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Chatham County Schools Holds Technology Conference
Pittsboro, N.C. -- Classrooms at Margaret B. Pollard were overflowing on Tuesday, July 19. Teachers, principals, and support staff from throughout Chatham County Schools came together for the first Chatham Technology Conference. With over 125 people registered to attend, the conference provided timely professional development to kickstart innovation in the classroom for the upcoming school year.
This year's Keynote speaker was Mr. Steven W. Anderson, a nationally recognized educational technology evangelist and North Carolina native, with a technology focus. Mr. Anderson spoke about the ever changing digital learning environment in our classrooms. The keynote stressed the importance of ongoing teacher professional growth and adaptation to evolving technology in order to ensure classrooms look like the world in which our students will work.
Participants received four hours of professional development followed by an opportunity to plan as school-based teams to discuss how they would take the inspiration and message of innovation back to their schools.
Sessions covered topics as varied as Infographics in the Classroom, to coding with students of all ages and digital classroom management. Practical tools were also presented and teachers had a chance to get hands on with Google Chromebooks which will be coming to all K-8 schools this year. Teachers were able to hear from other practitioners like Amy Rogers from Silk Hope who lead a session covering SmartBoard use in the classroom. Participants were provided opportunities throughout the day to kickstart their classroom technology by winning prizes like five Chromebooks for use in the classroom, teacher iPads, and NCTIES Technology Conference attendance to help ensure technology integration lasts even after the conference ends.
According to Assistant Superintendent for Academic Services and Instructional Support, Dr. Amanda Hartness, "The day was a great success! We didn't know how many teachers would be willing to give up a day during the summer but the teachers who attended were highly engaged and learned so much. We look forward to seeing how this conference will impact our focus on technology as a tool for student success."
Participants were encouraged to share their learning and discoveries on Twitter. Check out the conversations using #CCSTech2016 and #ccsasis.