FETC, Flocabulary, & FREE RAW Pixels

 
Welcome back dear readers! And welcome to any who are here for the first time, I'm so glad you're here! I've got exciting news!
I'm super thrilled and honored to have been invited to be a Featured Speaker at this year's Future of Education Technology Conference! (OR #FETC!) I have a very busy schedule, speaking for 7+ hours with four presentations starting at 8am and finishing at 7:30 pm! Whew!  
I know, just like Elaine on Seinfeld I use WAY too many exclamation points. Sorry, that's kinda my jam. 

If you're going to the conference or just curious, visit my  Landing Wikispaces Page w/ MAPS, Wireless Passwords, my Speaking Schedule, Resources, & MORE!  This is my first time going and I've followed the resources for years on Twitter by following their hashtag. How brilliant of them to use the same hashtag all year long. No need to add a year since all Tweets are chronological anyway.



On My Presenting Style 
& Teaching Philosophy
But you'll have to see me in person for my unique (and humble!) brand of immature middle school humour, & corny jokes, amusing anecdotes, and bonus Ed Tech tips in person!  Although I do have a graphic version of my professional mission statement, in words here it is. 

My style of presenting and teaching (as you may have noticed on this blog) is daring innovation mixed with a fearless attitude of positivity and passion. All put forward with the idea that you don't have to try them ALL right now (new tech toy or teaching innovation) no one can! 

Oh, and you don't have to Marry IT! Just pick one thing & give it a whirl. You'll never get any guilt trips from me! Just lots of options, lesson ideas, free printables, graphics, posters, and practical suggestions for implementation into any classroom, subject area, or school library. And FUN. It's always gotta be fun!


I'm excited to be staying and presenting two sessions at the beautiful Hyatt Regency and SO looking forward to be having lunch with my Hip Hop Flocabulary & MC Educator pal Emily Gover @edtechjam
including dear friend the Digital Diva herself, Joquetta Johnson and new MC Educator friend Allison Schalk.


I'll be conducting a couple of longer workshops with presentations and featuring  hands-on group practice of lots of cool stuff!  In my presentations, I like to feature arresting images (like my buddy over and up there - OK, I'm slightly obsessed with Storm Troopers), deft graphic design, cartoon avatars, interactive activities, and engaging short videos and music clips. Just like in my library classroom, I like to mix it up baby! I readily confess, I have font lust and graphic desires.
Speaking about arresting images, one of my favorite new things is:

RAW Pixel is a collection of FREE stock Images with very liberal license use for blogs, presentations, school displays, and more! Combined with PicMonkey makes graphic image magic that ANYone can do!   I joined RAW Pixel last year and have now collected a whole gallery of great photo resources. (Some of my FREE Flickr Creative Commons photos are in there, too!) and I edit them with the awesome PicMonkey - which is also FREE ...did I mention FREE? 
(Psst. It's FREE but the Royale features are SO worth the extra $!)
When it comes to Images: Always Respect the photo license,  give attribution, & enjoy the gorgeous my friends! 

Special Thanks to:
My dear long time teacher friend Luke Allen who believed in me and put my name forward to be invited to speak at FETC! I met Luke in 2010, the first year I was on the ISTE Board in Denver and he's been so kind & generous to me over the years. You rock, pirate dude! Arrr! 
Also thanks to the vision, hard work, & inspiring leadership as FETC Program Chair Jennifer Womble I'm grateful to her for making this all happen and including my visit & appearance at this significant and powerful global education event! Thanks, Jen!
I'd also like to thank my super new Principal Mr. Rick Wilson, dear Assistant Principal, Mrs. Andrea Harmon...AND my Media & Tech Supervisors Melissa Grabill & Julie Alonso-Hughes for supporting me and for letting me attend! Love you guys!

So, if you see me at FETC, maybe even sporting a #SproutHead, please make sure to say HEY! I'd love to meet you in person! This is how we grow our PLN. Together. Online, in person, at conferences, and all year long on Twitter! (and Instagram, Scoopit, blogs, and in webinars) Thank you dear reader for sticking with me and I truly hope we can meet in person and become friends - SOON!
More later, I gotta now drive through the fog back home & start packing for FETC! Flip flops...are gonna be a must for Orlando!

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