Random Thoughts About GAETC

I have been so busy that I have not posted much to my site recently as I have been incredibly busy. Well since I am at GAETC, here are my random thoughts from the conference so far! There is no order to them, just the things that are floating around in my big noodle.

1. The Coolest Idea I have Heard and one Right up My Ally- I did not see this presentation, but a friend of mine told me about a great idea from Jennie Magiera. It's called app speed dating. Basically, the idea is that you split folks up and they have a few seconds to tell someone about their favorite tool. The other folks have a score card, and whatever tool gets the most point gets a deeper dive. It really is just like speed dating. My thoughts went straight to having student advocates be the ones sharing the tools, and then having teachers do the score cards. This would also be a great way to just do PD in general
2. The coolest gadget I have seen- I have seen Leslie Fishers gadget session a ton of times, and she always delivers. I even have a Myo. The new gadget she showed me that I love is Clocky. It literally is an alarm clock that runs away when it rings. I love it.
3. The best tool I have seen- In Leslie's Smackdown I saw a tool I need. It's called the Hemingway App. The idea is that it is an engine that works to give you feedback to make your writing bold and clear. I think I am going to use it a ton in  the future to really make my emails the best they can be.
4. My favorite moment- I was in the middle of doing my Sphero session and I was talking about their new Star Wars connected droid. My buddy Bobby Lewis showed up in just the right time with his BB-8, and the room stopped. Come On Sphero send this guy one!
5. The Size- I think what has shocked me about GAETC this year is the shear size of it. The Conference has added a ton of people this year, and you can tell through all the sessions that are full.
6. What impresses me- The level of featured speaker. This conference does an amazing job of bringing in National Names like Leslie Fisher, Will Richardson, Erin Klein, Jennie Magiera, and others. They do a better job then almost any other conference in the Southeast with is. We are lucky to be in Hoke's territory.
7. The Wifi- I have to write in here that the wifi has been amazing. Bravo GAETC.
8. My Hope for the Future- Honestly, I would love to see GAETC move venues, but I don't think that will happen. I also would love to be on the featured speaker list at some point in the future. Hopefully, it will happen sometime in the next few years. I have been so lucky that all the nice people of GAETC have supported my sessions, and my hope is that will continue for years to come.