Free-Tech Conference Part Two

After taking a break for lunch it was time to go to my next session, “Best Practices in Math + SMART Boards 101 = Accelerated Learning; Grades 2-6”.  I found this presentation to be very beneficial.  I learned a lot about the things you can do on the Smart Board to address math concepts that I will most likely use in my classroom in the future.  In this presentation we learned about undo/redo, line maker, shape maker, shape recognizer, magic pen, and measurement tools.  These tools can be used to help with money, reflections, rotations, translations, and measuring.  The SMART technology also includes dice, spinners, hundreds charts, and protractors to use for math.  After attending a session about math with the Smart Board, I decided to attend “Learning Literacy with a Technology Twist”.  In this session we learned how the Smart Board could be used in English classes.  The instructor told us about and demonstrated how to use the SMART recorder and camera.  These are great tools that teachers can use if they are going to have a substitute teacher for the day.  We also learned that the Smart Board could be used along with Google Earth for Lit Trips.  The instructor also gave us many online resources that are beneficial for reading across a wide range of grade levels.  At 3:00 I attended my last session of the day, “iPad in the Classroom:  Truths and Myths About Apple’s newest iProduct in Education”.  In this session the instructor told us all about what the iPad can and cannot do.  The iPad is a great technology for students, especially students with disabilities, to use in the classroom.  There are over 5,000 education apps for the iPad that teachers can use for their students.  Overall, I learned a lot at the Free-Tech Conference.  It is important to stay up-to-date on all the new technology that is out there for teachers as technology will soon be a huge part of education.