Thanks to the generous Thatcher Faculty Development and Research Fund provided by the Thatcher Foundation, eight Darlington faculty members were able to attend the Georgia Educational Technology Consortium conference on November 2nd-4th. Four of these faculty members presented at the conference. The presenters included:
Crystal Cleveland (Head of the World Language Department / Upper School Spanish Teacher): Build Games Using 3D Printing and Laser Cutting to Teach Curriculum Concepts
Owen Kinney (Head of Science Department / Upper School Robotics and Science Teacher): Team Robotics Off the Chain: Post-Season Adventures in a Makerspace
The presentation link: Team Robotics: Post Season
Rebekah Kinney: (Technology Integration Coordinator): Implementing and Sustaining a Successful 1:1 Program:
The presentation link: Implementing and Sustaining a 1:1 Program
Beth Wardlaw (Technology Integration Specialist): Promoting a STEAM Program in Your School or Classroom: Advice and Tools for Success
Links to this presentation can be found here. I would love to share some Technology Integration Resources with you here as well!
The other faculty members attending the conference were Kaitlin Ward (ELA-8 Librarian), Kayla Heflin (Upper School Spanish Teacher), Jody Deaton (Kindergarten Teacher), and BeBe Cline (5th Grade Teacher).
Fifth grade teacher BeBe Cline was very appreciative to have the great learning opportunity. She shared some of her favorite moments:
Getting on the I-School Initiative- "mobile classroom on wheels" was an eye opening experience for me. On the bus, I had to work with a team in order to go through stations involving technology to unlock the key to "escape the bus". We had 30 minutes to work together to solve the puzzle.
Learning about Osmo and how to incorporate it into my classroom to foster creative thinking using technology.
I learned how to evaluate student understanding of anything using "kahoot" and "plickers"!
Kindergarten teacher, Jody Deaton, said she enjoyed learning more about the value of play and how to incorporate design thinking and prototypes into her classroom. She enjoyed having the chance to play with Spheros, Osmo, Bloxels, and Ozobots in the STEAM session. Mrs. Deaton used her time at the conference to soak up as much learning as possible. She enjoyed learning more about the G Suite and new ways to use Google Drawing and Google Slides. She can't wait to start using Osmo this week with her students.
ELA-8 Librarian, Kaitlin Ward, said she enjoyed learning more about collaboration between classroom teachers and the librarian. She really hopes that the skills she learned through these sessions will help her reach out to the faculty to work on some wonderful projects. She also learned that driving a Sphero is a lot harder than it looks.
We would not have been able to attend this conference and learn so much about integrating technology into our classrooms without the generosity of the Thatcher Foundation.
