Discovering (Again) The Awesomeness That Is #FETC!

January 14-17, 2020 brings us another awesome gathering of educators from all over the U.S. and beyond. Descending on sunny Miami, Florida the FETC Conference kicks off with tons of opportunities for all of us to learn, share and grow. I am honored to be a Featured Presenter again this year and will be there all week sharing and presenting along with countless other wonderful educators.

If you can't make it to Miami you can still be a part of the conference. FETC is one of my favorite conferences to attend because of the shear amount of sharing that takes place by presenters and attendees alike. By searching the hashtag #FETC on Twitter and Instagram you can already see what everyone is excited about, their thoughts going into the conference and more.

While nothing can replace the experience of being there in person you can use this hashtag throughout the conference (and the year for that matter) to see session resources, ideas, everything that everyone is sharing. Commit to taking time over the course of the next week to sit down and read tweets and posts for just a few minutes a day. You will probably learn something new, find someone new to follow and extend your learning in ways you didn't think possible!

Speaking of following there are tons of great educators who will be there too that you can follow:
@web20classroom
@shfarnsworth
@adambellow
@thenerdyteacher
@8amber8
@juliedavisEDU

This is just a small, small group and certainly doesn't cover all the awesome folks that will be there. So check out the hashtag and follow along!

Are you going to be there? I will be presenting a lot with my good friend Shaelynn Farnsworth. Check out our Featured Sessions!

Taking PBL To The Next Level With Design Thinking (Paid Workshop): Room: 244-245-Tuesday, January 14, 2020: 10:30 AM - 12:30 PM: Current educational practices often produce students who are simply Problem Solvers, instead of Problem Seekers. Sound technology integration in the classroom provides opportunities for students to hone skills in Collaboration, Creativity, Communication, Choice, and Curiosity. Problem-Based Learning, done correctly, provides students with incredible opportunities to discover knowledge and share their findings with a global audience. But what if we could go further? Join us as we will examine what makes a good PBL lesson but also how the individual facets of Design Thinking can help students go deeper.

Developing Healthy Skeptics and Fact-Checkers in the Digital Age of Misinformation (Paid Workshop): Room: 244-245, Tuesday, January 14, 2020: 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM: With ubiquitous access to information, why is it that we still have people who believe that the Earth is flat, 9/11 never happened, and vaccinations cause autism? Technology provides users with unprecedented amounts of information at the click of a button. From primary sources to catching up on the hottest celebrity gossip, readers are inundated with endless search results that are filled with truths, half-truths, fake news, bias, fallacies, and fictitious websites. To be literate in this information age, it is imperative educators develop healthy skepticism within their students. Teach students how to think, not what to think; by providing them with opportunities, strategies, and tools to hone skills to analyze, evaluate, and debunk the misinformation that they encounter daily.

Stop Drowning in Data: Four Uses to Maximize Learning (Paid Workshop): Room: 203, Wednesday, January 15, 2020: 8:00 AM - 10:00 AM: Data. Admired by some. Loathed by others. Regardless of our feelings towards it, data gathering and analysis is an important part of the overall learning process. To be truly "data-driven," educators and leaders must understand what data is, what it looks like, how it is gathered effectively and used to implement change.

The Digitally Authentic Learning Classroom: Room: 216-218, Wednesday, January 15, 2020: 1:00 PM - 1:40 PM: When we combine the ubiquitous use of technology and the near constant access to all-known knowledge, the classroom environment must change. authentic-based learning environments emphasize learning that has students identify and solve real-world problems.

Punctuating Feedback to Maximize Student Achievement: Room: 205, Wednesday, January 15, 2020: 2:00 PM - 2:40 PM: Providing effective student feedback during the learning process increases student success but is variable in nature. Maximizing the impact on student achievement involves understanding the key components, developing a culture of feedback, and addressing inhibiting factors that may occur. Deep dive into the research by John Hattie to develop a culture of feedback, learn key components of effective feedback, and learn popular ways in which technology can support the belief that all students can improve.

What Is Effective Learning With Technology Anyway? (MEGA Session) Room: Grand Ball Room C, Wednesday, January 15, 2020: 3:20 PM - 4:00 PM: Each day, students encounter learning designed with technology in mind. As educators and school leaders, how do we know if the lesson is highly effective? What does effective learning really mean anyway? Teachers and leaders need to not only know how to make learning fun and engaging but also know research-proven strategies to ensure learning is effective. When new technologies or instructional practices are introduced into classrooms, it can be a challenge for leaders to communicate how everything fits together to create a richer learning environment.

4 Ed Tech Ways To Differentiate in a Student-Centered Classroom: Room: 216-218: Thursday, January 16, 2020, 11:00 AM - 11:40 AM: When moving from direct instruction to a more student-centered classroom, care and consideration must be taken to reach all learners. Through differentiated instruction, educators rely on several different methods and techniques to ensure students are successful. Differentiation of content, interest, process, and demonstration can all serve to increase engagement and challenge students at their level. Effective technology integration provides additional support to a differentiated classroom.

May The Infographics Be With You: Room: 224-225, Thursday, January 16, 2020: 12:00 PM - 12:40 PM: In a Galaxy, Far Far Away ... had Darth Vader only used infographics the Empire might not be misunderstood. Infographics can help students (and aspiring Sith Lords) to understand data and use it to tell a story.

Evidence-Based Instructional Strategies To Use Right Now! Room: 203, Thursday, January 16, 2020: 1:00 PM - 1:40 PM: There are hundreds, if not thousands of various types of instructional strategies and pedagogical approaches to teaching and learning. Yet how do we know which ones work and which ones don't? And, perhaps more importantly, which can be supported through the use of technology?

After all our sessions we will be posting all the resources to our website and sharing them on social media as well as the #FETC hashtag and I will be sharing more stuff on my Twitter, @web20classroom. You can also follow pictures on Instagram by searching for me (web20classroom) or #FETC. 

FETC is one of my favorite conferences of the year. And whether you can in person or from a far there's lot of learning to be had!

Resources and Wrap Ups From #FETC 2017

I spent the last week in warm and sunny Orlando attending the 2017 FETC Conference. This is one my favorite conferences of the year because of the quality of the sessions, the people and, of course, the learning. While there I had the honor and pleasure of delivering several features sessions and workshops. All the resources can be found by clicking the link below. Here are brief descriptions of each.

Flipping Professional Learning Workshop-Flipping the classroom is gaining in popularity in the classroom, but are you ready to try to flip professional learning? Discover why flipped professional development has the potential to disrupt the way teachers learn and will accelerate innovation in education. We looked at the various ways you can apply the flipping methodology to meetings to provide more professional learning time in your school and district. We examined how to create a new model of professional development to make the greatest impact on improving teaching methods and implementation of curriculum and learning activities that are transformed by the integration of technology. We looked at how to apply the "flipped" methodology to professional learning and learn what technology tools can enhance the flipped professional learning model. Discover the components of flipped PD including personalization, collaborative projects, coaching, and utilizing the best practice of ongoing, embedded professional development. Download the session resources. 
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Owning Your Professional Development with Shaelynn Farnsworth-Educators today can no longer rely on schools and districts to meet their professional learning needs. Just as student learning needs to be individualized and personalized, professional learning does also. We explored the various ways educators around the globe are owning their professional development. Going beyond Twitter chats and webinars, we explored non-traditional PD and had a frank conversation on how to get districts to recognize the time you spend learning outside the classroom. Download the session resources. 
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Showing How Awesome You Are: Using Social Media To Connect-The digital age is making it easier for parents and the community to learn what happens inside the school building. Using social media, schools and districts can more deeply engage with those stakeholders, providing a more unified foundation for better relationships. It also makes it easier for professionals to tell their stories and take control of the message they want all to know about the great things happening in schools and districts. We examined the current social media landscape and described personal and school branding. We also showed how to accomplish it easily and simply with little or no funds but having maximum impact. Download the session resources.
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Improving The Technology Walkthrough Process-School leaders regularly conduct walkthroughs in classrooms to collect observational data to determine areas of focus and improvement for their schools. These small opportunities can provide valuable insights into the teaching and learning process. When new technologies or instructional practices are introduced into classrooms, it can be a challenge for leaders to communicate how everything fits together to create a richer learning environment. We examined the walkthrough process, specifically addressing technology and how to make overall improvements. Download the session resources.
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Also while at the conference I took over the @AcerEducation twitter account where I gave an inside look to the conference and some fun interviews with some pretty smart folks. Check out the archive for more.

If you couldn't be at the conference this year, don't worry #FETC is always available to look at all that was shared including session resources, thoughts and reflections. Take time to peruse and learn!

Following #FETC No Matter Where You Are

This week brings us another awesome gathering of educators from all over the U.S. and beyond. Descending on the Orange County Convention Center in sunny Orlando, Florida the FETC Conference kicks off with tons of opportunities for all of us to learn, share and grow. I am honored to be a Featured Presenter again this year and will be there all week sharing and presenting along with countless other wonderful educators.

Are you going to be there? Check out my Featured Sessions!

Wednesday Jan 25
Flipping For Professional Learning-What if we could take all the boring time we spend in meetings and in meaningless PD and flipped the script? We will talk about all the different ways to flip meetings and PD and what we can do with the time we get back. Hint, its deeper professional learning! Hyatt Bayhill Rm 22 | 11:00am-12:30pm

Taking Control Of Your Professional Development-Because of our access to smart people and endless resources it's time to take control of our own professional learning. Stop by this poster session and chat with the awesome Shaelynn Farnsworth as we talk about how we personalize our own PD and give you lots of resources to check out. FETC Exhibit Hall Booth 2305 | 3:30pm-4:00pm

Thursday Jan 25
Showing How Awesome You Are: Using Social Media To Connect-Using social media to reach our parents and communities is more than just Twitter and Facebook. And where to you start and what should you know? We will talk about all this and more! OCCC South 330FG | 10:00am-11:00am

Improving The Technology Walkthrough Process-What should administrators see in technology using classrooms. I've got the 5 things to look for along with how to improve the walkthrough process over all. OCCC South 331CD | 3:20-4:00pm

After all my sessions I will be posting all the resources to my website and sharing them on social media as well as the #FETC hashtag.

Can't make it to the conference? No worries! You can still follow along as if you were there. The #FETC hashtag will be going the entire week with folks sharing information from sessions, links to resources and thoughts they are having. Do a Twitter search or use your favorite client to set up a column so you don't miss any of the action.

There will be tons of great educators there too that you can follow:
@web20classroom
@shfarnsworth
@adambellow
@kylepace
@amandacdykes
@juliedavisEDU
@RafranzDavis
@lesliefisher

These are just a few. You can see the list of all Featured Speakers and remember, you can find folks on the hashtag too.

I will be sharing on @web20classroom. You can also follow pictures on Instagram by searching for me (web20classroom) or #FETC. I will also have my Snapchat Spectacles. So if you want to follow along there you can add me on Snapchat. (web20classroom)

FETC is one of my favorite conferences of the year. And whether you can in person or from a far there's lot of learning to be had!

A Wrap Up Of Day 1 At #FETC

I've had the pleasure of spending time at the Florida Educational Technology Conference, better known as FETC. Held in Orlando, educators from across Florida and the world really, are here talking educational technology and learning together.

Today was filled with lots of sessions and even a presentation from yours truly. Below are the links to everything I did today.

Seeing Tomorrow, Today-David Thornburg
Notes-http://bit.ly/fetctomtoday
In this session we examined the pitfalls of purchasing technology today and how schools and districts can make better purchasing decisions.

Personal Learning Networks-Holly Atkins
Notes-http://bit.ly/plnsfetc
While I am no expert on Personal Learning Networks I do speak a lot about them and profess their usage so I enjoy to hear other perspectives on them and their creation. In this session, the presenters focused on Twitter and Pintrest. While I haven't spend a lot of time there, I can see why Pintrest is popular with educators. (And if you are looking for a more ed-friendly Pintrest like tool, check out Educlipper.)

Web Tools-Adam Bellow
Notes-http://bit.ly/webtoolsfetc
I consider Adam a really good friend of mine and anywhere I can catch him present I do because he always teaches me something new. This session did not disappoint. Amongst all the web tools shared, there were several I did not know about including Ujam, Desmos, and Fotor, each of which I can wait to dive into. There were lots of take aways here so be sure to check out the notes for all the info.

Creating Student and Teacher Friendly Social Media Guidelines-Steven Anderson
This was my session from today. I wanted to share the methods I have found with other schools and districts in creating positive social media guidelines and best practices. I try to lay out the steps that make sense but also allow for flexibility for customization. Below is the presentation along with some links for review.


The article I wrote for Edutopia and Facebook

Sample Social Media Guidelines and Best Practices

That was Day 1. Check back later on for the wrap up of Day 2 and my final thoughts from here at FETC.