Central Texas Google Summit

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Recently, I had the opportunity to attend the Hays CISD Central Texas Summit. This great day of learning was held at McCormick Middle School in Hays CISD, a beautiful campus with a design that inspires collaboration, design thinking, and student autonomy. This summit drew educators from all over Central Texas, including Hays, Dripping Springs, Brenham, Austin, and several other districts. 

Kasey Bell delivered the keynote. Kasey’s website and blog, ShakeUpLearning.com, provides teachers and educators with digital learning resources, tech tips and tricks, and classroom technology integration ideas. This video from her presentation truly showcases the need for today's educators to embrace the idea of change and how teachers must work to meet the needs of the learners that are in our classrooms today.

Cool people I met that you should follow:

Deborah Petty

Kari Potter
Kelly Garner
Tommy Spall
Ann DeBolt
Amy Mayer

Cool ideas/extensions I learned about that you should know about, too...
Quizlet

KhanAcademy
iStation

Nearpod

Prodigy

The bottom line seems to be this: Educational technology can be leveraged in so many positive ways, but like all change, is going to take a commitment to professional development, access, and real-world application.  

I appreciated the Growth Mindset approach that I heard throughout the day at the Google Summit. 

• I'm not sure; let's find out. 
• Does someone in the room know? 
• Let's ask on Twitter and see what we find out. 

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