The Future of Education Technology Conference® continues year-round as a learning community, but the 2020 edition of the on-the-ground event wraps up on Friday with a full day of activities.
“Friday promises to be another great day of learning and collaboration—with something for everyone,” says Lenny Schad, DA’s chief information and innovation officer.
Justin Shaifer, founder and executive director of Fascinate Inc. will share ideas for making STEM cool when he delivers the closing keynote, “Bring STEM to Class: A Practical Guide for Education.”
Shaifer’s presentation will guide teachers, administrators, coaches and technology staff in delivering STEM lesson plans that engage Gen Z students and emphasize the skills that will be demanded by their future employers.
The FETC STEM Excellence Awards, which recognize elementary, middle and high schools for innovative instruction, will also be announced during the closing keynote session.
Attendees can continue to explore the wide range of education solutions in the Expo Hall, which will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. The day will conclude with a drawing for a $30,000 classroom makeover by Lenovo.
Throughout the morning, the “Elementary Digital Tools Sandbox,” also in the Expo Hall, offers a chance to check out robots, apps and other ed tech tools, and to talk to fellow educators about classroom implementation.
During the sandbox sessions, Jon Smith will give a talk on how to inspire reluctant writers, and Bill Glass will discuss empowering students with robotics. And Bryan Miller will detail the necessities for coding, robotics and student data.
The final morning’s workshops will cover topics such as IT funding, protecting student data, artificial intelligence and virtual reality. After the keynote, learning sessions also continue, focusing on tech equity and access, esports leadership, open source, gamification, and G-Suite.
“If your department wants to get better at writing and winning grants, we have the session for you,” Schad says. “E-rate is a very complicated subject. Those of you responsible for that program shouldn’t miss our session: ‘E-rate: Everything You Need to Know And More!’”
For technology leaders, Friday’s sessions will also offer practical tips and tricks about organizational change management, strategic planning and identity management. “Finally, we will have a session on 2020 trends—a great way to look at the horizon and begin thinking about the possibilities,” Schad says.
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