Here are my top ten take always from the conference:
1. Rubbing shoulders with great people was amazing. I got to hang out with the tech team from my school board as well as a few teachers as well. I met all sorts of vendors that had amazing products. I had lunch with the SMART people (have I mentioned that I love SMART? I love that company!). Because some of our tech team was very involved in this conference and because some of them are well connected, I got to meet and have good conversations with tech experts from many different organizations. These are great people!
2. Robots and coding....these two things are big, and I really know nothing about them. This is something I have to work on.
3. Food! The food at this conference was awesome! The venue (BMO center) was great too. It is very convenient to get to and a beautiful facility.
Image from: http://venues.calgarystampede.com/venues/bmo-centre/
4. Great examples of using tech while teaching. One of the key note used a back channel. I have heard of back channels but have never used one. It was fun! Even the way the conference was organized was exemplary for those of us trying to use technology to make work easier. There were no printed schedules. Everything was on-line. Some things were changed and added as we went and everyone had immediate access to it. Amazing!
5. Twitter: it was fun to be around people who easily and often use Twitter!
6. New ideas for teaching: I went to a coup workshops for apps that I have used a fair bit. It was well worth the time just to get a few new ideas. One thing is for sure: there is no one way to use technology in the classroom. They key is knowing your audience, working within your jurisdictions requirements, and getting creative. Lunch with other FFCA colleagues was so fun. Everyone seemed to talk non-stop about the conference and cool things they were learning. There was a lot of: you have to check out ......this app or that Web 2.0 tool. I did and they ARE amazing. I am getting ready to introduce them to the staff at my school when we return from Fall Break next week.
7. Prizes! They give away great prizes at this conference!
8. Google educators: I attended as many workshops as I could in Google tools. I am sold. Google does some amazing things for education. When I grow up, I want to get a Google certified teacher too!
Image from: http://www.karegivers.org/2014/08/cur-educ-ation.html
9. Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach was the last key note speaker. This is one well versed tech guru!! She knows her stuff. She has a company that does webinars for educators. I receive her emails regularly. I think she is on the cutting edge of PD. Amazing.
10. The Daring Librarian, Gwyneth Jones, was the keynote speaker on Sunday night. What a hoot she was!! I loved her fun style. She was so gracious. I tweeted her and she said to be sure to come say hi. I did, and she remembered my name each time I talked to her! I was so impressed. So is by gracious and friendly. She really knows her stuff too. When I grow up, I want to go around inspiring people like she does.
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