KC Kourtz

K.C. Kourtz is the Associate Director of Online Learning at Facing History and Ourselves. She loves working with educators, strong coffee, and hanging out with her toddler, and her Boston Terrier.

Recent Posts

Six Webinars You Need Now to Navigate Current Events in Your Classroom

Posted by KC Kourtz on September 13, 2017

From Charlottesville to the announcement on DACA, there’s already a lot to talk about at the start of the school year. To create a safe and inclusive learning environment, you need to feel supported as a teacher. We’re offering a full slate of webinars that can help you feel prepared and ready to tackle challenging current events and difficult histories like the Holocaust. Check out these six webinars that will do just that for you.

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Topics: Online Learning

Studying the Armenian Genocide: A Flipped Classroom Approach

Posted by KC Kourtz on April 17, 2015

This month marks 100 years since the start of the Armenian Genocide. This event raises important questions. How do historical events influence our identity and our perception of the "other"? Why do genocides frequently take place under the cover of war? What choices do individuals, groups, and nations have when responding to genocide and other instances of mass violence?

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Topics: Antisemitism, Armenian Genocide, EdTech, Media Skills, Assessment, Online Learning, Flipped Classroom, Facing Technology

Best of 2014: Top 5 Facing Technology Blog Posts

Posted by KC Kourtz on December 18, 2014

Reviewing the year we will soon be leaving behind, here are the Top Five Most Read Posts from Facing Technology

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Topics: To Kill a Mockingbird, English Language Arts, Film, Antisemitism, Facing History and Ourselves, Civil Rights, Stereotype, Holocaust and Human Behavior, EdTech, ELA, Holocaust Education, Common Core State Standards, Blogs, Online Learning, Flipped Classroom, Facing Technology

30 Top EdTech Resources of 2014

Posted by KC Kourtz on December 16, 2014

Common Sense Education's Graphite site has named Facing History and Ourselves among its 30 best EdTech resources of 2014!
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Topics: Facing History and Ourselves, Social Media, EdTech, Innovative Classrooms, Media Skills, Online Learning, Facing Technology

Two Flipped Classroom Exercises to Teach "To Kill a Mockingbird"

Posted by KC Kourtz on November 24, 2014

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Do you teach Harper Lee's classic To Kill a Mockingbird?

Check out these two flipped classroom exercises that can help engage students in the issues central to the novel—and their own lives—including race, class, gender, justice, and moral growth. The first exercise activates student thinking about "stereotype threat," or how stereotypes can negatively affect us in our daily lives. The second sets the historical setting of To Kill a Mockingbird.

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Topics: To Kill a Mockingbird, English Language Arts, Facing History and Ourselves, Video, Stereotype, EdTech, Online Learning, Flipped Classroom, Critical Thinking, Facing Technology

From Our Sister Blog: Student Agency, Student Voice & the Maker Movement

Posted by KC Kourtz on October 23, 2014

As October is Connected Educator Month, we are pleased to announce Facing History's new partnership with Educator Innovator! Educator Innovator, powered by the National Writing Project, provides an online “meet-up” for educators who are re-imagining learning. Educator Innovator is both a blog and a growing community of educators, partners, and supporters. Read more about it on our sister blog Learn + Teach + Share.

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Topics: Choosing to Participate, EdTech, Online Learning, Critical Thinking, Facing Technology

Tools You Can Use: Resources From the Facing History Website

Posted by KC Kourtz on September 15, 2014

Happy back-to-school season! We hope the academic year is off to a terrific start and are excited to support you with new readings, streaming video, lesson ideas, webinars, and other opportunities for professional development.

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Topics: Facing History and Ourselves, Video, Media Skills, new website, differentiated instruction, Webinars, Online Learning, Critical Thinking, Facing Technology

Engaging Students in a Study of Identity: A Flipped Classroom Exercise

Posted by KC Kourtz on June 20, 2014

At Facing History, we begin each journey of investigation with a study of identity, focusing on how both individual and national identities are formed, as well as how these identities influence behavior and decision-making.

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Topics: Antisemitism, Holocaust and Human Behavior, EdTech, Online Learning, Flipped Classroom, Critical Thinking, Facing Technology

Margot Stern Strom Innovation Grant Recipients Announced!

Posted by KC Kourtz on May 28, 2014

This week Facing History announced the recipients of its annual Margot Stern Strom Innovation Awards, which grew out of a teaching award established in 2006 to recognize Facing History-trained educators who are thinking outside-the-box to transform schools and impact student learning.

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Topics: Professional Development, Facing History and Ourselves, Social Media, EdTech, Innovative Classrooms, Online Learning, Facing Technology

Four Resources to Mark Holocaust Remembrance Day in Your Classroom

Posted by KC Kourtz on April 24, 2014

April 28 is Holocaust Remembrance Day, or Yom HaShoah. We have put together what we hope will be a useful collection of resources for you to share with your students as you observe this important day.

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Topics: Art, Antisemitism, Choosing to Participate, Facing History and Ourselves, Video, Holocaust and Human Behavior, EdTech, Holocaust Education, Online Learning, Facing Technology

At Facing History and Ourselves, we value conversation—in classrooms, in our professional development for educators, and online. When you comment on Facing Today, you're engaging with our worldwide community of learners, so please take care that your contributions are constructive, civil, and advance the conversation.

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Welcome to Facing Today, a Facing History blog. Facing History and Ourselves combats racism and antisemitism by using history to teach tolerance in classrooms around the globe.

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