Almost 2 weeks ago now I had the privilege of attending FETC (Future of Education Technology Conference).  It was in beautiful Orlando, FL where the temps were much more tolerable than the roughly 20 degrees at home here in Chicago. However, I gained much more than just a stronger longing for Spring.

My favorite part of the experience was presenting with 3 other Future Ready Librarians in a panel format about what we think of the Future Ready movement and how it affects libraries.  We were also on a podcast with @edutechguys. Man those guys raise great questions and are super fun! Check it out: here!

Another session I attended that provided me with some great tech tools was 60 in 60 by @mikemeechin.

Some of my favorite tools that I was reminded of…

  • Go Noodle – Because who doesn’t love move and dance around sometimes?
  • Google Cardboard – Virtual Field trips…yes please!
  • Hour of Code – Yay coding! I started out college intending to be a computer scientist, it still holds a soft spot in my heart!

Some new tools I’m looking forward to trying…

  • Buncee – Video creation – Verdict is still out for me,  I have to play with it more.
  • Google Tiltbrush  – Please someone let me try this!! Immediately.
  • Grade Cam – I don’t typically grade tests, but for my teacher friends…I’m curious about this one!
  • Sutori – Used to be Hstry, timeline feature on steroids, I keep forgetting to use this tool!
  • Raise.me – Interesting scholarship tool that seems promising. Raising small amounts that bank throughout their high school career.

Maybe I’ll hit some more from that session in another post! It was too much good stuff!

My biggest bummer, I did not win any of the great technology give aways! So grants here I come!! Some of the coolest things I got to see in person that I now wish my students would get the chance to investigate and learn with are…

  • Osmo
  • Sphero SPRK+
  • Dash and Dot
  • CatchBox microphones…yup you can throw it and personalize it
  • Tiggly
  • All the 3D printers…
  • Everfi – I had used these once a few years ago and the students LOVED it, it was free and communicated to me that it is still free, perhaps I should try it again.

For now, that’s my reflection. I feel recharged and inspired by the many wonderful educators that came together and shared information about how we can best use technology to provide our students with a stellar education that will help prepare them for a future that remains greatly unknown.