Upstate Technology Conference Inspires Educators
Educators from across the state were back in school this week attending the Upstate Technology Conference at Wade Hampton High School. Sponsored by Greenville County Schools, the conference included choices from 380 different sessions. More than 1,100 people attended the 11th annual event.
Tim Cushman, Coordinator of Instructional Technology, said Upstate Technology Conference focused on new ideas in technology. “The buzzword in educational technology is personal learning network, so our courses have been designed around creative ways to use technology to interactively communicate with parents, students and others.”
Christine Boyer, a classroom teacher and national speaker from New York, was the first day’s keynote speaker. “She was so impressed with the conference she asked to stay for some of the sessions,” said Cushman. The second day’s keynote speaker, Nick LaFave is a science teacher and former District Teacher of the Year from Clover, South Carolina.
School Board Member Derek Lewis, who attended part of the conference, told Cushman that his Twitter feed was inundated with comments from people, both inside and outside the district, who were extremely excited about what they were learning at UTC.
Another highlight of the conference was lunchtime, when participants could purchase lunch from one of several food trucks on site, as well as participate in interactive trivia games, a giant Jenga game, and corn hole toss set up in the cafeteria.
