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Announcements/Important DatesProfessional Learning

Find the Right Tools for Your School at the Innovative Learning Strategies Conference

by Susan Meyer
written by Susan Meyer

As a reader of the TCEA TechNotes blog, chances are you are an ed tech news maven. That means you likely hear about at least five new trends that are going to “transform education” every day. But therein lies the problem. We live in a world where new technologies and resources are coming out at lightning speed. Some tools and strategies really will provide incredible opportunities for learning and engagement while others will be style over substance and will disappear as soon as the next shiny robot, app, or software comes along.

They all promise the world. Students will be the most engaged they’ve ever been. Critical thinking skills will abound. Classroom management will become a breeze. It’s as if your curriculum was written just to be correlated to this new product. But how do you separate the true innovations from the flash-in-the-pan fads?

Enter: The Innovative Learning Strategies Conference

TCEA is here to help you figure out what technologies and strategies will best benefit your schools, classrooms, and libraries. We designed our new Innovative Learning Strategies Conference to provide the research-backed answers you need to select the best technologies and resources for your students.

The conference will tell you more about a number of hot topics from adapted teaching and blended learning to augmented reality and Future Ready Schools. Informative, interactive sessions will answer questions about the topics you want to know more about, such as:

  • What’s the real value of edcamps, Open Education Resources, and PBL?
  • What does leading research tell us about the effectiveness of Minecraft, makerspaces, and gamification?
  • How are Skechnoting and 3D printing best utilized in the classroom?
  • What barriers to implementation might you face with authentic assessment and globalized learning environments and how might you overcome them?

You’ll get the answers to these questions and more for all the tools and strategies at the forefront of education. Overall, you’ll leave with a concrete road map for what will work best for your school and environment and how to effectively implement those technologies and ideas.

Are You Ready to Spread Innovative Ideas?

The Innovative Learning Strategies Conference is intended for campus and district administrators, curriculum specialists, department heads, and other educators in leadership positions. We want to provide valuable information for thought leaders and influencers to share with their schools and departments. Because of your participants in this learning event, you will be able to gather great information and resources and spread it far and wide to have a huge impact.

The learning experience will take place in the TCEA Conference Center in Austin, Texas on September 13 – 14. For full details on how to register, hotel offerings, and a detailed schedule, visit the Innovative Learning Strategies website.

We hope to see you in Austin this fall so you can get the information you need to find the right technologies and learning strategies to transform your school!

 

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Tots and Technology
Educational TrendsGood TeachingProfessional Learning

Lots of Laughter and Learning at Tots and Technology Galveston

by Susan Meyer
written by Susan Meyer

Standing in the Galveston Convention Center during the 2017 Tots and Technology summer conference means being surrounded by the sights and sounds of elementary educators enthusiastically learning. The whir of robots being showcased. The excited laughter of a group successfully escaping a digital breakout. And the incredible conversations between educators sharing ideas from their own classrooms and libraries and schools: what’s worked for them, what didn’t, and their hopes for the new school year.

I already shared a little of the experience of Tots in Galveston on site at the conference. If you missed these posts, you might want to check them out to learn more about the fun that was had at the makerspace pre-conference and the amazing learning and sharing that took place at the Birds of a Feather session. But I also wanted to share a few highlights of the event as a whole for those who weren’t able to join us at the beach this summer.

Hands-On Learning

What makes Tots and Technology such a fun conference is that educators get to experience the technology they will be bringing back to the classroom with them. They get hands-on practice so that they are not only familiar with the app, program, or gadget and how it can be used for cross-curricular learning, but also get to experience the technology for themselves. This way they’re aware of both the fun and engagement potential and the possible pitfalls and questions a student user might face.

Discovering the Latest in Ed Tech

Not all of the learning takes place in the session rooms. The exhibit hall at Tots was also a great place for educators to learn about some new products and ideas for technologies tailored specifically for the elementary classroom. They were able to talk one-on-one with exhibitors and try out new technologies in a laid back environment. They also started helpful discussions about what had worked in their classrooms and what product features they hoped to see.

Having a Ball

When in between sessions, our educators had a blast playing with the 12-foot inflatable beach ball we brought to the convention. They discovered some pretty creative ways to make great photo ops. Many demonstrated a huge amount of teamwork from hoisting the ball to making some quick saves to stop it from rolling down the hall. Elementary educators pack in the learning, but they know how to have a ball too! Our beach ball found a new home as a door prize for one lucky educator, but we’ll be sure to have new surprises in store for next year and for Tots Arlington coming up in just a few weeks.

The Tots Train Is Heading to Arlington!

Did you miss Tots in Galveston this year? If so, you’re in luck! We offer a second Tots and Technology summer conference in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. It will be held at the Arlington Convention Center from July 16-18. And the best part is it’s not too late to register. You’ll get all the hands-on learning, networking opportunities, and fresh ideas that educators experienced at Tots in Galveston in a fun new city. Find out more information and register here.

 

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Educational Trends

Tech Trends Heading Your Way

by Dr. Bruce Ellis
written by Dr. Bruce Ellis

This year will be filled with a variety of technology trends that are gaining in popularity. And just because something is popular doesn’t mean that it has valuable implications on education. These trends, however, do provide cause to consider them and how they can enhance teaching and learning. While some may not hit your district this year, they definitely are building momentum in many schools across the nation. Below are our predictions for educational tech trends this year.

  1. CODING – Even if you don’t teach computer science, your students can greatly benefit from the logical thinking and problem solving that is reinforced through coding. Students as young as kindergarten are able to participate thanks to simple apps that start them on the basics. For more information on coding and how you can get started, visit code.org.
  2. BLENDED LEARNING – More and more teachers are looking to see how they can augment their face-to-face time in the classroom with an online platform that allows for learning beyond the walls. Popular terms for blended learning include flipped classroom or flipped learning. You can easily start by using Edmodo or Google Apps for Education.
  3. 3D PRINTING – It seems that everyone wants in on the craze of designing and printing your own object. And with prices falling to less than $350 for a small 3D printer, many teachers are starting to put one on their wish list. Besides having students design and print items that are related to content they are learning about, many are also printing manipulatives to use in their classroom.
  4. VIRTUAL REALITY – No longer is virtual reality confined to hard-core geeks. With Google Cardboard and Expeditions, virtual reality is becoming mainstream and using devices your students may already be bringing to school.
  5. MAKER SPACES – Promoting problem solving and critical thinking is what maker spaces are all about. They may be as simple as a closet with recycled objects or as fancy as a room that would compete with brand-name craft and electronic stores. Either way, teachers are finding out how they can engage their students in fun learning activities with a purpose. Here is a list of sites that include how to get started by creating your own maker space. Or check out our blog about setting one up.
  6. INTERNET OF THINGS – It doesn’t matter if it is a watch, a refrigerator, or your car. If it connects to the Internet, then it is part of the Internet of things. With more ways of being connected, teachers are realizing the growing need to reinforce good digital citizenship even in the early grades since their digital footprints may be started much sooner than they were with us.
  7. ROBOTICS – Once reserved for schools like MIT, USC, and Purdue, robotics has revived many students’ love of learning and given them a realization of 21st century skills that they are really good at. Schools may be introducing it at the high school through Tech Apps courses such as Robotics Programming and Design or even in afterschool clubs using LEGO Mindstorm EV3. TCEA even has statewide robotics competitions for students to demo their talents!
  8. DRONES – A popular novelty that has dropped significantly in price, many districts are now considering how these can be used for instructional purposes in specialized classes as well as considering future jobs that students might be interested in that involve designing, deploying, and managing drones. Learn more in this blog.
  9. WEARABLE TECHNOLOGY – It seems that many teachers (and students!) are getting smart watches that connect with their phone to keep them more in touch with their friends and their online social networks. A few are even starting to add smart rings to their accessories. You can read about a variety of smart rings to learn which might be a best fit for you.
  10. SMARTER, INTERACTIVE TOYS – Apps are evolving to include manipulatives that interact with the device to provide 21st century-style learning that goes beyond just learning the alphabet. Items such as the Osmo, CogniToys, and Ozobot are opening new learning avenues for students.

Which of these trends are happening at your school? Better yet, how are you preparing your students to compete with skills that prepare them for jobs that are just on the horizon? Let us know – we’d like to hear from you!

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