TCEA 2006 Takes Educators on High-Tech Safari
Highlights include keynote address from actor-director Henry Winkler and a new Technology Village.
The Texas Computer Education Association’s 26th Annual Convention and Exposition (www.tcea.org) is expected to draw more than 8,000 technology education professionals to the Austin Convention Center from Feb. 6 to 10. Organized around the theme “Technology Gone Wild,” TCEA 2006 hopes to help educators navigate the technology jungle through planned workshops, sessions, speakers, special events, and a 700-booth exhibit hall. Attendees also will be exposed to the latest technology solutions, and ways to incorporate them into teaching and learning.
For those educators looking for more than just this year’s diverse schedule of free sessions, workshops, and special events, TCEA 2006 has lined up a powerful roster of speakers. The conference kicks off with keynote speaker Henry Winkler, the actor and director, who will share his own lifelong battle with learning disabilities. Actress Deneen Frazier Bowen is the featured speaker at the Past Presidents’ Luncheon, where she will take attendees on an enlightening journey by portraying a cast of characters who reveal the struggle of students to connect what they do in school to what they do in the real world. Award-winning teacher/author Rafe Esquith is the conference’s closing general session keynoter, and will co-present on the topic “There Are No Shortcuts” (the title of his 2003 book) with his students, who were featured in a recent PBS documentary, The Hobart Shakespeareans.
There will also be a special Technology Village showcasing students, teachers, campuses, and school districts that make successful use of technology in and out of the classroom. Other highlights of TCEA 2006 include the seventh annual TCEA State Robotics Contest, and the Build Your Own Computer program, which provides educators with step-by-step instructions on building computers and offers troubleshooting techniques as well.
General registration for TCEA 2006 is $165; workshop fees range from $30 to $110. For complete details, visit www.tcea2006.org.
This article originally appeared in the 02/01/2006 issue of THE Journal.