FETC 2014

I didn't think it would be possible for FETC 2014 to top last years amazing ed tech conference but IT DID (OK, maybe not the weather but EVERYTHING else)! I don't even know where to begin because my brain is overflowing with ideas and I am completely exhausted!

We kicked off FETC 2014 by attending the first annual Photo Walk which got moved indoors because of the rain. Despite the weather we had fun searching for the letters F E T C in architecture and signs around the conference center. We also met some awesome people from New Jersey who we spent time with all week and this is where our shirts first got scanned :)! 

The Tech Share featured Kathy Schrock, Hall Davidson, Leslie Fisher and Adam Bellow. If you do not follow these four on Twitter you should. Their websites are all awesome resources as well. Leslie is absolutely hilarious and it is like a stand up comedy show while learning all about the latest and greatest in technology. Adam is also quite funny and shared his version of Wrecking Ball which is still stuck in my head! The week was jam packed from 9:30am on Wednesday until 5 pm on Friday. We attended awesome keynote presentations and other concurrent and featured sessions. I will share some of my favorite FETC finds when I have more time to digest everything and look over my notes! 

Meghan and I presented #SCANAPALOOZA2 on Thursday at 4:20 and I wanted to share all of our presentation materials with YOU. Let me know what you think and if you have any questions!

SCANAPALOOZA 2 Prezi

SCANAPALOOZA Symbaloo

SCANAPALOOZA Handout 1

SCANAPALOOZA Handout 2

In addition to learning so much, being inspired by amazing speakers, and putting a few new tricks in my tool bag here are my FETC Top 10 Favorites 

10. Badge ribbons

9. Dell Balloon Artist (I got a princess crown)

8. FETC Photo Walk

7. Being tweeted back by Adam Bellow, Leslie Fisher, edmodo, remind101 and blendspace

6. Meeting and chatting with Jennifer Womble, Adam Bellow and Leslie Fisher

5. Hanging out with Remind 101 team

4. Getting edmodo and remind101 tee shirts, one was MUCH harder to get than the other

3. Leslie Fisher shout out during her presentation

 

2. Having our shirts scanned and presenting SCANAPALOOZA#2 

1. Expanding my PLN on Twitter and connecting/meeting with some awesome educators from NJ, NC, VA, IL and Canada

Here is our #flipgram video that we submitted for the #instagram challenge for Day in the Life of FETC. We didn't realize instagram cut you off at 15 seconds and our video is over a minute. #OOPS! #FAIL If you haven't downloaded Flipgram yet you should. It is so easy to use and it makes slideshow creation a breeze. You can even add music :)! 

The Florida sunshine decided to peek out just as we were getting ready to board our plane and head home to DC! #sunatatimelikethis

FETC 2014

FETC 2013 was so amazing that we have decided to submit a proposal to present again next year! I learned so much and had a blast presenting with two of my colleagues in sunny Florida! We have a few ideas but I want to know what YOU suggest! Please complete my PollEverywhere to help me and post a comment or suggestion!!!
Have you ever used PollEverywhere?! I love that you can vote online or by texting a "code"! Have you ever used your cell phone to vote before?! What do you think of PollEverywhere?

SCANAPALOOZA

SCANAPALOOZA was such a huge success that I wanted to share some of our resources with all of my lovely followers (all 97 of you)! Just click the screen shot to see the full PDF version of our presentation! I know it goes without saying but please do not use our resources as your own or attempt to present our session :)!

So our whole concept was to show that QR Codes can be SO much more than a self checking answer key so we focused on the four highest levels of Bloom! I created this Bloom's Taxonomy Pyramid with QR Codes which you can reference if you need a Bloom's refresher! 

This is our main SCANAPALOOZA packet which has some general information and resources! 

We ran our session very much like our classroom! As participants entered the room they scanned a TwtPoll as our "pre-assessment"! This helped us to gauge our audience and see everyone's experience with QR Codes. We opened with a video created in iMovie that showcases all the ways we use QR Codes in grades 1-8 at Porter! Then instead of lecturing we ran allowed for choice amongst four higher level learning centers that involved QR Codes! During this time we circulated around the room and were there to answer questions and modeled our role as facilitators. We finished up the session with a "post assessment" TwtPoll to see the level of comfort with QR Codes and finding an idea for immediate implementation after our session! Check out the video!

Applying: At Station 1 participants could watch a video tutorial explaining how to make different types of QR Codes! This was a great starting point for beginners!

Analyzing: Station 2 was set up around the room although the space did not allow for participants to get up and move around this was our intention! The Disney QR Code Scavenger Hunt allowed participants to see a fun example of a looping scavenger hunt in action! Each Disney character's clue led you to another character. 

Evaluating: At Station 3 participants scanned QR Codes with pictures and clues and then were able to use Google Earth or the internet to help identify the famous landmark and the city/state of it's location! Since we are a Thinking Map school we incorporated the Brace Map with this project! 

Creating: Station 4 was an example of a podcast linked to a QR Code for a 5th grade Wax Museum project! 

I would LOVE to hear how you are using QR Codes in your classroom! Did you get any ideas from your virtual FETC of SCANAPALOOZA?! I would love your feedback, please leave a comment or perhaps a voice message using Speak Pipe!

FETC Recap

FETC was amazing and I came back from Florida with tons of new ideas but haven't found a second to spare to blog! Our presentation couldn't have gone better and I have lots of pictures to share and all of our handouts that I promised.

Welcome to FETC (Florida Education Technology Conference)! Gorgeous weather and sunny skies!

+Adam Bellow started out with this hysterical parody of "Some Nights"! 

"Some nights I stay up searching the Net. Most nights I find some new tools. Next day I go bring them into my classroom. The firewall won't let me through. But I won't give up, I still try new stuff. Oh, man, I'm quite sure what I stand for oh. What do I stand for? What do I stand for?"

This is one of my favorite moments of the whole conference! 

We had these hot pink shirts made with a huge QR Code on the back to help advertise for our session! One of our biggest fears was to have 3 people show up! Luckily the shirts were a huge hit and big conversation piece all week. 

 We posted this adorable picture on our edmodo site hoping everyone would look for us!

The QR Code went to an iMovie that showcases all of the way we use QR Codes at Porter! 

 The edmodo team was awesome and we rushed to their booth to earn $50 app credit!!!

 Look who we ran into! Moby from BrainpopJr!!!

 We LOVED watching our edmodo page grow and grow! We were so excited when we hit 100 members! Our page is still gaining members and we are up to 132.

 So excited to see our session on the big board! SCANAPALOOZA!!!

Our rockstar team! 

Disney QR Code Scavenger Hunt (Center 2)!

We had a full house and everyone had such positive feedback! 

All of our handouts can be found on edmodo! Just join group CS8267 to gain access!

QR Code Tutorials

As promised this week I am sticking to all QR Codes blog posts in anticipation of our FETC presentation SCANAPALOOZA! I realized that MOST of my blog followers would not be attending FETC so it is OK to offer sneak peeks ;)! Enjoy these two quick tutorials of how to create QR Codes!

Making QR Codes with QR Stuff  

 Making QR Codes with QR Code Maker

QR Codes at Porter

Happy Thursday! I cannot believe how quickly FETC has snuck up on us and I cannot wait to leave for the sunshine state on Sunday morning! I know most of my blog followers will not be attending FETC so here is a sneak peek of the video that we will be sharing as part of our presentation! This is also the video linked to our amazing QR Code shirts! How cute are they?! Since most of the pictures/videos were taken with the iPad (both vertical and horizontal shots) it isn't the best quality video and it was my first shot at iMovie but it is a good representation of all that is happening at our school with QR Codes!

FETC

January has really flown by and I cannot believe that FETC (Florida Education Technology Conference) is just around the corner! I have finally crossed Finish FETC Presentation off of my To-Do List. Now that the prep work is done I am getting excited for the trip and really looking forward to presenting SCANAPALOOZA: QR Codes in the Elementary Classroom with two colleagues, the school librarian and a 5th grade teacher! If you are attending FETC we would love to have you at our session on Thursday @ 12:00! Join us on edmodo with group code CS8267! If you are attending FETC we will be the crew from VA with hot pink shirts that have large QR Codes on them so look for us! I just need to finish packing and next Sunday I am on my way to sunny Florida for what promises to be an amazing conference! There are so many amazing sessions that I am having a hard time deciding which ones to attending. My FETC Schedule on the app looks a little crazy because I haven't made my final picks yet. I feel like it is Fantasy Football! I will be posting our presentation on my blog after the conference if you cannot make it to FETC this year! 

Virtual FETC

I am counting down the days until FETC and the big Florida trip in January! I blogged about it over here if you want to read more! I will be presenting with 2 colleagues on QR Codes in the elementary classroom. Our proposal was one of 200ish selected out of 1,150 which we are really excited about.

While stalking FETC checking for sessions and workshops to be posted I found Virtual FETC which is a free online event on October 18th from 10:30 - 6:30. There will be interactive sessions, the latest tech tools and even keynote speakers. I am looking forward to learning and collaborating with educators across the country in this online conference. The platform looks like it will be a lot of fun (yes I know, I am such a nerd)!

Sign up to attend the virtual event and I will see you there!

FETC 2013

I am super excited to announce that I have been accepted to present at FETC in January with two colleagues! Look there's my name on the FETC site, isn't that so cool?

Last year our principal attended FETC and felt it was one of the best conferences she had ever been to. I am grateful  that we were selected out of 1,150 applications and been given the opportunity to present at the national level. I am super excited to attend other workshops and sessions and learn what is going on around the US in the field of technology!

Ouur principal came back with these strange looking square bar codes and that is when I became OBSESSED with QR Code. The craze began with FETC last year so it is only appropriate that the session we are presenting is about the use of QR Codes in the elementary classroom and practical classroom applications! Scan the QR Code above OR click it to visit the FETC website and learn more about the conference and what is being offered.