#FETC Spreading the #EdTech Virus

Well, this year's FETC Conference was another amazing experience. I was exceptionally lucky to add to the richness of the experience this year by bringing three teacher leaders with me. Three of my Cherry Street teachers joined me in Orlando for FETC 2015, and I do believe they came back with the #EdTech Virus!

Valerie, Stefanie, Me, and Tiffany (all pictured here) got our #FETC Mojo going and have been on fire since our return. I am sure that each of these ladies could write their own BLOG entry on the amazing ed. tech. they have been integrating in their classrooms since their return. I hear wonderful stories about their use of Plickers: https://www.plickers.com/ and Kahoot: https://getkahoot.com/ as well as many others. 

Some of the sessions I attended this year were:

• TechShare Live
• Advanced Twitter Tips and Tools
• Give a Kindergartner an Ipad
• Kathy Schrock's Telling the Story
• Augmented Reality and Mind Blowing Student Engagement
• Neurological Benefits of Gaming
• Advanced YouTube

...and as always each of the keynote speakers was fabulous. 

The hottest topics in Ed. Tech. are, of course, the gamification of learning and the maker movements. I, personally, get excited by all the augmented reality that is out there on the market. There were several augmented reality demonstrations I attended, and the Elements 4D app from DAQRI was crazy amazing: Elements

The elements from the periodic table are in wooden blocks. But when you use the app. via your tablet or SmartPhone, it turns the blocks into three dimensional cubes that contain the elements being represented. It is difficult to even describe this sort of technology, but the crowd was "oooo"ing and "awwww"ing constantly. A cube containing oxygen and a cube containing hydrogen, when paired together, became a cube containing water!

Here is a tweet from Tiffany during one of the keynote speaker addresses that shows 3D printing and several augmented reality examples. 

Here is a tweet from Stefanie during one of the sessions she attended.

Part of the greatness of attending the conference is not only what you learn while you are there but also the fun you have trying out the programs you learn about once you get home! I started using TweetDeck at the conference, and I was able to use it during our Inaugural #EdChat at Cherry Street this month. With TweetDeck, you can monitor multiple timelines, topics, lists and accounts. I love it! The multi-tasking fool that I am has three different Twitter accounts. It can get overwhelming without these amazing tools: TweetDeck

AND, most exciting of all, my three teacher leaders hosted our very first #CherryElem #EdChat. We followed the lead of one of my favorite BLOGsters, Amber Teamann, and her suggestion to modify the parameters of a regular Twitter Chat by allowing for 24 hour posting so folks can see the process and get initiated slowly. Here is that BLOG entry: Technically Teamann

I got to use another super cool program, Storify, at https://storify.com/, when we finished the #EdChat. I posted a summary of our #EdChat here: Storify.com/Enrjtk_Educatr/first-twitter-edchat-for-cherry-street-elementary

Lastly, I appreciate the comradery and the fun that I was able to have with my awesome team in Orlando. We created some great memories! I have been attending FETC off and on for twenty years. I have seen Jim Lovell from Apollo 13 and the lauded science fiction author, Ray Bradbury. FETC is the best!