Just got home from the 20th GeoTech - my 5th. I learned lots more than my small brain could absorb at once. There were workshops on using podcasting, as well as the myriad GIS systems available, including free, online, and expensive systems. I was introduced to this Google Earth application, and will have my students create a 'LitTrip' in Google Earth for their spring reading project. I also got to hear Dr Ken Hendrickson from Midwestern State University talk about the surge in Iraq, and why, unfortunately, a precipitous withdrawal would be disastrous.
I enjoy going to these workshops, where I am able to network and visit with colleagues I see infrequently, and to make new friends. I don't understand why more teachers don't attend, except for this - many districts, like Comal ISD, won't pay for teachers to attend professional development! They won't pay for registration OR a substitute. How can the state expect us to be professionals if we can't get the training? Fortunately my district paid my registration, a grant paid for the sub, and I stayed with my son (an hour's drive from the training site).
I can't wait to meet with the other Geography teachers and show them all the stuff I learned at the workshops. They missed a good one.
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