Once again, another busy day Thursday kept me from being able to get in my usual Think-Twice Thursday post, forcing me to combine it with my Friday Focus post, but that is okay. I will be attending my first Technology Conference next week. I am excited about seeing new technology, listening to great presenters, and meeting new people (or people I already know, but only through their Twitternality.)
The first conference that I will be attending is the Kentucky Society for Technology in Education Conference. The KySTE conference is going to be held in Louisville at the Galt House East March 10th-12th. There will be a wonderful selection of presenters and vendors present that will allow you to learn about many things related to technology education, as well as meet some great people from Kentucky and surrounding states who are actively pursuing educational technology. You can learn more about the Sessions descriptions, times, and speakers here. You can also find a list of exhibits/vendors that will be in attendance here.
The second conference that I will be attending will be the TeachMeet in Nashville, Tennessee. It will be held at the Nashville Public Library on 615 Church Street, Nashville, TN 37219. The dates for the TeachMeet are April 1-2 from 10:00-4:00pm. What is great about TeachMeet...it is COMPLETELY FREE. No admission fee, food is provided, and you will get to hear from some great speakers and attend some awesome sessions. You can view the schedule of events here. There are couple of influential people in educational technology attending this unconference as it likes to be called by Jason Bedell who has been coordinating the event, getting sponsors, and speakers. Got to say, what a great job he has been doing. Organizing a conference is definitely not an easy task. So, take some personal days and attend this free conference. You will walk away educated, and maybe with some prizes in the giveaways.
A Third Conference I hope to attend will be the Ohio Free Tech Conference that is extending its borders and bringing a conference to Louisville, KY on May 28-29 (if I remember the date correctly from the Tweet I received). There is currently not a website, but I was informed that one is in the works. Once they get it up and running, I will share it. I have heard great things about this conference from the four they had throughout Ohio in January and February.
Have I enticed you enough to attend one of these conferences? If you are in the region and able to drive to one of these conferences, Think Twice about taking some time to expand your knowledge about educational technology and join me and hundreds of other educators in learning about technology. If you are not from around this region or country, Think Twice about taking a moment to search for your local state's/country's technology conference or other conferences in your region and register to attend. If the date has already passed, Think Twice about pre-registering for next year, and make the commitment to attend.....NOW.
It is time Focus on becoming a better teacher in the 21st Century. It is time to Focus on expanding your teaching abilities. It is time to Focus on increasing your knowledge and use of educational technology in your classroom and/or school. It is time to Focus on accepting that education and how we teach is changing, and as an educator, it is part of your/our job, more than ever, to be informed on how education is changing...and educational technology can provide you that opportunity.
In order to learn about educational technology, Thinking Twice about attending a Technology Conference can be the first step in your Focus to becoming a better educator. Not only is it important to attend these conferences to become a better teacher, but it is important to attend these conferences so that you can see what technology our students will be utilizing and working with as they go from High School, to College/University, to the Job Market.
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Enjoy them all, wish I was close enough to attend!
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