Afternoons with AZTEA

This Month –Dysart/Esports

Join us to hear from Dysart Unified School District’s Esports coach Jon Alfred and Network Engineer Alfonso Vasquez as they share the challenges and excitement of starting a district esports team. From figuring out the tech, to selling the idea to the district, to designing the current area while teaching students how a healthy diet is essential to gamer success, Jon has worked hard to take Dysart’s Esports League to the statewide challenger it is today. Learn how the team worked to encourage IT, teachers, parents, and students to work together to create this amazing student experience. Presenting from the gaming arena, Jon will have plenty of stories of success and challenges to share.

Jon Alfred – jon.alfred@dysart.org

Jon Alfred, MA, is a Dual Enrollment History instructor and head Esports coach at Willow Canyon High School. He is also a former “Super Coach” for the state of Arizona. Jon is passionate about Epsorts and the opportunities it provides students. He works towards creating safe spaces for his student-athletes and allowing them opportunities to find collegiate and career paths in Esports. Jon is also excited to help esports grow in Arizona having been one of the first high school coaches in the state to now leading a Arizona Discord for high school coaches and more. His current focus is on 19th-century elections, socio-economic impacts in internal borderlands, esports careers and improving the high school esports scene.

Alfonso Vasquez –  Alfonso.Vasquez@dysart.org 

Alfonso is a highly skilled and experienced Esports Network Engineer with a passion for the intersection of gaming and technology. With 20+ years of expertise in network infrastructure design, implementation, and optimization, he has become a trusted professional in the Esports industry.

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Past Episodes

March 2023-Cybersecurity - Know Your Role

March, 2023 – Watch this lively discussion of cybersecurity efforts, resources, challenges and solutions. What a fun group – different roles, different personalities – lots of thoughts and ideas! Interested in joining a session? Let us know or share any thoughts you have by emailing Laura at LauraBoone@aztea.org. 

April 2023-COSN and You

Life Balance...is it Possible?

We all know the experience of having too much to do and too little time to get it done. When someone says “life-balance” there’s often a snort, a laugh, a roll fo the eyes and a “sure – when I retire,” as the response.

What if you could have – even a little bit – of balance? What if it were easy?

Join us this month to learn easy, effective, accessible ways to bring a bit more passion, peace, balance, and bliss to your life!

 Laura Boone, CETL

Laura Boone, CETL has a goal of bringing empowerment and wellness to edtech through practical classroom and educator practices. As an educational wellness consultant and coach, Laura uses her experience as a classroom teacher, tech coach, and director and manager of IT projects professional development initiatives to inform her work. Laura is working on her doctorate with a focus on the impact of cohort based educator wellness programs on student outcomes. She has an MEd,  an MBA, is a CETL and an ISTE Certified Trainer. She is proud to serve as the Secretary for AzTEA. More information can be found at www.edtechminds.com.

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Chandler Unified School District & Lightspeed

K-12 districts invest heavily in technology to support learning and safety. Join us to chat with Chandler USD as they share with us ways that they have worked to ensure that their edtech investments are being optimized, their edtech professional development prioritized and data privacy and student safety kept on the forefront. Andrea Kaufman from Lightspeed will join us, as well, to discuss how they have partnered with Chandler USD to maximize the investments made and support student safety and data privacy.

Shaun Creighton, Chandler USD

Shaun Creighton has worked in public education for 27 years, all of which have been in the Chandler Unified School District. After 19 years in the classroom, Shaun was an Instructional Technology Specialist for 6 years before becoming Assistant Director and then Director of Instructional Technology in Chandler USD. He is passionate about supporting teachers as they innovate in the classroom so that all students can reach their potential.

Andrea Kaufman, Lightspeed

Andrea has been passionate about supporting school districts regarding their growing IT infrastructure and software needs for over 15 years.   As part of the Lightspeed Systems team for almost 2 years as a Senior Acct. Sales Manager, Andrea is proud to help districts address critical needs around cyber security and student well-being for a more efficient and positive experience for staff, students, and the community as a whole . Andrea attended college in IN and feels her studies in Psychology and Community Health contribute to her passion and fulfillment when addressing today’s challenges.

Past Presenters

Emily Marshall

Emily started her career in education as a 7th-grade math teacher with a passion for the power of high-quality technology integration in education. Since that time she has moved through various technology roles in the Vail School District. She is now the Assistant Director of Education Technology where she serves as a liaison between the curriculum and technology departments and works to bring systemic change around technology integration in classrooms. Emily has a master’s degree in Instructional Technology and is an ISTE Certified Educator. She has been highly involved in AzTEA (Arizona’s ISTE affiliate) for five years and currently serves as its President. 

Laura Boone

Laura Boone’s goal is to bridge the gap between technology and curriculum in every way possible. Currently, she leads CDW’s Education Collaborative supporting 1,200 district IT teams across the US and Canada. Prior to joining CDW Education she was first a classroom teacher and then as a tech coach and director managing IT projects and leading professional development initiatives. Laura has an MEd,  an MBA and is an ISTE Certified Trainer. 

She is proud to serve as the Secretary for AzTEA and to have recently participated in updating the Arizona Educational Technology Standards and creating the Arizona EdTech Endorsement.

Diana Hawari

Diana Hawari is the Chief Information Officer of the Dysart Unified School District where she ensures 22,000 preK-12 students have ubiquitous access to information. As a CoSN Certified Education Technology Leader (CETL), Ms. Hawari’s vision is to create an environment where students, staff and community have safe and secure access to online resources and information, an understanding of data governance and digital citizenship, and to provide an infrastructure that supports the goals of the District’s Strategic Plan.  

She serves as a board member with AzTEA and is heading up the COSN/AzTEA affiliation.