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Dear Early Childhood Educators,
It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to the 44th Annual UW-Whitewater Early Childhood Conference! It has been almost a year since I’ve posted here, yet it seems that in some ways things haven’t changed much at all–we are still experiencing a global pandemic and are feeling the cumulative effects on our lives, jobs, and mental health and well-being. Despite all of that, we continue to push on and do the best we can.
Something that also hasn’t changed is our steadfast commitment to the field of early childhood and our dedication to the children and families whom we serve. This is what brings us together, both figuratively and literally in spaces such as this conference and the pandemic has created opportunities for us to do that in creative ways.
Expanding on our offerings from last year, the theme for this year is Your Time. Your Way. Press Play. (Virtual Edition). We will be offering pre-recorded sessions that will be available to participants throughout the month of April. Our goal is to provide access to high-quality professional development sessions that you can access at a time and place convenient for you AND offer this at a significantly reduced rate of $59. We are also working with the Registry so that we can offer registry credit for sessions. We hope you will join us for the amazing professional development opportunities at this year’s conference.
As you check out the conference website you will notice a remarkable line up of speakers and topics. We are thrilled to announce that in addition to a wide variety of pre-recorded sessions, we will also have some “live” synchronous sessions for the chance to engage with some incredible speakers and each other. We will continue to post the line up as it is updated and can’t wait for you to check it out!
That’s just a sneak peak of some of the awesome things happening this year. Please check back on this website for updates along with our Facebook page. So, grab some popcorn or a cup of tea and join us to watch sessions when it works for YOU!
Warm Regards,
Kristen Linzmeier
Conference Coordinator
Registrations accepted online through April 25, 2022. Conference access available April 1 - 30, 2022.
Participants will use UW-Whitewater's online classroom, Canvas, to work through the conference material (pre-recorded video presentations with handouts and live sessions) at their own pace and interact with each other in online discussion boards. This conference is designed to maximize the capabilities of videoconferencing and online professional development in an informal and self-paced environment. No previous college-level or online learning experience are needed for this conference, and it is open to anyone interested in early childhood education.
For organizations that would like to register multiple participants at one time, you may register your teachers for the ECC conference by completing a Registration Sponsorship Request: https://www.uww.edu/ce/sponsor. We will send you a group invoice, payable by credit card or check, and request the names and email addresses of the participants you are registering.
All-Access Pass: $59
The registration fee provides an all-access to pass to both live and recorded sessions. Participants can view recorded sessions any time during April 1-30. All sessions are closed captioned. Participants can earn registry hours for both live and recorded sessions.
No refunds are available for this event. All cancellation requests must be submitted to cesevents@uww.edu.
We reserve the right to cancel any event due to low enrollment; in this case, all fees paid will be refunded.
No discounts for this event.
Talkback: #Virtually Woke: Using Digital Media in a Social Justice Literacy Workshop to Support Elementary Students Development of Critical Consciousness
Presenter: Megan Green | Saturday, April 9, 9-10am CST
During this live session, participants will have the opportunity to ask the presenter questions about finding high quality anti-racist and anti-bias digital media resources for use in a social justice literacy workshop. Participants can also build their community of anti-racist and anti-bias early childhood educators through thoughtful dialogue with educators from diverse ECE settings.
Kindergarten, Grades 1-3, Grades 4-5
Can We Agree on That?: Using Community Agreements to Develop and Maintain Anti-Racism ECE Programs
Presenters: Megan Madison & Ijumaa Jordan | Tuesday, April 12, 7-8pm CST
Many of us want to grow in our advocacy and practice of anti-racism. However, new research on systemic and institutional racism in the workplace, racial "color blindness," implicit bias, harmful cross-cultural communication, and microaggressions is shedding light on some of the ways that even well-intentioned people perpetuate systems of racial inequity often unconsciously. In this session, participants will be introduced to a set of anti-racism community agreements. Examining these agreements will support them to reflect and analyze current practices; review the literature, examine scenarios, and then use that newly acquired knowledge to support participants in beginning to develop action plans for advancing racial equity in a variety contexts working with adults such coaching, leading programs, and/or providing professional development. Join us to learn tools to shift from being passively non-racist to being actively anti-racist. Let’s get to work building early childhood programs and systems that are as diverse, inclusive, and equitable as they are high quality!
Adults, Families
Introduction to Gender and Gender Expression in Early Childhood
Presenters: James Clay & Milo Giovanniello | Saturday, April 23, 9-10am CST
In this workshop, participants will learn about and discuss gender development in young children. Through discussions of how rigid gender roles and stereotypes can limit children's growth and self-expression, participants will collectively develop strategies to facilitate expansive gender performances and to create inclusive classrooms which support a variety of gender expressions. Facilitators and participants will also discuss a variety of ways to resist the perpetuation of harmful gender stereotypes and strategies for working with families who are struggling with their children's gender non-conforming dress or behavior.
Toddlers, Preschool, 4K, Kindergarten
Talkback: Reflecting on Anti-bias Education in Action: The Early Years
Presenters: Nadia Jaboneta & Brian Silveira | Monday, April 25, 7-8pm CST
During this live session, participants will have the opportunity to engage with two of the teachers featured in the film and discuss topics including teacher reflection in identity, context, and practice in anti-bias education. Participants are encouraged to watch the film prior to this session (Session D8: Featured Film: Reflecting on Anti-bias Education in Action: The Early Years).
Preschool
A password is not automatically generated when registering. The participant must accept the course invitation emailed to them after registering to set up their account and password.
Registry credit is available for MOST sessions for both WI and IL Registries. Following the completion of each session, a completion code will be provided. In order to submit your request for registry credit for each session, you will need to submit a survey and include the completion code along with answering a few sessions about each session. Both WI and IL Registry want to ensure that participants both viewed the materials and engaged with the content in some way. Please note that not all sessions are 1 hour in length: sessions range in time from 35 to 75 minutes.
Participants can submit registry surveys until April 30, 2021 at 11:59 pm*. Upon verification that participants attended the session and completed surveys, the information will be sent to WI and IL Registries for processing. Participants will be able to view registry information by accessing their registry accounts.
*Please note that once the conference closes on April 30th, we will be unable to accept conference Registry surveys. Please complete surveys immediately upon completion of viewing presentations. We will compile the registry information as soon as the conference ends so that the WI and IL registries can process the information and update individual Registry Accounts.
Yes! There are discussion boards connected to each session and we also have interactive discussion boards for people to respond to different prompts/questions. Feel free to post and/or engage with other conference participants.
Yes! Each presentation page has a survey that we invite you to complete after you finish that session. As always, we share your feedback with presenters and review the feedback as we start planning for future ECC sessions. Following the conference, participants will also receive an email with an ECC conference survey.
The live sessions are not recorded. They are featured as live events and are not recorded due to the interactive nature of the sessions, and participants sharing personal information and stories
The code can be found at the end of each presentation. We recommend you read the "Registry Information" page in the Welcome Module for more details and instructions.
Contact cesevents@uww.edu. We will need to contact our IT department to separate your accounts. Please provide a separate email address for each registratant.
Contact cesevents@uww.edu. We will look into the Canvas course and make sure you registered. We will then pull the receipt from our payment vendor and email you.
You will not be able register using your canvas account for previous events. Under the Register Online section of this website, you will need to follow the registration link. This is the only way you can enroll in the course.
Login to Online Session
A few days prior to the event you will receive an email indicating the steps you will need to take to join this event. Please contact cesevents@uww.edu if you do not recieve this email 24 hours before the event starts.
By registering for an event, you agree to our Registration Terms and Conditions. UW-Whitewater will hold all registrants responsible for their conduct. Serious misconduct or disruption will lead to immediate dismissal from event. Registrants dismissed from the event will not receive a refund. Please review the Terms and Conditions for more details.
The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater is committed to equal opportunity in its educational programs, activities and employment policies, for all persons, regardless of race, color, gender, creed, religion, age, ancestry, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, political affiliation, marital status, Vietnam-era veteran status, parental status and pregnancy.
If you have any disabling condition that requires special accommodations or attention, please advise us well in advance. We will make every effort to accommodate your special needs.
By registering for this event you understand that the University may take photographs and or videos of event participants and activities. You will be required to agree at the time of registration that the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater shall be the owner of and may use such photographs and or videos relating to the promotion of future events. You will relinquish all rights that you may claim in relation to use of said photographs and/or videos. Any media shared with the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater on social media or use of its hashtags grants the University use to media for any purpose.
We will be offering registry/training hours for attending both live and virtual sessions. Credit is available for Wisconsin and Illinois residents.
You can receive one credit (undergraduate or graduate) for participating in conference sessions with additional written work after the conference. Please note that you will need to register for the conference in addition to paying tuition for the credit.
If you are interested in receiving credit for attending the conference, please contact Continuing Education ( contined@uww.edu).
The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater reserves the right to make changes in workshops and speakers, or to cancel workshops if enrollment criteria are not met or when conditions beyond our control prevail.
We are proud of the diversity that will be exhibited by the presenters at this conference. However, we do not assume responsibility for the information, opinions, products or services shared by the presenters. Please share your comments or concerns on the evaluation form which will be sent electronically following the conference. We also encourage participants to offer presenters compliments when pleased with the content of a presentation.
Looking to sponsor a session or make a donation to the 2022 UW-Whitewater EC Conference? There are many different sponsorship opportunities available. Please contact us if you are interested in being a sponsor.
UW-Whitewater Early Childhood Conference Sponsorship Information
ECC Gold Level Sponsor $10,000 and above
ECC Silver Level Sponsor $2,500 – $9,999
ECC Bronze Level Sponsor $500 – $2,499
ECC Friend: In-Kind Donation or Other gift
ADDITIONAL NOTES
Please make gifts and sponsorships payable to UW-Whitewater Foundation Inc., Fund #1254: Early Childhood Conference, Purpose: UW-Whitewater EARLY CHILDHOOD CONFERENCE, UW-Whitewater Foundation’s EIN number is 39-6081189.
Mail checks to UW-Whitewater Foundation Attention: ECC - Gail Sauter; 800 W Main St, Whitewater, WI 53190
For additional conference-specific questions, vendor application and information please contact Kristen Linzmeier, Ph.D, UW-Whitewater Early Childhood Conference Coordinator, UW-W Early Childhood Conference Coordinator, Assistant Professor, Early Childhood Education, Winther 4040, 800 W. Main Street, Whitewater, WI. 53190; email linzmeik@uww.edu; phone 262-472-5814.