Classroom Connections: Trade Shows and Conferences Not to Be Missed

In our busy, social media crazy world, we often forget the importance of being in a live face-to-face setting with others from the education community. Being active in both your industry trade association of choice or other key conferences can bring with it many benefits. 

FETC 2017 is just around the corner! This four-day event, held on January 24–27, is a fantastic opportunity to greet old colleagues, meet prospective collaborators, and learn from the pros—including hands-on explorations of the latest hardware, software, and successful strategies for integrating technology across the K-20 curriculum. As always, the conference will be held in The City Beautiful: Orlando, FL. From city attractions to workshops and the booths (don’t miss Boxlight at booth 114!), here’s a sneak peek at what you can expect:

You’re practically swimming in “must-try” tool lists right now—we know. That’s why we created this unique one for you. These tools can be used in almost every classroom, from kindergarten to high school, and teach students important skills that they’ll need in our modern world, including coding, creativity, and kindness.  

More and more educators are finding that Chrome extensions are a useful classroom tool. We detailed our must-have extensions for students in a previous post, but these tools can be just as handy for teachers. Teachers can use extensions with students and on student devices, but can also use them on their own to help them operate more efficiently as a teacher. Chrome extensions function in a variety of ways—some change functionality within the Chrome browser, some create access to different websites, and others allow students and teachers to use Google applications in different ways.

With the increased popularity of Google Classroom, many teachers are finding Chrome extensions to be useful classroom tools. These extensions function in a variety of ways—some change functionality within the Chrome browser, some create access to different websites, and others allow students to use Google applications in different ways.

The challenge in every classroom is to keep each student moving steadily toward proficiency in his or her learning. We have all witnessed how personalized learning—with the teacher, alone, or in small groups—can meet this challenge, but I think we can also agree that some learning is best accomplished with everyone working together.

We all have our favorite go-to sources for professional information—those specific education technology magazines, in-the-know influential bloggers, or even “hottest of the hot” social media sites. Each has their own unique take on the latest teaching trends and methodologies across all subject areas and instructional levels. They may review new products and services for everything from literacy to professional development. Or, they may publish the latest research studies on everything from the social-emotional factors influencing student learning to whether devices are engaging students effectively. All, in one way or another, can help us do what we do in our particular corner of the education world.

This title may be a little misleading—perhaps it should be “student social media tools I have never heard of.” Some of these sites are more prominent, more familiar, and have more subscribers than others. All of them fit into a category of networking or social sites that students in your school are probably using. Beyond Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, here are a few that you need to know about:

10 Ways to Use Social Media

We live in the age of social media. It keeps us connected to our friends and families, our communities, and even the world. As educators, we need to take advantage of everything this tool has to offer, using educational connections and resources to better not only ourselves, but our students as well. So how can we best use this mighty tool?