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Hands-On Tech Tools Plentiful at 15th Annual FWTC
Test out the latest education apps at the 15th annual Fort Worth Technology Conference (FWTC).
The one-day event, which Fort Worth ISD’s Educational Technology Department is hosting January 25, offers area educators nearly 100 presentations, sessions and workshops led by local, regional, and national digital-instruction innovators. Also available is an Escape Room that immerses attendees in classroom technologies and a Digital Playground where educators can test out tech tools for enhancing student comprehension. The conference gets underway at 8 a.m. Saturday, January 25 at Southwest High School, 4100 Altamesa Blvd.
“We strive to teach technology integration so that the technology is just a tool in the process of learning, not the end goal,” said Dr. Becky Navarre, assistant superintendent of technology for the Division of Academics.
Jaime Casap, chief education evangelist at Google, will present “The Problem-Solving Generation,” a 45-minute keynote address focused on equipping students with skills for thriving in an ever-changing digital environment. A 45-minute question-and-answer session with Mr. Casap will follow the presentation.
FWTC admission is free to District employees and $35 for out-of-district pre-registered participants. A box lunch and conference gift are guaranteed for pre-registered attendees, and the FWISD schools with the most registered attendees will receive a campus prize. Drawings for individual door prizes will take place throughout the conference. On-site registration is $40 for out-of-district participants.
Twelve FWISD teachers are vying for the title of Tech Idol at FWTC. Attendees will participate in a poll that selects the District educator that’s exercised impactful technology integration in the classroom.
Attendance hit a record in 2019 at FWTC, with nearly 1,110 registrants, and conference organizers are anticipating larger crowds this year.
Rochelle Horton, principal at FWISD’s A.M. Pate Elementary school talks about how and why she encourages her staff to attend FWTC in a recent episode of FWEdCast, a monthly podcast produced by FWISD’s Educational Technology Department.
She said teachers are taking more risks presenting before their peers, students and others as a result of attending FWTC. Students are being prepared “for jobs that don’t even exist yet,” Ms. Horton said, and FWTC keeps educators of on the pulse of new technology for engaging students. Teachers leave the conference with knowledge of the new apps and updates that they can utilize on Monday when they’re back in the classroom, Ms. Horton said.
“The value of receiving free tech … there is an increase of student engagement in the classroom. When teachers go to the conference, they learn new things, they come back and they’re able to use it in the classroom, and you see students are more engaged in learning,” Ms. Horton said on the podcast. “Going to the tech conference gives teachers an opportunity to see it in practice, in application and then be able to come back to campus and replicate that.”
FWTC pre-registration closes Saturday, January 18. Register today and get the conference agenda, session catalog and map by visiting www.fwisd.org/FWTC. For additional details, contact the Educational Technology Department at 817-814-3100 or emailing edtech@fwisd.org.
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