Things To Love This February: FETC Follow Up

I love me a good conference. I mean, only if it is a REALLY good conference. One filled with loads of workshops by engaging presenters, with ideas that you can put into place the very next day.

Two annual conferences fit that bill for me: MAEOE (my environmental Superbowl) and FETC (an edtech extravaganza). 

January 23-26, 2024 they held the 44th annual Future of Education Technology Conference (FETC) in Orlando, Florida. I've been twice (in 2017 and 2018) and each time, I soak up information like a sponge. 

It didn't work out for me to go this year, but I was thrilled when I got their email announcing their free February 14th's Best of FETC: Top Takeaways and Future Trends for 2024 webinar.  Moderated by Rita Ferrandino (FETC Founder), Jennifer Womble (FETC Conference Chair), and Micha Ward (FETC Education Reporter & District Administration).

If you are an edtech junkie, it's definitely worth a listen. On top of the synergetic experiences they all had, some of their big topics of conversation were:

• Certification & Badge programs
• eSports
• Robotics, coding, & drones
• Creativity as engagement
• All aspects of  artificial intelligence: upholding academic integrity, productivity helps to teacher, and AI-built into products as "magic"
• How tech can leverage people with disabilities with assistive technologies
• Cyber security and digital citizenship
• 3D printing
• Augmented and virtual reality.

One of their big thoughts included the optimism they are seeing in education. The tools that are out there are really giving teachers some of their time back--helping them to automate grading, co-creating lesson plans and streamline teachers work, and making teaching fun again. (Dan Fitzpatrick, author of The AI Classroom, was one of the keynote speakers.) 

Other places to go learn more about how FETC was this year:

• Hit up social media (especially X, formerly Twitter) and the hashtag #fetc.
• FETC blog posts:
• Your FETC 2024 Recap, Narrated by AI
• Anything from their FETC 2024 Category
• #FETC #NotAtFETC--A Padlet crowd-sourced with resources and FETC slide decks  

Additionally, FETC is planning monthly webinars will continue to follow their name, carrying the edtech conversation into the "future." You can click here to learn more about that and those future topics. 

The world of technology both in and out of the classroom is exciting right now. I expect there will be lots happening in the future! FETC will definitely have its finger on the pulse!

Image from https://www.techedmagazine.com/event/fetc-learning-experience/