FETC Conference

I was able to listen to the presentation of “Classroom in the Cloud” with John Kulgin. He is referring to the web based programs that allow easy access to all students boosting their abilities in the classroom. Kuglin said “Student achievement is the bottom line.” These web based programs create an environment of achievement for each of the students, allowing teachers and students to interact in ways that the traditional programs do not allow. Some of the different web based programs he presented were Buzzword a word processor, Sliderocket a presentation program, Square space webpage designs, Prezi an revolutionary presentation program, and Google voice. Some of the programs were free others have cost involved, usually with a discounted education price. This knew wave of computing brings huge quantities of processing power and storage capacity within easy access of the classroom. He stressed the need for educators to stay on top of new waves of technology, making 21st century classrooms.

I was also able to listen to some of “Beyond the Drill and practice” with Ted Hasselbring. He was adamant that educators must have their students able to automatically recall their math facts. Students need this in order to be better qualified to work more complex math. Hasselbring said students need to develop automatic recall of addition and related subtraction facts and of multiplication and related division facts, in order to free up mental resources to address more complex math. Hasselbring brought out the importance of using computer programs which can track the time delay students have when they need to stop and count in order know the answer, by timing the delay. The best way to develop automatic recall is to be using computer programs that push the students to learn their math facts.