Observation Experience

I spent Saturday, April 26 at Fossil Ridge High School in Keller at the Texas Computer Education Association Area 11 Conference. The day began at 8:45 (after an hour drive) with Keynote Speaker, Toody Byrd. I had had the opportunity to hear Miss Byrd several years ago in Austin at a UIL Conference and was anxious to listen to her humorous address again. She didn't let me down! I then attended four sessions. I'll give you a brief synopsis of each.

Add Pizzazz to PowerPoint Presentations with Sound. This session was very informative even though at times she was over my head. It was nice to have had some experience in this area and I think I caught most of what she said.

PowerPoint Integration Ideas Across the Elementary Curriculum. I had taken a workshop with Lisa Syler at the ESC 11 and thought she was excellent. I attended her presentation and got some great pointers. As you can tell, I was very interested in PowerPoint at that time because I was just beginning to teach it to my BCIS kids. I ate the provided lunch with Lisa and had a nice visit with her about technology and Cooke County (we both live there)!

Marco Polo Overview. After lunch I went to a Marco Polo Overview regarding integrating the Internet into the classroom. This is a really great website.

Advance Forward to the Hill of Publisher. The fourth presentation was about using the tools in Microsoft Publisher. This was very informative and hands on so I got to play in Publisher and I think playing in the programs we use is very important.

When sessions ended early, I popped into a session on fine tuning ClipArt and WordArt and went by the vendors' booths. I even ran into a few TATC people I knew! Closing remarks and some really GREAT door prizes (a flat screen monitor to name the best!) ended the day at 3:30. I feel like I got a lot of great info from this conference and was able to do a little networking! I will make plans to attend again next year.