FETC Overview
For more than 20 years, the Florida Educational Technology Conference (FETC) has drawn more than 12,000 teachers, media specialists, principals and district administrators nationwide with its list of instructional workshops, keynote speakers and numerous exhibitors. That trend continues this year with a couple of added features as well.
FETC 2002 takes place at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla., from March 6-8. As in past years, attendees can choose from 200 high-quality concurrent sessions that focus on educators sharing successful technological practices. For additional fees, attendees can preregister for several full- and half-day workshops that provide additional awareness and training. Among the highlights of this year's concurrent sessions and workshops are "The Power of Handheld Computing in Education" and "eBooks: The Future of Electronic Reading Media in Our Schools."
New to the conference this year is a series of sessions devoted to the use of technology to advance health and physical education. Attendees interested in these sessions will find a variety of topics to choose from, including the benefits of using assessment and other high-end technologies in physical education.
Best-selling author, futurist marketing consultant and recognized trend expert Faith Popcorn kicks off the conference as this year's keynote speaker. Popcorn is best known for her book The Popcorn Report, and her uncanny ability to predict new consumer trends along with how society reacts and adapts to them. Popcorn rounds out an elite and varied group of featured speakers who are guaranteed to deliver a well-rounded view of how technology fits into the classroom. This year's featured speakers include:
- Donna Baumbach, professor of instructional technology educational media in the College of Education at the University of Central Florida (UCF), and director of the Florida SUNLINK Project and the Instructional Technology Resource Center at UCF.
- Gary Becker, manager of media production for Seminole County Public Schools in Sanford, Fla.
- Gary Bitter, professor of educational technology at Arizona State University and former president of the International Society for Technology in Education.
- Terry Cannings, Ph.D., professor of education at Pepperdine University and associate dean of the school's Graduate School of Education and Psychology.
- Beverley Connors, member of FETC's board of directors, representing exceptional student education, and retired assistant superintendent for state and federal programs for Leon County Schools in Florida.
- Ted S. Hasselbring, Ph.D., researcher, author, and holder of the William T. Bryan professorship and Endowed Chair in special education technology at the University of Kentucky.
- Don Knezek, director of The National Center for Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers to Use Technology and the Technology Standards for School Administrators project, co-director of the National Educational Technology Standards Project, and co-chair of the Educational Technology Advisory Committee to the Texas State Board of Education.
- Alan November, internationally known leader in educational technology, practitioner and author.
- Carol Simpson, Ph.D., assistant professor in the University of North Texas School of Library and Information Sciences, editorial director and editor.
- John Alexander Vaille, Ph.D., director of Digital California Project Applications and CEO of The International Society for Technology in Education.
- David Warlick, director of The Landmark Project and former member of the Global School Net Foundation's Board of Directors.
- Julie Young, educator, administrator, and board member of the Florida Governor's Internet Task Force and the SREB Distance Learning Task Force.
This article originally appeared in the 02/01/2002 issue of THE Journal.