In just over 7 weeks, hundreds of educators across the state of Iowa and surrounding areas will come to the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines for the 2024 ITEC Fall Conference. I have been coming to the ITEC Fall Conference for about a decade and a half so far. It is an event I am always looking forward to and one that has a very profound impact on me as an educator.

I remember going to my first ITEC and even presenting about how I was using technology in my flipped classroom. Since that first year I have presented countless times and am currently a member of the ITEC Board of Directors. I was fortunate enough to serve as President even though it was during some of the Covid years when we had to postpone a conference so I got to preside over two conferences in one year. ITEC is something I have put countless hours and a tremendous amount of energy into in order to help it be as successful as it can be, because of how much I have gained from being a member of ITEC and attending various learning events over the years. I am always just trying to help ITEC be as impactful for other educators as it has been for me.

There are so many reasons that I think educators should attend an ITEC Fall Conference but some reasons are more important than others. For example, I guarantee you will learn at least 1 thing that will greatly impact your classrooms. Granted I feel you will learn a lot more than 1 thing but I feel that everyone I have talked to has taken away at least 1 thing that they were either able to implement right away in their classrooms or it spawned greater learning that could even change their trajectory as an educator. I know for a fact that a number of teachers have come to ITEC and connected with someone or sat in a session that greatly changed how they were viewing some aspect of teaching and learning, which reignited their passion and desire to be an educator. Our goal as educators is to always be learning and improving, because we can always be doing better for our students.

Another great reason to attend the 2024 ITEC Fall Conference is that you will connect with other educators. Teaching is too difficult of a job to do alone and being connected with others can help in so many ways. I have been fortunate enough to make connections with other educators over the years, some who have pushed my thinking in different directions, some who have helped me find solutions when I was stuck, and even others who have become some of my closest friends. The connections I have made at ITEC Fall Conferences have greatly impacted who I am as an educator and who I am as a person. There are a tremendous number of wonderful educators in the state and we are fortunate that so many come to our conference.

Another very important reason to attend the 2024 ITEC Fall Conference is that technology keeps changing at such a rapid pace, that our pedagogical practices and instructional methods have trouble keeping up. We have a great selection of Featured Speakers, Iowa Featured Speakers, Iowa Featured District, and countless other amazing educators who will all be sharing about how they are using technology to impact teaching and learning. In many of the sessions, the technology is not the focus but just how they best support the very impactful instructional methods they are using to help students learn as best as they can. The sessions are not there to convince you to use technology all the time, which is not best practice, but to help you find new or different ways that good instruction can be amplified by using technology in the best way to support learning.

If you are an educator or administrator who needs any more convincing to attend the 2024 ITEC Fall Conference, just reach out. Either myself or another ITEC Board member can help give you a long list of reasons why you should attend and how we can support you in your learning. The ITEC Board is filled with passionate educators who are putting in many hours of work to ensure that the 2024 ITEC Fall Conference is as impactful and beneficial as possible. We understand that it is never easy being out of the school building but trust me when I say it, it will be worth it. Plus we try to make the 2 days as fun as possible because well, learning should be fun.

Get more information today at https://www.itec-ia.org/ and get registered at https://www.itec-ia.org/conference-registration-details/. Early bird registration closes on 9-30-24.