On Thursday and Friday (12/7 and 12/8), I attended #TETC16 in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. As I just attended #GaETC16 last month, this was an interesting opportunity to compare the two conferences.
Overall, I found a number of similarities. Although a smaller conference, #TETC16 still had a great deal of variety in the sessions, and in fact, included more sessions geared towards administrators and other district leaders in technology. One session by Julie Davis and Greg Bagby in particular had some great suggestions for implementing technology-based professional development. Additionally, that session concluded with Julie mentioning the monthly CoffeeEdu sessions held around Chattanooga and inviting anyone who was interested to participate.
A fellow Georgian, David Lockhart, was there and I caught his presentation on coding Friday morning. One thing that I really love about David (aside from the great prizes he always has) is his willingness to adapt on the fly when he obtains new information. Although not a part of his original presentation, he heard about EarSketch in an earlier session and referenced it in his. Before I even left his session, I had passed that information along to my brother, a band director east of Atlanta.
My session on Must Have Tech Tools for Social Studies was fairly well attended, especially for 8:30 am the morning after Casino Night. If you would like the handout from that session, it can be found here.
At the end of Friday, I walked away reinvigorated to work with teachers and students. If you have never attended an EdTech conference, I highly recommend them. Registration can be high, but presenting can lower (or eradicate) that cost. If you can’t spare a few days, think about attending an EdCamp. In Georgia, there are several upcoming:
Happy teaching with tech, my friends!
#ILoveEdTech 