2014 MACUL Conference

Last week I had the opportunity to attend my first technology/education conference, and it was a really great time! Our class attended the MACUL Conference in Grand Rapids, MI, which was a nice way to get out of town for the day and learn about the up and coming technology tools that educators are using in their classrooms. During the day, we went to speaker sessions, the vendor fair, and out for a quick lunch.

One of the first presentations that I went to was about Pinterest, and its benefits in the classroom. I was really excited for this speaker, because I wrote my journal article about using Pinterest as a teaching tool, and I was hoping this speaker would introduce me to ideas that I hadn't thought of and new uses that would be great additions to my paper. Unfortunately, I was disappointed in this presentation. While it would have been useful for those who didn't know anything about Pinterest, it was not beneficial for current Pinterest users, in my opinion. It was more about how to get a Pinterest account, how to create boards, how to pin items, etc., which are all things that I am already familiar with. I think that it should have been listed as more of an "introduction to Pinterest" presentation instead of one that would be helpful to incorporating Pinterest into your classroom. Also, the speaker had some technical difficulties navigating through her Prezi presentation, and she forgot her Pinterest password at first! While it wasn't helpful to me to go to this session, I'm sure that it was beneficial to some people, and I hope that Pinterest continues to get promoted for use as a lesson planning tool.

The next session I went to, however, was amazing! I went to the lightening talk session, which was comprised of around 8 speakers who each gave 5 minutes talks. The speakers had great inspirational quotes that they shared, and they had stories of their own teaching that really boosted my morale about being in the classroom. One of the speakers gave a talk called "#StandardizeThat" where he talked about all the wonderful things that his students do that can never be standardized, such as respect, collaboration, kindness, and passion. It was a great reminder that, despite all of the standards that are pushed on us and making us feel overwhelmed, we need to focus on the great things that our students do that can't be measured by an exam. Another speaker talked about when he was in high school and didn't like school, but had one teacher who once told him that his essay was the best one she had read all year. He said that, regardless of the validity of this statement, it boosted his confidence and completely changed his outlook on school. He then went on to tell a story about how he made the same comment to a boy in his own class and talked about the changes he has seen in that student since then. It was a wonderful feeling to know that we hold that kind of power, and we can inspire our students with one small comment.

Another great part of the conference was the vendor area. I had the opportunity to talk to a lot of great people and see what companies are doing to create the latest technology for the classroom. I got to talk to the people who run Remind 101, which was really great, because I've started using that in my placement classroom. I also got to see lot of new smart boards, projectors, and online programs, which made me excited to have my own classroom one day and be able to (hopefully!) have all sorts of technology in my classroom. I also found a company who runs an online program where your students can take quizzes to see how well they understand the common core benchmarks and check their progress on reaching them. I am excited to use this in my placement classroom, and I hope the students are excited for it as well. Overall, I had a great experience at MACUL, and I plan to go next year as well. Maybe I will even think of a great topic and apply to give a lightening talk there!