Hello Colleagues,
#NCSS17 is nearly here! The Tech Community is looking forward to seeing you there and helping to connect you to the conference even if you are not there! Here's what we have in store for you:
- The Tech Lounge - This is our home base! It'll be in the 2nd floor public area and you'll have to try to miss it when you get up there. Stop by anytime on Friday or Saturday for a charge, a sit, some support, and some thoughtful discussion about the connection between digital media and the social studies.
- Our Tech Showcase - Join us Friday in room 2016 at 8:45 to hear about the latest game-changing digital tools (and then come back to the lounge to continue to try them out!)
- The Tech Town Hall - Join us on Saturday at 2:15 on Saturday in the Tech Lounge where we'll discuss the intersection of teaching social studies and the rising concern about fake news (#yellowjournalism). Not at NCSS17? Join us through WebEx! Some folks from Checkology will also be here to support you in creating lessons to implement immediately.
- #TalkNCSS - Join Ryan O'Donnell (@creativeedtech), a local teacher leader making the world better place by building up students' and teachers' capacity to connect, among other things. He'll be joining us in the Tech Lounge at 10:35 on Friday morning to talk about how to "find your (professional) tribe," leveraging digital media to build up your own professional support system.
- The Recap Recording Booth - The good folks at Recap (@RecapThat) will be with us from 10-4 on both Friday and Saturday with demos for their awesome tech tool AND a recording booth for you to share your classroom tech stories in a video archive for NCSS.
- Library of Congress App Demos - The Library of Congress is helping to develop five fantastic new apps to support your instruction. Stop by the Tech Lounge at 1:30 on Friday to see what they're all about.
- Coffee + District Teach Hurdles - Stop by the Tech Lounge Friday morning for a cup of coffee and a discussion about how to navigate district technology policies to best support your students.
- Podcasting Demo - Ryan O'Donnell, Chris Hitchcock and their team will be interviewing people folks throughout the conference for their Podcast, Talking Social Studies, and then will sit down in the Tech Lounge at 1PM on Saturday to give a live demo of their work!
Throughout the conference we'll be Tweeting updates and info on the best tech sessions to attend, giveaways in the lounge, big events at NCSS and more. Follow us at @TechNCSS and follow the hashtag #NCSS17!
The Very Best,
The NCSS Tech Community
PS We do have a fundraising page to support the Tech Lounge and the things we do throughout the year! Our work also includes getting resources to teachers and vetting them ahead of time so that much of the learning curve leg work is done before viable tools get into the hands of students. We'd appreciate even a buck or two!
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Nicholas Lawrence
NCSS Tech Community Chair
Assistant Principal
East Bronx Academy
Bronx, NY
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