Feb
6
TCEA 2009 – Day 3 Summary
February 6, 2009 | Tagged day 3, exhibit hall, integration, summary, TCEA 2009, technology, vendors, web 2.0 | Leave a Comment
Once again I tried to split my sessions by those that I wanted to attend in regards to PD and Technology Training as well as attending some of the sessions that were geared towards technology integration in the classroom from K-12. I also had a chance to go down to the exhibit hall and visit some vendors that are geared towards technology, education, etc. You can also find other types of vendors that sell other items such as pens, pencils, t-shirts, even jewelry! One of the cool things about the vendors is that if you sit in with them for about 15 minutes for a demo you will usually get something for free, such as a cap, t-shirt, totebag, flash drives, and in some cases they have drawings to win bigger prizes such as software, ipods, iphones, and even laptops!
Every year there seems to be some vendor that has everyones attention by either the product they are promoting or because of the door prizes they are giving away. The last two years that vendor has been SMART Technologies. They ALWAYS seem to have tons of people around their booths and activity areas; plus you see everyone walking around in the SMART t-shirts. Some of the other vendors claim that the only reason they get so much attention is because they give away ipod nanos every day of the conference, however, I think its just because the SMART Boards, slates and student response products are popular tools that are being used by teachers or want to be used by teachers.
Like I mentioned in a blog a couple of days ago, I did run into Frank Hammen from Shepard MS, and he shared some information about some of the sessions he attended and some ideas he has for himself and for
his students in regards to technology. Frank has attended the conference before and really likes keeping up with technology. I also ran into Yvonne Perez (pictured) from Hutchins elementary today. I sat with her during lunch and we discussed some of the sessions she attended and how she really is enjoying the conference and all the knowledge she is gaining from the sessions she is attending and how she would like to attend this on a yearly basis. I cant wait to see what Ms. Perez will do not only in her classroom but on her campus with the knowledge she is taking back. I know she will share her knowledge at her campus because Ms. Perez has created a Technology Team (committee that consists of 1 teacher from every grade level) that meets once a month to discuss technology needs and brief technology training.
What I would really like to see in the future is the technology department, curriculum department and each campus create a budget next year to send more people to the conference; and not just teachers, but facilitators, academic coaches, and even administrators. These “leaders” need to see what other teachers, administrators and school districts are doing with instructional technology. The more we have present the more sessions and trainings we can attend and take back to our district and share that knowledge with teachers, librarians, administrators, and more importantly, our students.
