Louisville - Saturday

By Saturday, most attendees seemed very pleased with the overall conference experience - though maybe showing some signs of tiring! 

There were several highlights on Saturday morning. The first was the TECA Manufacturing Contest - held in the Marriott. Many teams competed to see which could

 produce the most efficient "sorting" device. It was interesting and exciting to watch the manufactured

 pieces being put to the test. (One such test being shown here.)

Another highlight was the Teaching Technology Showcase (Technology Festival) held in the Convention Center. Quite a few

 teachers brought their materials to share with the crowd that attended. Pictured here is Tech Fest co-organizer, Curtis Funkhouser with Jerry Day from the University of Maryland - Eastern Shore. 

The culmination of the day, as well as of the Conference was the Awards and Recognition Luncheon. After an enjoyable meal, attendees were able to share in the excitement as a number of the highest professional recognition awards were presented. 

For those of you who attended the conference, we hope that your experience was educational, rewarding, and enjoyable. For those of you who were unable to attend, we hope you'll be able

 to make the trip next year to join your colleagues in Charlotte, North Carolina.

In a few days, the complete Louisville Conference photo slideshow will be available and a link will be posted here as well as on the ITEA website. Please be sure to check back.

Louisville - Friday

Friday morning kicked off with a live quartet of Kentucky-style music to go along with the coffee and breakfast. A large group gathered to watch and listen before heading into the morning's General Session. The Session itself had a memorable start with a race trumpeter to call the session to order. 

Many of Friday's big events centered around Nate Ball, host of PBS's Design Squad and our Second General Session speaker. Nate captured the attention of the large crowd by sharing his experiences as an engineering whiz from a young age - including blowing up his mother's kitchen with rocket fuel - complete with diagrams. Nate went on toMIT and is now a successful engineer, inventor, and TV host. After his presentation, Nate and Conference Honorary Chair were presented with customized Louisville Slugger bats by incoming ITEA President Ed Denton. 

Also at the Friday Generation Session, teachers from a number of states received the prestigious "Teacher Excellence" Awards. The winners are pictured here. Also presented at the same session were the "Distinguished Technology Educator" Awards.

Later in the day, Nate "dropped in" to the Exhibit Hall via his patented "Rapid Ascender." The ENTIRE Exhibit Hall stopped what it was doing to turn its full attention on Nate's multiple ascents to the very top of the hall, all the while explaining how the invention was developed as well as some of its very useful applications. 

The Exhibit Hall enjoyed a second full day of visits by attendees before closing at 4pm.

 

Immediately afterward, there were a large number of people in attendance at the "Tool 

Time" presentation put on by several members from Pittsburg State University. The session was greatly appreciated by the audience. 

Louisville - Thursday

The first full day of conference activities kept all the attendees busy in Louisville today. We kicked off the day with a memorable presentation given by Alfie Kohn. According to Kohn's website, his "criticisms of competition and rewards have been widely discussed and debated, and he has been described in Time magazine as "perhaps the country's most outspoken critic of education's fixation on grades [and] test scores." Kohn had the very large general session crowd laughing as well as looking at the topics of assessment and standardized testing in a whole new light. He also directed anyone seeking further information about his work to reference his website at www.alfiekohn.org. 

Another highlight of the first general session was the much-anticipated presentation

 of the Program Excellence Awards. It's always inspirational to watch these teachers and 

their programs get this much-deserved recognition. It's also always impressive to see all the past Program Excellence Award recipients stand and be recognized. 

Immediately following the general session was the grand opening of the exhibit floor. Throngs of attendees flowed around the exhibits, spending time speaking one-on-one with vendors and learning about a number of new products. Thursday also including a full slate of special interest sessions on a wide variety of topics. 

There are so many interesting people here. Two who caught my particular attention are the ladies pictured below, holding their traveling companions: two "Flat Stanleys." 

Louisville - Wednesday

It was a rainy day in Louisville but Wednesday provided a steady stream of attendees all day long. Many attendees were involved in preconference workshops, but plenty of others were checking in and socializing in the registration area. 

If the number of free Advancing Excellence in Technological Literacy copies distributed were any indication, the number of attendees is fairly impressive. They were literally flying out of the Resource Booth. 

First thing this morning the Exhibit Hall was a giant empty shell. By the end of the day, however, it had undergone a transformation - one which will reach it's culmination tomorrow morning at 11 with the grand opening of the vendor exhibit area. (Pictures to come tomorrow.)

The official conference kick-off began with the Welcome Reception at the Marriott at 6pm. The reception was VERY well attended with a really big mix of people. Pictured below are Lauren Olson and some of her closest friends. 

Tomorrow will be another busy day in Louisville. Stay tuned...

Welcome to Louisville!

Downtown Louisville is starting to fill with ITEA members! Today was a day of arrivals and preparation. The lobby of the Downtown Marriott (ITEA's headquarters hotel) was almost always busy with teachers greeting one another, often after a year or more. 

ITEA staff and volunteers spent much of the day making all the final arrangements and preparations for tomorrow's very full slate of events. 

Thanks to numerous hours of box moving and unpacking, the Registration Area and Resource Booth will be ready for business at 11am on Wednesday morning.  Pictured at right are former ITEA Presidents (and dedicated Resource Booth volunteers, Ron Yuill, DTE and Steve Moorhead, DTE.

It was a pleasant surprise to find that the thriving area of Fourth Street Live was literally

a short, one-block walk from the Convention Center. Full of great restaurants and various

other forms of entertainment, Fourth Street Live is a great venue for an evening out in downtown Louisville. 

The stage is set - let the conference begin!

Where to Eat in Louisville - a Local Perspective

Submitted by “Guest Blogger” and ITEA Past President, Andy Stephenson, DTE. Andy is a local Kentuckian.

All visitors to Downtown Louisville will want to visit 4^th Street Live, which is only two blocks from the ITEA hotels. This is where the action is. Dining includes some traditional stops like TGI Friday’s and Hard Rock Café. However, there are also choices with more local flair such as the Makers Mark Bourbon House & Lounge, where bourbon is an ingredient in many dishes and most nights there is live Jazz. (This is one of my personal favorites, though it can be a bit pricey). Additionally, the Red Star Tavern boasts steaks, pasta and seafood and some unique drinks and microbrews. If you are looking for some fun and light food, there is always the Lucky Strike Bowling Alley with, in additional to typical bowling alley food, an extensive list of unique flavored items such as Tuna Lolllipops and Turkey Brie wraps. Sully’s Restaurant & Saloon is a local favorite for good food and fun. A great place to relax and enjoy the evening. There’s even a food court with fast food like Wendy’s and Subway for the budget-conscious.

You can walk two blocks north to the river and enjoy a fun meal at Joe’s Crab Shack. The Bristol on West Main Street is a short walk from the hotel and is a Louisville original featuring local flavor including the infamous Kentucky Hot Brown and an extensive wine selection. Great Food and moderately priced. If you try the Bristol, I personally recommend the Artichoke Fritters/w remoulade or the Green Chili Won Tons for appetizers.

Of course if you would like to experience Southern Hospitality at its finest there is always the Oak Room at the Seelbach Hotel—a short walk from the convention area. The Old Seelback Bar is a treasure just to see, not to mention the finest bourbon and wine selections in town. But the warm Bourbon Chocolate Pecan Pie is the ultimate in Kentucky desserts!

If you would like a breathtaking view of the city, there is the Rivue, a revolving rooftop restaurant with fine local cuisine located at the top of the Galt House Hotel on the river just a five-minute walk from the Convention Center. This is extremely beautiful after dark.

Finally, we hope that on Thursday evening, everyone will join us for the special private ITEA dinner event at the Kentucky Derby Museum. The Museum is located on the front steps of historic Churchill Downs and is one of Kentucky’s premiere cultural attractions. To participate, you’ll need to purchase a ticket from the ITEA Registration Area at the Kentucky International Convention Center prior to Thursday at noon.

Enjoy your stay in Louisville! 

ITEA attends ASCD

The following was submitted by Guest Blogger and ITEA President, Len Litowitz, DTE:

ITEA recently exhibited at the annual conference of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ACSD) held in Orlando, Florida March 14th - 16th. Representing ITEA were Len Litowitz, ITEA President, and ITEA members Annette Rose (Ball State University), Jennifer Lee (Old Dominion University), and James Boe (Valley City State University).  The purpose of ITEA attending the ASCD conference and exhibiting at the convention was to help the ITEA build a greater presence for the Technology Education profession among the greater education community. Additionally, university representatives shared information about technology education teacher preparation programs and master's degree programs with interested conference attendees.