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

Virtual FETC and DEN VirtConLive

Happy Monday! I feel a little behind in the blogging world but last week I attended my first virtual conference (FETC)! There were some really great sessions. Adam Bellow founder of EduTecher had an awesome presentation called Wonders of the Web: Great Tools for Schools. He made such good points that I have to often remind myself of and I wanted to share with you all.

1. 42 million websites have cropped up in the last year. It is HARD to keep up.
2. Use your PLN to stay connected with educators and learn from each other (TED Talks, Fcebook, Twitter, blogs, etc.).
3. Don't do too much too quickly. Find one new thing to introduce.
4. Educational technology is about what you can do with the technology NOT what the technology can do for you.
5. Technology is not about the "stuff."

In addition to these tidbits of advice he also shared several great Web tools which can be found here. A few of the tools I have blogged about or used before but I also got a few new ones which I am excited to try.

Virtual FETC got me really excited for the real deal in Orlando which is less than 100 days away and I didn't even get to listen to all of the sessions. One great thing about the virtual aspect is that all of the sessions were recorded and can be accessed for the next three months. While attending Virtual FETC I made some awesome connections with educators across the country. I spent a lot of time chatting in the lounge and building my PLN (personal learning network). @PGeorge is one of the newest Twitter handles that I follow (look I am learning Twitter vocabulary).

On to my next point, Saturday morning while spending valuable time on my PLN I noticed that @PGeorge had tweeted about VirtConLive so I followed her link and was sucked into another virtual conference which was hosted by Discovery Education. Since I had plans for the day (Fall Festival at my school and a 1st Birthday Party) I was so bummed that I was going to miss out on the wealth of information (Yes, I know, I am a nerd with a capital N.). BUT just like Virtual FETC DENVirtCon was also recorded and can be viewed just like TiVo. I haven't had time to go back to either yet BUT I am certainly planning to soon. Without meeting Peggy at Virtual FETC I would have never know about DEN VirtConLive. I am so excited what expanding your PLN can do.