Mission Complete!
On Wednesday, March 8, 2023, 258 of the finest educators from across Virginia, gathered at the ACCA Shriners Center, in-person, for the first time in two years to connect, network, and learn together at the EdTechRVA2023 Conference! What a powerful moment, for educators to have the opportunity to come together once again! The energy was palpable and attendees, presenters, and committee members were excited to gather for professional learning.
The day started with an energizing welcome message from Chuck Moss, Director of Innovation and Development for Dinwiddie County Public schools titled “You Are Awesome!”. Chuck Moss has been an educator for almost thirty years. He believes in telling your own story by sharing the moments of awesome around you and by recognizing the awesome moments of others to build them up. His excitement and energy reminded attendees of their positive impact and invigorated everyone for an exciting day of professional learning!
From there, we welcomed the Deep Run Robotics Team to the stage to deliver the Keynote address. It was a powerful moment for adult learners, to see students leading the way in sharing the innovative learning experiences that they are engaged in. The students shared the impact that robotics and computer science has had in their lives and how they plan to use that knowledge in the future. Throughout the morning attendees also had the opportunity to visit the Deep Run High School students at a playground space to see their robots in action, ask questions, and explore the award winning Deep Run Robotics program!
Throughout the event we offered 36 unique breakout sessions that covered topics ranging from computer science, innovative tools and ideas for station rotations, podcasting, design thinking, artificial intelligence, and tech enhanced differentiation strategies. EdTechRVA also included an Ignite session during lunch in which presenters gave short 5-minute presentations on an exciting technology tool that has made a difference with their students. Attendees then had the opportunity to vote for their favorite, who won a free registration to EdTechRVA2024! Congratulations to Franny Aida, of Richmond City Schools for walking away with a free registration!
Feedback from attendees was overwhelmingly positive for the event with an average session rating of 9.5/10! Some of the most powerful feedback included:
- “What an amazing experience!”
- “Great! Very informative. I brought back several ideas that I can use in my own classroom!”
- “Thank you for all the resources. I’m actually applying some of them today!”
- “The set up and presentations were amazing! I really enjoyed the make and takes and exploring the other materials that you shared with us!”
- “PHENOMENAL! The work that you all are doing is so needed, and teacher focused!”
If you had to miss this amazing experience, don’t worry! The GRAETC team is already planning for EdTechRVA 2024! Keep an eye out for our Registration and Call for Proposals in early fall. We would also love to know how you implemented ideas from the conference, by continuing the conversation on Twitter year-round using #EdTechRVA.