Johnston educators among presenters at tech conference

Two members of the Johnston County school system’s Digital Learning Team presented at the 37th annual Future of Educational Technology Conference, or FETC, in Orlando, Fla. They were Amy Stanley, director of digital learning and innovation, and Pam Batchelor, digital learning specialist.

Batchelor shared the district’s Digital Learning Coach program. The program’s teacher leaders guide classroom teachers through an online professional learning course and then coach them in a pathway of their choice. The program is now in its fourth year.

Stanley shared the Digital Learning Team’s Lunch, Laugh and Learn strategy, which reinforces the idea that learning can happen anywhere and at anytime and that learning can be fun.

Lunch, Laugh,and Learn is a way for students to explore new technology and develop inquiry skills while having fun at lunch. Interactive stations include augmented-reality apps, virtual reality with Google Cardboard, green-screen pictures, stop-motion video, Incredibots Music Creation, Makey Makey games and coding with Sphero.

FETC is the nation’s largest technology conference, with representation from all 50 states and 40 countries. It annually attracts thousands of education and technology leaders from around the world.

The conference has a reputation of delivering strategies and best practices for student success and school-wide advancement. It brings together chief technology officers, chief information officers, media specialists, technologists, innovation directors and others to explore the effective integration of technology across the curriculum.

This story was originally published February 14, 2017 at 9:06 AM with the headline "Johnston educators among presenters at tech conference."