January 14-17, 2020 brings us another awesome gathering of educators from all over the U.S. and beyond. Descending on sunny Miami, Florida the FETC Conference kicks off with tons of opportunities for all of us to learn, share and grow. I am honored to be a Featured Presenter again this year and will be there all week sharing and presenting along with countless other wonderful educators.

If you can’t make it to Miami you can still be a part of the conference. FETC is one of my favorite conferences to attend because of the shear amount of sharing that takes place by presenters and attendees alike. By searching the hashtag #FETC on Twitter and Instagram you can already see what everyone is excited about, their thoughts going into the conference and more.

While nothing can replace the experience of being there in person you can use this hashtag throughout the conference (and the year for that matter) to see session resources, ideas, everything that everyone is sharing. Commit to taking time over the course of the next week to sit down and read tweets and posts for just a few minutes a day. You will probably learn something new, find someone new to follow and extend your learning in ways you didn’t think possible!

Speaking of following there are tons of great educators who will be there too that you can follow:
@web20classroom
@shfarnsworth
@adambellow
@thenerdyteacher
@8amber8
@juliedavisEDU

This is just a small, small group and certainly doesn’t cover all the awesome folks that will be there. So check out the hashtag and follow along!

Are you going to be there? I will be presenting a lot with my good friend Shaelynn Farnsworth. Check out our Featured Sessions!

Taking PBL To The Next Level With Design Thinking (Paid Workshop): Room: 244-245-Tuesday, January 14, 2020: 10:30 AM – 12:30 PM: Current educational practices often produce students who are simply Problem Solvers, instead of Problem Seekers. Sound technology integration in the classroom provides opportunities for students to hone skills in Collaboration, Creativity, Communication, Choice, and Curiosity. Problem-Based Learning, done correctly, provides students with incredible opportunities to discover knowledge and share their findings with a global audience. But what if we could go further? Join us as we will examine what makes a good PBL lesson but also how the individual facets of Design Thinking can help students go deeper.

Developing Healthy Skeptics and Fact-Checkers in the Digital Age of Misinformation (Paid Workshop): Room: 244-245, Tuesday, January 14, 2020: 4:00 PM – 6:00 PM: With ubiquitous access to information, why is it that we still have people who believe that the Earth is flat, 9/11 never happened, and vaccinations cause autism? Technology provides users with unprecedented amounts of information at the click of a button. From primary sources to catching up on the hottest celebrity gossip, readers are inundated with endless search results that are filled with truths, half-truths, fake news, bias, fallacies, and fictitious websites. To be literate in this information age, it is imperative educators develop healthy skepticism within their students. Teach students how to think, not what to think; by providing them with opportunities, strategies, and tools to hone skills to analyze, evaluate, and debunk the misinformation that they encounter daily.

Stop Drowning in Data: Four Uses to Maximize Learning (Paid Workshop): Room: 203, Wednesday, January 15, 2020: 8:00 AM – 10:00 AM: Data. Admired by some. Loathed by others. Regardless of our feelings towards it, data gathering and analysis is an important part of the overall learning process. To be truly “data-driven,” educators and leaders must understand what data is, what it looks like, how it is gathered effectively and used to implement change.

The Digitally Authentic Learning Classroom: Room: 216-218, Wednesday, January 15, 2020: 1:00 PM – 1:40 PM: When we combine the ubiquitous use of technology and the near constant access to all-known knowledge, the classroom environment must change. authentic-based learning environments emphasize learning that has students identify and solve real-world problems.

Punctuating Feedback to Maximize Student Achievement: Room: 205, Wednesday, January 15, 2020: 2:00 PM – 2:40 PM: Providing effective student feedback during the learning process increases student success but is variable in nature. Maximizing the impact on student achievement involves understanding the key components, developing a culture of feedback, and addressing inhibiting factors that may occur. Deep dive into the research by John Hattie to develop a culture of feedback, learn key components of effective feedback, and learn popular ways in which technology can support the belief that all students can improve.

What Is Effective Learning With Technology Anyway? (MEGA Session) Room: Grand Ball Room C, Wednesday, January 15, 2020: 3:20 PM – 4:00 PM: Each day, students encounter learning designed with technology in mind. As educators and school leaders, how do we know if the lesson is highly effective? What does effective learning really mean anyway? Teachers and leaders need to not only know how to make learning fun and engaging but also know research-proven strategies to ensure learning is effective. When new technologies or instructional practices are introduced into classrooms, it can be a challenge for leaders to communicate how everything fits together to create a richer learning environment.

4 Ed Tech Ways To Differentiate in a Student-Centered Classroom: Room: 216-218: Thursday, January 16, 2020, 11:00 AM – 11:40 AM: When moving from direct instruction to a more student-centered classroom, care and consideration must be taken to reach all learners. Through differentiated instruction, educators rely on several different methods and techniques to ensure students are successful. Differentiation of content, interest, process, and demonstration can all serve to increase engagement and challenge students at their level. Effective technology integration provides additional support to a differentiated classroom.

May The Infographics Be With You: Room: 224-225, Thursday, January 16, 2020: 12:00 PM – 12:40 PM: In a Galaxy, Far Far Away … had Darth Vader only used infographics the Empire might not be misunderstood. Infographics can help students (and aspiring Sith Lords) to understand data and use it to tell a story.

Evidence-Based Instructional Strategies To Use Right Now! Room: 203, Thursday, January 16, 2020: 1:00 PM – 1:40 PM: There are hundreds, if not thousands of various types of instructional strategies and pedagogical approaches to teaching and learning. Yet how do we know which ones work and which ones don’t? And, perhaps more importantly, which can be supported through the use of technology?

After all our sessions we will be posting all the resources to our website and sharing them on social media as well as the #FETC hashtag and I will be sharing more stuff on my Twitter, @web20classroom. You can also follow pictures on Instagram by searching for me (web20classroom) or #FETC. 

FETC is one of my favorite conferences of the year. And whether you can in person or from a far there’s lot of learning to be had!