K2CanToo!
This past weekend I attended the K2CanToo Conference at Bitwise Industries in Fresno, CA. I took three teachers from my District to the event. We rode together to the conference and the energy in the car driving home each day was exciting.
Personally, I have been to dozens of conferences both as an attendee and presenter. This was the first conference that I have attended that focused on K-2. Many of the K-2 teachers I work with don't think the little ones can use technology in a meaningful way. This conference put that thought to bed for the teachers that attended.
We use iPads for K-2 in the District. It was great for teachers to walk away with tools that they can start using right away in the classroom.
One teacher set-up a SeeSaw account while at the conference and will be using it in her classroom on Monday. I have heard of SeeSaw and know a few teachers that are using it but this was the first time I had seen it presented at a conference. I will be working with as many teachers as possible in the District to set-up SeeSaw accounts for them.
Loved the format of this conference. There were two - hour long sessions each morning and a two-hour long session in the afternoon. In the morning they ran four sessions at a time with each of those four sessions repeating in the second hour. This allowed attendees to attend two of the four sessions. In the afternoon there was a choice of three different sessions. They also held an UnConn during each session.
I would highly recommend any K-2 teacher that wants to know more about how to integrate technology in the classroom effectively attend the next K2CanToo Conference. Even if teachers that attended only put in place one new thing learned they will see engagement increase in their classroom.
Way to go Susan Stewart for getting this event started. Great job to all presenters Ann Kozma, Amanda Haughs, Kristen Beck, Josh Harris, and Kim Calderon.
Check out the conference website K2CanToo.
