Ya know Jetlag? Well I had FETClag. After 3 amazing days and 30,000+ steps I was overwhelmed with amazing-ness! And then Universal for 2 days and 40,000+ steps and then some kinda virus and now finally I am awake and aware and ready to reflect!

Tech Share Live is one of my favorite parts of FETC as it gives you a chance to see the amazing things you couldn’t even imagine (and afford). I also enjoy seeing Adam Bellow sing!

I am not a fan of keynotes…just putting it out there I don’t like crowds and often the keynote speaker at a big conference has nothing to do with education and it confuses me. (Ashley Judd ISTE2013ish) But at FETC the speakers are usually education-based and completely inspiring. And this year was no different! Man I was inspired and excited to listen to Reshma Saujani. The Verizon commercial she played was y inspiration to begin Girls Building STEAM. Reading the #fetc tweets I can see I wasn’t the only one who was excited to hear her story and inspired to go further to get girls into STEAM fields.

I attended several sessions on Digital Safety, as it is a concern for me and one of my topics we cover in-depth throughout the school year. It was great to see Common Sense Media, Digital Passport, and NetSmartz highlighted as well as a few other resources that were new to me for the higher level students.  High School teachers should definately check out www.itcanwaitsimulator.org It teaches the importance of paying attention while driving. Carnegie Cadets is an elementary resource shared created by Carnegie Melon students. Another one for kids is digizen.orgcyberwise.org is a great resource for parents and teachers.

I happen to be a big fan of Diana Rendina and her makerspace. I have begun to dabble in the idea and we are doing a maker unit starting today. She had some amazing ideas in her MakerSpace201 class for organization and thinking about the whole idea. Her resources can be found at dianarendinapresents.wikispaces.com and her blog is renovatedlearning.com.

Augmented Reality was a big push at FETC. I completely adore my Google Cardboard and other tools. I am still working through how I can used them in the classroom effectively. I went to a great Aurasma session and have great ideas on how to incorporate Aurasma into the 4th grade Social Studies trip to St Augustine!

Can I  just tell you poster sessions are my favorite!!! I presented 2 posters and one concurrent session. i feel posters give you the best networking and also provide great content. If I see a poster session on a topic of interest I get to get more in-depth info on the topic than in a regular session. I can “pick the brain” of a poster presenter much easier than in a big group setting. As a presenter it allows me to hone my message to each person who stops by, giving them what they need and helping me to broaden my thinking as well!

My absolute favorite vendors this year were Imagine Easy, Science4Us, and Nearpod. ImagineEasy has a great bibliography program, among other things, that makes like so much easier! They published my blog post about blogging at conferences, too! This company is a fun group and has great customer interaction! Science4Us is a part of the SpellingCity family. They were kind enough to supply me with giveaways for my STEAM session! Their science lessons are amazing, interactive, and according to some teachers who are using them- addictive to students and teachers! Their team is super responsive and eager to help teachers! Nearpod also gave me some loot to share in my session and gave them MOST COMFORTABLE t-shirt ever! Nearpod is an amazing tool that allows you to share your lessons with students and control the pace of what students see and do! very cool stuff and another amazing customer experience! Notice a connection? All companies with great customer service who are truly interested in what teachers have to say!

I can not wait to use some of the tools and information gained at FETC this year! What were your take-aways? What was a great idea or inspiration you grabbed at the conference? If you were not able to attend FETC, you should check out Twitter and #fetc. Tons of twitter users shared their thoughts and learning during the conference!

 

I am so excited for this summer and my conferences! I will be learning and sharing at ST4T, ISTE, and ILA. More info to come!

2 Replies to “FETC reflections”

  1. Thanks for the mention! I feel you on the FETC lag – I got a stomach bug the last day of the conference and spent most of the three day weekend afterwards sleeping. These types of conferences do take a lot out of you, but there’s so much awesome it makes up for it 🙂

  2. We loved meeting Nancy at FETC! If you are ever attending a conference, please make time to sit with her and hear about her experiences. I was lucky to attend her session at FETC 16 on Building STEAM with Girls. Not only is Nancy able to inspire girls at her school, but she’s enlightened me to spread the word on the importance of girls in STEAM and STEM. Go Nancy!

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