My Educational Conference Wish List for the 2021 - 2022 School Year

 

If you know me, you know that I love collaborating with all of my teaching friends. While I enjoy connecting and sharing via social media, I’ve really missed in person conferences. I always walk away from educational conferences with a new sense of purpose and excitement and I’ve really missed this. Virtual conferences have filled the gap a bit, but I’ve really missed seeing my teaching friends in person this past year, but I think that is all about to change.

Today I wanted to share how much I am looking forward to the conferences I am hoping to

 attend in person with all precautions.

Midwest Ed Tech Summit – Wisconsin Dells, WI
November 8 – 9 

The Midwest Summit is a two-day, hands-on conference focusing on integrating Google for Education in K-12 and Higher Ed learning environments. All presentations will be from Google for Education Certified Innovators and Certified Trainers, and local Googley talent!

The name changed this year, so I am anticipating an even bigger range of topics and presenters. This has been one of my favorite conferences for several years now. The lineup of presenters is always incredible. I always leave this conference with new teacher connections and some incredible resources to bring back to my classroom. 

Illinois Education & Technology Conference – Springfield, IL
November 17 -19

For our 28th year, the Illinois Education & Technology Conference (IETC) is utilizing an immersive, hybrid experience geared toward the professional learning needs of all educators, IT staff, and administrators.

At the heart of our event, we focus on technology integration strategies, engaging instructional practices, digital tools and resources, and emerging trends. In other words, IETC is the best place to learn about both the present and future of educational technology.

This will be my first year attending the conference in person. It’s always hard to do two conferences in a month, but after connecting with the conference leadership and exploring the program I knew that I had to find a way to be there. I am really looking forward to learning with the keynote speakers this year. 

IDEAcon 2022 – Schaumburg, IL
February 14 – 17

IDEAcon is one of the Midwest’s largest ed tech conferences. Hosted by IDEA every February, thousands of educators from Illinois and across the U.S. join together to learn about sound pedagogical practices in education and how to leverage technology to engage, inspire, and reach all learners.

This was the first EdTech Conference I ever attended and I’ve continued to attend this conference for more than 10 years now. I still have fond memories of the “ICE Conference” at the Pheasant Run Resort. The keynotes are always incredible and the line up of speakers and vendors is unrivaled. If you want to know more, be sure to check out David Chan’s post “3 Reasons to Attend IDEAcon 2022“.

Always Learning!

I am also hoping to see some EdCamps and GEG Chicagoland Events find there way on my schedule. I am also considering seeing if I can find the time and finances to attend ISTE Live 22 next summer. I am also sure I will find a few other conferences and events to attend in person this school year. 

Do you have a conference of event you would recommend? Please consider sharing in the comments below. #BetterTogether #HappyLearning

Cultural Crosswords - A Google Arts and Culture Interactive

I’ve been exploring the collection of Google Arts and Culture Experiments and sharing some of these interactive activities I’ve used with my students this past year and a half. These interactive resources have content connections for some of us, but I also think they can be great brain breaks for students or even teachers. There are also some great connections to creativity and critical thinking.

Today I wanted to share another Google Arts and Culture Game –  Cultural Crosswords. 

Be sure to also explore the additional Arts and Culture Experiments and Games linked at the end of this post.

Cultural Crosswords are a fun way to explore content from the diverse collections on Google Arts & Culture ranging from art, history, or themes such as African textile or Yoga postures.

Does “lady with the most famous smile” ring a bell? Fill in the grid and learn more about this portrait believed to be of Lisa Gherardini, the wife of Francesco del Giocondo, a Florentine fabric merchant. In this game, words are gateways to arts and culture.

Tap on the boxes in the grid to reveal the clue and fill them in with your answer. Once you have found the right word, you can discover more about it on Google Arts & Culture.

Cultural Crosswords is available on Google Arts & Culture app and website. Ready for more? Let’s play!

Looking for more Google Awesomeness? Here are a few posts connected to Google and teaching and learning.

Visual Crosswords – Google Arts and Culture Interactive ExperimentGoogle Experiments for Remote Learning – Art, Music, AR, AI, and MoreExploring Cultural Moments With Google Arts and CultureCreate Your Own Art – Google Arts and Culture ExperimentGoogle Arts & Culture Puzzle PartyBlob Opera – Creative Brain Breaks for Students and TeachersGoogle Secrets – Exploring Awesome Teaching & Learning ResourcesNew Google Classroom Video Series – Awesome Tips and Ideas for EducatorsGoogle Chrome QR Code Creator – “Create QR Code for This Page”Learning with Google – A Summary of the New Google For Education (aka Workspace) Updates and Resources