country has been an amazing experience. Add in my educational technology consulting & trainings throughout the state, motivational speaking, co-authoring a book with my wife on a couple’s insight into the world of infertility and how to survive it with laughter and tears, and being the Shepherd Educational Association President, our lives are busy to say the least.
And I wouldn't change a single thing.