FETC 2016 will be the epicenter for breakthrough education technology solutions.
There's simply no better place than FETC to get up-close and hands-on with today's most innovative technologies and applications. From 3D printing to robotics, and from assessment solutions to educational software, FETC’s Expo Hall will host more than 500 leading manufacturers — each featuring the latest technologies and newest products on the market.
Plus, you can explore special areas built in and around the Expo Hall, allowing you to see, feel and experience the latest education technology firsthand. You’ll be blown away by the hands-on demos and all the ideas you'll take home with you! Don't miss this opportunity to meet face-to-face with suppliers, ask questions, and see the latest products and services in action.
FETC 2016 offers a wealth of information for all education professionals:
- Superintendents
- Principals and Vice Principals
- Technology-using Educators
- District-level Leaders
- Curriculum Designers
- Media Specialists
- Technology Directors/Technologists
- Instructional Support Staff
- Non-instructional Support Staff
FETC 2016 Focus Areas
Communication and Collaboration
Presentations address how educators can manage and utilize technology to communicate with colleagues, parents, students and the broader community, as well as to create mutually beneficial school-community partnerships using a variety of communication tools including Web portals, wikis, websites, email and electronic notifications. These presentations also showcase how educators are utilizing technology to incorporate global activities that connect students internationally through project-based learning, e-pals, online projects, virtual communication, multi-cultural application development and on-site visits.
Digital Teaching Tools and Game-Based Learning
Presentations address electronic content and digitized materials for students, as well as instructional technologies and digital toolkit enabling instructors to customize learning materials, introduce content and engage students with Web 2.0 creativity tools. Presenters will demonstrate how to leverage growing online resources, Web tools and burgeoning digital knowledge base.
Educational Policy and Leadership
Presentations focus on educational policy and the use of technology as a strategic tool for school improvement and transformation, including: state/federal technology grants, data-driven decision making, teacher evaluation tools, how to make purchasing and budgeting decisions, facilities management, and implications of the national standards. Presentation topics will also feature data and communications for instructional information processing and reporting, including Web development, dashboards, databases and student information systems.
Emerging Technologies and Maker Tools
Presentations explore how to incorporate emergent technologies, nascent digital tools and technological resources to enhance education and the learning environment as well as to solve educational issues. These initiatives represent the most innovative thinking in the application of technology and technology strategy in education and are highly regarded models of adoption in the education technology community.
Instructional Design
Presentations address how educators and students are using available technologies to expand their learning environment beyond the classroom and engage all learners. Presenters will share practical strategies used by effective faculty to plan, integrate curriculum and manage technology in their classrooms. You’ll also learn how educators and students are using the online and hybrid learning environments to promote high academic performance.
Mobile Learning
Presentations spotlight how educators and learners utilize tablets, eReaders, Netbooks, laptops, smartphones, iPads and other mobile devices to enhance the learning environment, deliver curriculum and content using an untethered method to foster student engagement, and build learning communities. Best practices shared will highlight effective teacher technology integration training and just-in-time technology solutions to common problems.
Online and Blended Learning
Presentations describe methods of teaching and learning in which the online delivery of content is facilitated by various technologies including video, voice, audio, online collaboration tools and correspondence over the Internet. Highlighting technologies that offer a great deal of flexibility in when, where and how education is distributed, presentations feature ways to improve interactive communication, assessment, feedback, support and content delivery whether it is synchronous or asynchronous.
Professional Development
Presentations include a variety of specialized training, formal education or advanced professional learning to help administrators, teachers and other educators improve their professional knowledge, competence, skill and effectiveness. Presenters will demonstrate effective professional development programs including furthering education and knowledge in a teacher's subject area, funding models, delivery methods, action research, mentoring structures, specialized techniques, certification approaches, technological utilization and training procedures.
Technology Infrastructure
Presentations focus on the use of technology infrastructure to support the management of information systems and learning environments such as desktop virtualization, implementation of 1:1 computing, solutions to bandwidth issues, implementation of wireless environments and the roll out of mobile devices. Presentations can also focus on campus safety and security (i.e. cyberbullying and security within social networking, as well as campus-wide security issues).
STEM Excellence Awards
STEM is a curriculum based on the idea of educating students in four specific disciplines — science, technology, engineering and mathematics — in an interdisciplinary and applied approach. The FETC STEM Excellence Awards recognize excellence and innovation in the field of STEM education at the primary, middle and high school levels, with winners selected from each level.
STEM Excellence Awards applications will be evaluated based on the use of Interdisciplinary Curriculum, Collaboration, Design, Problem Solving and the STEM Experiences offered. The FETC STEM Advisory Board will select three finalists in each grade level.
All finalists will be invited to and recognized at FETC 2016, with the winners announced live during the Thursday morning keynote. Each school will present their exemplar program in the STEM Theater at FETC LIVE on Thursday.
The 36th Annual National Future of Education Technology Conference (FETC 2016) will be held at the Orange County Convention Center on January 12 - 15, 2016.
