2018.1.28
#FETC - Future of Education Technology Conference
“Outtakes”. A snippet of thoughts to kick off this blog post:
#FETC was an amazing professional learning experience. I will let the extensive post below speak for itself.
What I am looking forward to putting into practice, or continuing:
Sharing exciting opportunities with colleagues.
Quote(s) that resonated with me this week:
Your best year of teaching, should be your next.
These technologies are going to reinvent how we teach every child on the planet. Not in 20 years or 10 years - the next 5 years. ~ Peter Diamandis
While students may be only 20% of our population, they are 100% of our future. ~ Richard Williams
How can you prepare students for the future if you are stuck in the past? ~ Ken Whytock
Pedagogy trumps technology. ~ Eric Sheninger
This week had a strong focus on professional learning for me and some of my NCHS colleagues. We were fortunate to have had the opportunity to attend the Future of Education Technology Conference (#FETC) in *Orlando, FL. On top of the approximately 12k attendees from around the globe, Donna Burns (Technology Integrator, @MrsBurns_NCHS), Mary Frostick (Math, @FrostickMary), Mike Staffaroni (Social Studies, @m_staffaroni), and Kelly Zilly (Career & Technical Education, @kellygracezilly), and I made up the team who represented NCHS for the 2018 #FETC conference. Kudos and gratitude to our school and district administrators who support these valuable learning experiences that foster continuous improvement that ultimately benefits our greatest stakeholders, our students.
Leading up to the conference the five of us met, planned, discussed sessions, and game planned how we were going to maximize this experience. This article, “7 Steps to Maximize Learning at Education Conferences in 2018” was a good resource. We shared our thoughts and exchanged personal information to communicate before, during, and after the event. This included using phone, text, Voxer, and Twitter. Ultimately, our goal is to filter our respective experiences and share and educate the rest of our colleagues on some of the latest and greatest trends in education. We will also meet in the coming week or so to discuss a presentation to the staff.
Trying to capture an experience of this magnitude could go on for several pages, so I will break it down into four sections with a brief overview of each: “sessions”, “keynotes”, “themes”, and “networking”. It is worth noting that the exhibition hall was amazing and included several hundred, maybe thousands of, vendors from all aspects of education. I will include some photos of this space as well.
Sessions:
There were twenty sessions total that I attended over the four days ranging from forty minutes to two hours. Of these, I will choose my top five(ish) with a little description why they were my favorite. If a link to the presentation was provided I will embed it in the title. Without further adieu, and in no particular order:
It’s More than Just Paint Color: School-Wide Learning Space Design Initiatives
Jennifer Williams @jenwilliamsedu, Frances Siracusa @profeedtech, Jessie Boyce @jessxbo
I highly anticipated this session because I am a believer in considering multiple different options for learning environments. I also believe in incorporating movement into learning (for more on that, check out this TED talk by international speaker, Mike Kuczala @kinestheticlass). With either, you must keep in mind that it has to be an authentic learning experience. Students want to learn by “doing”. A few of the other key points that were highlighted include: learning takes place in a physical environment; students look, feel, listen and learn actively; a physical environment affects emotional response. With any change or adjustment, one must always consider, “What is the Why? What is the How?”. It is certainly more than just the space, it is also about the culture...
Schools That Work for Kids; BrandED: Tell Your Story, Build Relationships, and Empower Learning
Eric Sheninger @e_sheninger
Eric is an internationally recognized educator, author, and speaker who has an interesting story that I found applicable to many educators today. As a principal in New Jersey, he was leading in a traditional sense (my words), until he started listening to what students had to say about their experience in his school. He shared that he went from an administrator who was suspending students for having their devices out in school to embracing technology, becoming a “digital pioneer”, and using this powerful tool to improve learning. For a deeper look at Eric Sheninger, please check out his website, here. I could definitely write an entire blog post on his sessions but I will choose a few key highlights. My favorite takeaways from the first session were: Pedagogy first, technology second when appropriate; Pedagogy is the driver and technology is the accelerator; Engagement does not always equate to learning; and Real-World Ready: Leveraging Digital tools (link). Quite simply, my favorite takeaway from the second session with him was: Branding = relationship; Branding = relationship = value.
Note: please check out some of the great resoruces that Eric has available through the International Center for Leardership in Education by clicking on the following link: bit.ly/School4Kids
What if We Ran Schools Like Google?
David Lockhart - Kennesaw State University @bigguyinabowtie
I am a big fan of Google and all that it can do (and know I am not alone). I will get into themes in a couple of sections below, but this falls under that category as well. Just because we work in education does not mean that we can not model our “business” after extremely successful business models in the corporate world. This is not a simple cut and paste, as it will need to be a good fit for your respective school/district, but the principles are basic, simple, and make sense. They are: Be transparent, Give back, Have a voice, Be inclusive, and Care about your well being (which aligns nicely with our NCPS Employee Wellness Program, @BeWellNCPS…). I believe in each of the aforementioned and feel confident in applying each to work on a consistent, if not daily, basis.
Also, worth noting under the umbrella of Google: Kyle Pace (@kylepace) is a Director of Technology in Kansas City, MO. He did several sessions on “google-specifics”, including “Leading Google Style” which I found to be time well spent and a tremendous resource. On top of that, Kyle is a talented presenter who I hope to continue to learn from virtually.
Making Your School Something Special; Much Better Staff and Team Meetings
Rushton Hurley @rushtonh nextvista.org
Rushton is a great presenter. His sessions were engaging and made me think. He also provided opportunities to connect with others in the audience, which I always appreciate (building the professional learning network, or, PLN). I look forward to going back through my notes and finding more meaningful nuggets that can be applied at NCHS. The first session takeaways included: What do you wish for your school?; Does what we do matter?; Am I inspiring staff?; Even the most cynical staff are ready to do something cool/great if given the chance… This is oversimplifying the second session, but my top-two takeaways were: Time should be used to inspire colleagues; If you are laughing along the way, you are doing it right. Have fun with it!
Keynotes:
The opening keynote by Sir Ken Robinson was a career highlight for me. I felt like a kid waiting in line to get into a favorite (insert your fondest childhood experience, here). After arriving about 45 minutes early and securing a set of seats in the third/middle row, we were ready for showtime. And, he did not disappoint! In case you have not seen it, please check out his "Changing Education Paradigms" TED talk, here. As of this post, it has 1.9 million views. He even joked how tired his hand got from hitting “play” that many times on youtube :) Here is an article that does a nice job describing his keynote: FETC 2018: Ken Robinson argues 2 key points in support of creative schools - More pressure is needed from the bottom up if a push for creativity over standardization is to continue forcing change. Some of my favorite quotes are listed below in the Twitter pictures.
The Thursday keynote was titled, “Tech Live!” with @kathyschrock, @adambellow, and @lesliefisher. It kicked off with a hilarious song parody called, “Tech Lab Down the Hall” which brought us down memory lane with Oregon Trail, early Apple, DOS, dot-matrix printers, and more. Treat yourself by checking it out, here. This was followed by some ready to use apps and some mind-blowing examples of Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), Mixed Reality (MR), and more. The future truly is now and our students will literally be designing our future. There are some pics of some of my favorites below.
Finally, the Friday keynote began with STEM awards for elementary, middle and high school programs from across the nation. There were some impressive examples of STEM integration and how it helped to transform student learning in their respective schools. This was followed by a session titled, “The Value of Inclusive STEM Education: Robots and their Role in our Future”, by Dr. Ayanna Howard. She broke down our interactions with robots, both now and in the future. Her first point was that humans trust robots and gave some examples that show robots in VR and helping in rehab situations. Her next point was that humans trust robots in high-risk scenarios. Think, autonomous driving vehicles. Next, she discussed how our “intelligent” machines are inheriting our human biases and gave some examples of how race and gender have played into some robot responses. Ultimately, through the use of STEM educational apps, tangibles, and coding, Dr. Howard concluded that Humans + Robots, can, = Friends. Feel free to check out more using the hashtag #roleofrobots on twitter.
Themes:
We must evolve and provide an education that our students will be exposed to in the future and not teach/lead “the way we were taught”. I.e., always practice continuous improvement...
This may sound obvious, but flexible learning environments can take many forms and help meet the needs of different learning needs of the wide array of learners in your classroom. We must get away from the industrial-era format of education where students are confined to desks in rows and cram/regurgitate information.
There is nothing more valuable than student-voice. Check in with your students, often, and listen to what they have to say. And, act/adapt accordingly!
Always focus on quality pedagogy. Student learning should always be paramount.
Networking:
If I had to sum up quality networking opportunities, such as this one, I would use “priceless”. Having an extensive PLN that allows you to regularly collaborate, share resources, and challenge your thinking is worth its weight in gold. Professional learning can literally take place 24/7/365 from anywhere in the world and these connections allow that to happen as much or as little as time allows. A good analogy I heard is, “an online PLN is like a river (or faucet) that is always flowing. You can visit it and grab a little or big drink as often as you like/need.” There was a popular hashtag that I saw shared throughout the conference, #FindYourTribe. This is a perfect descriptor to expand your PLN. The people that I mentioned above are just a few that I plan on interacting with in the coming year to continue to learn/grow and be better able to serve all stakeholders in New Canaan.
* A final thought: I think it is worth noting, that while it is nice to be in a fair-weather destination - 90+% of the time spent at a conference is inside a huge convention center, usually with no windows (pretty ironic…). I only include this because the majority of the people who ask how the conference was, always include, “Must be nice!...”.
Positive experience? Absolutely! Vacation? Far from it… Worthwhile learning experience? 100%! I have never returned from a convention of this scale without being much better able to serve my district. Finally, a special thank you to @JenWomble and her team for organizing and putting on this world-class professional learning experience for educators across the nation and around the world!
Thanks for taking the time to check out my blog. Have a great week!
Tags: #FETC, @MrsBurns_NCHS, @FrostickMary, @m_staffaroni, #FindYourTribe, @BeWellNCPS, @kinestheticlass, @kylepace, @E_Sheninger, @SirKenRobinson, @rushtonh, @JenWomble. @kathyschrock, @adambellow, @lesliefisher, @nchscolcar, @drmcgettigan
Please feel free to contact or follow me:
Twitter: @DavidGusitsch
Blog: https://davidgusitsch.blogspot.com/
Email: david.gusitsch@ncps-k12.org
Here are a few pics from the #FETC conference:
A look at the Orange County Convention Center from the outdoor (photo credit: @kellygracezilly)
A view from the front and center for the #FETC keynotes:
What more can we ask?
A few of my favorite Tweets from the @SirKenRobinson keynote:
Getting creative with music using incredibox (the options are endless)
Simple, but this amazed me (and, I will use it)
A program that shows the finished product without opening the box (no surprises here!)
Think of the possibilities:
The Six Basic Principles of Culture for Google:
Looking North to South in the exhibition hall:
Some of the flexible seating/furniture on display:
Trying to capture an experience of this magnitude could go on for several pages, so I will break it down into four sections with a brief overview of each: “sessions”, “keynotes”, “themes”, and “networking”. It is worth noting that the exhibition hall was amazing and included several hundred, maybe thousands of, vendors from all aspects of education. I will include some photos of this space as well.
Sessions:
There were twenty sessions total that I attended over the four days ranging from forty minutes to two hours. Of these, I will choose my top five(ish) with a little description why they were my favorite. If a link to the presentation was provided I will embed it in the title. Without further adieu, and in no particular order:
It’s More than Just Paint Color: School-Wide Learning Space Design Initiatives
Jennifer Williams @jenwilliamsedu, Frances Siracusa @profeedtech, Jessie Boyce @jessxbo
I highly anticipated this session because I am a believer in considering multiple different options for learning environments. I also believe in incorporating movement into learning (for more on that, check out this TED talk by international speaker, Mike Kuczala @kinestheticlass). With either, you must keep in mind that it has to be an authentic learning experience. Students want to learn by “doing”. A few of the other key points that were highlighted include: learning takes place in a physical environment; students look, feel, listen and learn actively; a physical environment affects emotional response. With any change or adjustment, one must always consider, “What is the Why? What is the How?”. It is certainly more than just the space, it is also about the culture...
Schools That Work for Kids; BrandED: Tell Your Story, Build Relationships, and Empower Learning
Eric Sheninger @e_sheninger
Eric is an internationally recognized educator, author, and speaker who has an interesting story that I found applicable to many educators today. As a principal in New Jersey, he was leading in a traditional sense (my words), until he started listening to what students had to say about their experience in his school. He shared that he went from an administrator who was suspending students for having their devices out in school to embracing technology, becoming a “digital pioneer”, and using this powerful tool to improve learning. For a deeper look at Eric Sheninger, please check out his website, here. I could definitely write an entire blog post on his sessions but I will choose a few key highlights. My favorite takeaways from the first session were: Pedagogy first, technology second when appropriate; Pedagogy is the driver and technology is the accelerator; Engagement does not always equate to learning; and Real-World Ready: Leveraging Digital tools (link). Quite simply, my favorite takeaway from the second session with him was: Branding = relationship; Branding = relationship = value.
Note: please check out some of the great resoruces that Eric has available through the International Center for Leardership in Education by clicking on the following link: bit.ly/School4Kids
What if We Ran Schools Like Google?
David Lockhart - Kennesaw State University @bigguyinabowtie
I am a big fan of Google and all that it can do (and know I am not alone). I will get into themes in a couple of sections below, but this falls under that category as well. Just because we work in education does not mean that we can not model our “business” after extremely successful business models in the corporate world. This is not a simple cut and paste, as it will need to be a good fit for your respective school/district, but the principles are basic, simple, and make sense. They are: Be transparent, Give back, Have a voice, Be inclusive, and Care about your well being (which aligns nicely with our NCPS Employee Wellness Program, @BeWellNCPS…). I believe in each of the aforementioned and feel confident in applying each to work on a consistent, if not daily, basis.
Also, worth noting under the umbrella of Google: Kyle Pace (@kylepace) is a Director of Technology in Kansas City, MO. He did several sessions on “google-specifics”, including “Leading Google Style” which I found to be time well spent and a tremendous resource. On top of that, Kyle is a talented presenter who I hope to continue to learn from virtually.
Making Your School Something Special; Much Better Staff and Team Meetings
Rushton Hurley @rushtonh nextvista.org
Rushton is a great presenter. His sessions were engaging and made me think. He also provided opportunities to connect with others in the audience, which I always appreciate (building the professional learning network, or, PLN). I look forward to going back through my notes and finding more meaningful nuggets that can be applied at NCHS. The first session takeaways included: What do you wish for your school?; Does what we do matter?; Am I inspiring staff?; Even the most cynical staff are ready to do something cool/great if given the chance… This is oversimplifying the second session, but my top-two takeaways were: Time should be used to inspire colleagues; If you are laughing along the way, you are doing it right. Have fun with it!
Keynotes:
The opening keynote by Sir Ken Robinson was a career highlight for me. I felt like a kid waiting in line to get into a favorite (insert your fondest childhood experience, here). After arriving about 45 minutes early and securing a set of seats in the third/middle row, we were ready for showtime. And, he did not disappoint! In case you have not seen it, please check out his "Changing Education Paradigms" TED talk, here. As of this post, it has 1.9 million views. He even joked how tired his hand got from hitting “play” that many times on youtube :) Here is an article that does a nice job describing his keynote: FETC 2018: Ken Robinson argues 2 key points in support of creative schools - More pressure is needed from the bottom up if a push for creativity over standardization is to continue forcing change. Some of my favorite quotes are listed below in the Twitter pictures.
The Thursday keynote was titled, “Tech Live!” with @kathyschrock, @adambellow, and @lesliefisher. It kicked off with a hilarious song parody called, “Tech Lab Down the Hall” which brought us down memory lane with Oregon Trail, early Apple, DOS, dot-matrix printers, and more. Treat yourself by checking it out, here. This was followed by some ready to use apps and some mind-blowing examples of Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), Mixed Reality (MR), and more. The future truly is now and our students will literally be designing our future. There are some pics of some of my favorites below.
Finally, the Friday keynote began with STEM awards for elementary, middle and high school programs from across the nation. There were some impressive examples of STEM integration and how it helped to transform student learning in their respective schools. This was followed by a session titled, “The Value of Inclusive STEM Education: Robots and their Role in our Future”, by Dr. Ayanna Howard. She broke down our interactions with robots, both now and in the future. Her first point was that humans trust robots and gave some examples that show robots in VR and helping in rehab situations. Her next point was that humans trust robots in high-risk scenarios. Think, autonomous driving vehicles. Next, she discussed how our “intelligent” machines are inheriting our human biases and gave some examples of how race and gender have played into some robot responses. Ultimately, through the use of STEM educational apps, tangibles, and coding, Dr. Howard concluded that Humans + Robots, can, = Friends. Feel free to check out more using the hashtag #roleofrobots on twitter.
Themes:
We must evolve and provide an education that our students will be exposed to in the future and not teach/lead “the way we were taught”. I.e., always practice continuous improvement...
This may sound obvious, but flexible learning environments can take many forms and help meet the needs of different learning needs of the wide array of learners in your classroom. We must get away from the industrial-era format of education where students are confined to desks in rows and cram/regurgitate information.
There is nothing more valuable than student-voice. Check in with your students, often, and listen to what they have to say. And, act/adapt accordingly!
Always focus on quality pedagogy. Student learning should always be paramount.
Networking:
If I had to sum up quality networking opportunities, such as this one, I would use “priceless”. Having an extensive PLN that allows you to regularly collaborate, share resources, and challenge your thinking is worth its weight in gold. Professional learning can literally take place 24/7/365 from anywhere in the world and these connections allow that to happen as much or as little as time allows. A good analogy I heard is, “an online PLN is like a river (or faucet) that is always flowing. You can visit it and grab a little or big drink as often as you like/need.” There was a popular hashtag that I saw shared throughout the conference, #FindYourTribe. This is a perfect descriptor to expand your PLN. The people that I mentioned above are just a few that I plan on interacting with in the coming year to continue to learn/grow and be better able to serve all stakeholders in New Canaan.
* A final thought: I think it is worth noting, that while it is nice to be in a fair-weather destination - 90+% of the time spent at a conference is inside a huge convention center, usually with no windows (pretty ironic…). I only include this because the majority of the people who ask how the conference was, always include, “Must be nice!...”.
Positive experience? Absolutely! Vacation? Far from it… Worthwhile learning experience? 100%! I have never returned from a convention of this scale without being much better able to serve my district. Finally, a special thank you to @JenWomble and her team for organizing and putting on this world-class professional learning experience for educators across the nation and around the world!
Thanks for taking the time to check out my blog. Have a great week!
Tags: #FETC, @MrsBurns_NCHS, @FrostickMary, @m_staffaroni, #FindYourTribe, @BeWellNCPS, @kinestheticlass, @kylepace, @E_Sheninger, @SirKenRobinson, @rushtonh, @JenWomble. @kathyschrock, @adambellow, @lesliefisher, @nchscolcar, @drmcgettigan
Please feel free to contact or follow me:
Twitter: @DavidGusitsch
Blog: https://davidgusitsch.blogspot.com/
Email: david.gusitsch@ncps-k12.org
Here are a few pics from the #FETC conference:
A look at the Orange County Convention Center from the outdoor (photo credit: @kellygracezilly)
A view from the front and center for the #FETC keynotes:
What more can we ask?
A few of my favorite Tweets from the @SirKenRobinson keynote:
Getting creative with music using incredibox (the options are endless)
Simple, but this amazed me (and, I will use it)
A program that shows the finished product without opening the box (no surprises here!)
Think of the possibilities:
The Six Basic Principles of Culture for Google:
Looking North to South in the exhibition hall:
Some of the flexible seating/furniture on display:
A portable planetarium (this was amazing with great potential for multi-disciplinary offerings)
Of all the thousands of people in attendance, I got to meet up with the sister of our NCHS College and Career Center’s very own, Susan Carroll @nchscolcar - Dr. Joan McGettigan! @drmcgettigan
