EdTech Chicago Meetup: A Night of Virtual Reality

Join us for an exciting night of conversation and networking for Chicago's first EdTech meetup! We are excited to welcome you to hear from two people working in the virtual reality realm and teaching students how to use it. Come with questions, stay for the refreshments.

About Optimista

Optimista is a Chicago-based non-profit organization that has focused on web development internships at a public high school in Chicago that is 97% low-income and 94% minority. In 2017, these successful programs are being expanded to expose students to Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) technologies and to train them to become VR/AR developers.

About Mona

Ramona "Mona" Towner is an Instructional Coach in Berwyn South School District 100. The district offers 4,000+ K-8 students 24/7 access to an iPad. As an Instructional Coach, she travels to 8 buildings working with teachers to help them meet the standards and integrate technology. She serves on the district's Professional Development Team, as Google Apps Administrator, Social Media Manager and VPP Manager for the iPad program for the district. Over the past 3 years she has presented at local, state, regional and national conferences on the subject of coaching and technology integration.

About Daniel

Daniel Contreras held senior corporate IT roles at Accenture and BP and led STEM outreach initiatives at BP before founding Optimista in 2015. Daniel is enthusiastic about the transformative nature of VR and AR technologies and is focused on providing training and internships to high potential students so that they can accelerate employment opportunities in this rapidly growing field.