Well, the 2nd Annual Spring Data Conference - Data Analysis in a Flat World - came to a close last Friday and we are happy to say that we have already started planning for next year (stay tuned for details). The Great Escape Lodge and Indoor Waterpark in Queensbury, NY, provided many meeting spaces and meals to help our conference be a success.
Day 1 - Pre-conference
Participants experienced a variety of hands-on workshops from Blackboard, formative assessment development, and Podcasting in the AM to more Blackboard, pivot tables, and reading assessment analysis in the PM. I heard many comments from folks who are looking forward to implementing these practices and tools in their schools!
There also was a vendor forum with ETS. Despite a last minute location change, the crowd received an overview of several products and enjoyed a lovely lunch.
Day 2 - Conference and Vendor Showcase
After having a hearty Adirondack breakfast and hearing a few words from Dr. Stoothoff about how we need to respond to the dropout rates in NYS and prepare students for the 21st Century global economy, participants attended sessions addressing a variety of assessment/instruction topics. Throughout the morning, attendees also experienced a busy vendor showcase where representatives from Discovery/ThinkLink, Scantron, Corwin Press, Performance Pathways, Pearson Digital Learning, Dell, CTB/McGraw-Hill, Ray Supply, Compass Learning, Apple, ETS, and Media-X displayed their products and services and engaged in conversations about how they could support school improvement efforts (and there were some neat little goodies at each booth as well)!
At lunch, the particpants entered the ballroom for a delicious lunch (topped off at the end with amazing lava cakes) and had a surprise visit from Daffy Duck who is a regular at the Great Escape Lodge! As we finished lunch, we were ready for our keynote speaker, national bestselling author of
A Whole New Mind, Dan Pink. His presentation helped attendees focus on the critical skills that will be needed for students to be successful in the changing job market, and based on the questions asked by participants during the talk and the discussions I heard after, folks are ready to incorporate Dan Pink's ideas into classroom practice and school support systems.
I think Dan Pink enjoyed his visit as well - see the post on his website -
www.danpink.com.
Thanks to all of the folks who helped make the conference bigger and better than last year!
