Reimagining the use of Creative Tech. in Educational Spaces


Date: Feb 9
3:30 pm - 4:30 pm
Where: Theatre

Four experts from the sector of Educational Creative Technology will discuss the future of emerging digital landscapes for children and youth. The discussion will consider what these emerging technologies mean for educational programming. Each speaker will share a story that speaks to the challenges and successes of the use of creative technologies and will consider the impact of these technologies on society from their perspectives as educators, entrepreneurs and growing technology start-ups.

Our Panel

Janice Hertel – Instructor/ Artist/ Expert in creative gaming and immersive technologies, College of the North Atlantic

Julie Lewis – Entrepreneur, Owner of Sassy Tuna

Laun Shoemaker- Teacher and Digital Learning, NLESD

Kyla Gibbons- Professional Learning Expert, Carnegie Learning

This program is presented in partnership with the ADVOST Project and the Unesco Teachers For Social Justice Network.

This program is free, but space is limited so please ensure you reserve your ticket online or by calling 757-8090.

Events & Programs

2:30 pm - 3:30 pm

Have you ever wondered about the connections between creativity and neurodivergence, such as autism, ADHD, or dyslexia? From attention to detail to pattern recognition and language originality, neurodivergent artists can display talents that could be considered advantages.

Join us for a moderated panel discussion with Dr. Andreae Callanan and Dr. Kate Lahey, who will talk about how neurodivergent people express creativity in unique, unconventional ways.

Part of the discussion will address some challenges for neurodivergent artists during and following the creative process, such as executive functioning, sleep disturbances, and burnout. There will also be an opportunity to ask questions following the presentation.

Cost: $12 plus HST. Free for Rooms members. Register online or by calling (709) 757-8090.

About the Panelists:

Andreae Callanan holds a PhD in English from Memorial and serves as co-convener of the Research and Knowledge Exchange on Critical Disability Studies at the Newfoundland and Labrador Centre for Applied Health Research. Her debut poetry collection, The Debt (Biblioasis, 2021), was shortlisted for the E. J. Pratt Family Poetry Prize and was a runner-up in the Fred Cogswell Award for Excellence in Poetry. Andreae’s creative and critical writing has been published in Riddle Fence, The Walrus, Newfoundland Quarterly, Canadian Notes & Queries, Canadian Journal of Disability Studies, and in Best Canadian Essays 2026. She lives in St. John’s.

Dr. Kate Lahey holds a PhD from the University of Toronto, is the front person of the band Weary, and writes arts criticism. As a musician, writer, scholar, community organizer, and postdoctoral fellow at Memorial’s Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, her research centers on trauma-informed values such as healing, care, empathy, and social justice.