This past Saturday, October 14th was the San Gabriel Valley CUE Innovation Celebration Tech Fest (#SGVCUE2017). The event was held at Bassett Union High School and had over 700 attendees! This is huge for a CUE affiliate mini-conference. I went back and forth with myself over whether or not I wanted to make the drive over from the Coachella Valley and when I Google Mapped it, I knew that I definitely had to go so I registered at the eleventh hour (literally, the registration was about to close an hour before I hit submit and paid by credit card).  |
| Is it Ann Kozma or Melissa McCarthy?...hmmm |
My day began at 3:30am when the alarm went off, so I got ready and hit the road by 4:30. The Saturday morning drive was peaceful and uneventful (in terms of SoCal traffic), and my head kept spinning with how much fun I knew I was going to have. I had some sessions in mind and also Twitter friends that I knew I was going to connect with. I was excited to be able to chat with Mike Jephcott (@TechMikeBUSD) and Tom Covington (@TechTomBUSD) since I listen to their podcast TOSAs Talking Tech (@TosasTalkinTech) religiously on my way to and from work. Jason Seliskar (@JasonSeliskar) and April Buege (@AprilBuege) are on the SGVCUE board, so I knew I’d bump into them at the event. Actually, I don’t believe that I had ever met April in person so that was a treat as well! Ann Kozma (@annkozma723) was the keynote, and she absolutely killed it by making people burst into laughter then bringing tears to everyone’s eyes as she explained how we needed to stop and pay attention to the world around us. With tragedies and disasters happening all around us, it is important to put these things into perspective when working with our kids. At the end of the day, I finally got to have my Ann Kozma selfie; which is crazy because her and I have chatted multiple times, but we’ve never taken that selfie! Judy Blakeney (@judyblakeney) was also in attendance, along with the two Veronicas (Godino and Gonzalez) from IACUE (@MsVgodinez, @veronicajusd). Oh, and how can I forget Kyle Anderson (@AndersonEdTech) and Heidi Carr (@carr_8) from CUE Nevada! It is always a blast to be around these two because they both bring ideas and great energy. I could seriously go on forever, and I’m sure I left some people out (I’m sorry), but it was a blast to connect with PLN friends at the event. Can I just say how awesome Twitter is...seriously, if you aren’t on it...you need to be!
Alright let’s get on with the sessions! I attended four sessions and they were all really good. For my first session, I learned about how to set up your student video broadcast studio. We learned about different equipment and programs that you can use. It went way beyond my usual iPhone and iMovie setup I usually do for simple video creation (or Adobe Spark Video as an even simpler setup).
 |
| Mike and Tom, the Bassett Boys, from TOSAs Talking Tech |
In Session 2, I went with Mike and Tom to learn all about podcasting in the classroom. They had a super comprehensive presentation that really went behind the scenes of what they deal with all of the time and how they produce their show (which really has become big time by the way...Brian Briggs is right). I even got started with the Chorus App for simple podcast hosting and recorded my first podcast with their Manic Minute Script they shared. I can’t wait to dig into the Chorus App more and get more comfortable with hearing my own voice as I record some of my own shows to share out.
For Session 3, I learned about Assistive Technologies and different components/tools that can be used to support students with special needs. There are several tools available for a variety of disabilities. One key reiteration, however, was that we really need to look at the accessibility features within the technology tools we use, because there are many powerful feature sets within the day-to-day technology we use in the classroom.
Finally, for Session 4, I went to an awesome session with Judy Blakeney and Tricia Hyun on the power of using Strengths-Based Learning practices in your classroom. Every individual has strengths and it is important to incorporate those strengths into our interactions with them. It is these collective strengths that allow us to accomplish all sorts of tasks. This is especially true in the classroom with students. The Strengths-Based Google Site has several resources as well as student portfolio projects that truly are amazing. I highly encourage you to check out the page.
There were so many takeaways from the day. I think two of mine include the power of podcasting
Overall, the event was amazing! I connected with several friends and got excited about a couple of apps I want to continue to explore. I won a raffle prize, which never happens. Thanks to Dave Burgess (@burgessdave) for donating a Learn Like a Pirate book that I was the lucky person to receive. In addition to the connections and raffle prize, it was also a good day for me as a CUE affiliate president because I’m hoping to get started with our first affiliate event later this Spring. I hope that we can one day grow to the success that SGVCUE has with their event.
Well, I think I rambled on enough. I want to leave you with a message on the importance of supporting your local CUE affiliate. Get involved, be active, and definitely attend these events. There are tons of great learning opportunities so take advantage of them.
Thanks for reading and until next time, enjoy the journey!
-Eddie
No comments:
Post a Comment