2023 Convention Technology Line-Up for Every Kind of Educator
Technology is one of the fastest changing resource in education. Several disciplines are discussing options and offering training on a variety of platforms to use in classrooms at TCCTA’s 76th Annual Convention.
PROGRAMMING (Mathematics)
Friday morning, March 3rd, at 10:30 a.m., Oscar Villalobos, assistant professor of mathematics at Lone Star College, will discuss “Expand Student Learning via Programming.”
Learn how to bring math applications and expand student thought processes via Octave. The focus of the session will be use of the program in college algebra. Additionally, methods for incorporating the program into course work will be discussed.
MICROSOFT (Computer Science)
Friday, at 11:30 a.m. join Alan Chai, head of digital transformation and innovation at Microsoft for “Digital Transformation with Microsoft Power Platform.”
This presentation will show how businesses are using Microsoft Power Platform (low code) tools to automate business processes. The presentation will demonstrate apps developed to increase productivity using PowerApps, Power Automate and AI Builder.
Later that afternoon, Cengage, Pearson, and McGraw-Hill will go head to head, at 4:15 p.m., in the “The Texas Shootout: Training and Assessments for Office 365.”
This presentation will have three major third-party training and assessments software demonstrations, SIMNet, SAM, MyLabIT, in one place. Each presenter (Trevor Butler, account executive from Cengage, Anna Caro, regional product sales specialist from Pearson, and Chris Holder, regional sales director from McGraw-Hill) will have about 20 minutes to demonstrate how faculty can assess students with Office 365 applications. Don’t miss it!
THE CLOUD (Office Technology)
Another option on Friday, March 3rd, at 11:30 a.m., Dawn Dias, professor of computer information systems at Collin College will acknowledging where technology has been in the 21st century and discuss where we need to adapt to meet the future workforce in her program, “Getting Your Head Into the Cloud.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed how we will work forever: moving to home and hybrid environments and the technology/tools needed to succeed. Learning does not happen within the confinement of four walls but in the experiences brought to the table by the instructor and the learner. The same could be said for the ever-changing workplace, and the technological demands needed today and tomorrow. In this workshop, participants will discuss virtual collaboration tools, Cloud technologies, and cybersecurity risks will become top priorities.
Dawn Dias will return Saturday, March 4th, at 9:00 a.m. in a follow up session, “Virtual Collaboration Tools for the Cloud.”
Workplace technological demands are crucial to the virtual workspace of today. Cloud applications promote team collaboration, foster communication, easily adjust to any company’s scale and create a foundation for new work styles. This session will explore different types of cloud-based tools and how to implement them into the day-to-day processes needed to collaborate from the workplace and beyond. In this workshop, the presenter will demonstrate the following cloud-based tools:
- Collaboration tools
- Communication tools
- Productivity tools
ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR (Art)
The second program Saturday, March 4th, at 9:00 a.m., is “Not Your Mother’s Rebrand: Creating Logos and Brand Designs Using Adobe Illustrator.”
In this session, Daniel Sanchez, adjunct professor of art from Northeast Texas Community College, will present an Adobe Illustrator brand design project for beginner students. The project tasks students with creating a brand design for a fantasy company. This presentation is ideal for anyone wanting to get started with Illustrator and learning the basics of vector drawing, and for those wanting to learn how to implement their own graphics in everyday design for club flyers, posters, magazines etc.
CYBERSECURITY
(Computer Science)
Faculty and administrators interested in meeting the challenge of emerging technology and threats to prepare the students in the ever changing demands in the DevSecOps, development, security, and IT operations, arena should meet Austin Community College panel, Fred Lover, associate professor of cybersecurity, Mary Kohls, department chair of computer studies, and Femi Onabajo, professor of computer information technology, Saturday morning at 9:00 a.m.
COMPUTER GAMES (Economics)
Wrap up your Saturday sessions at 10:15 a.m. with a financial literacy program, “Bank Hero: A Banking Computer Game for Students.”
While the topic of microeconomics is amenable to the use of games to illustrate its principles, macroeconomics is much less so. But one macro topic that is ripe for a game is banking. Albert Pasaoa, instructor of economics from Alvin Community College present his simple, text-driven computer game, Bank Hero.
In the game, a player oversees the assets and liabilities of a bank and tries to maximize profits over time by deciding when to make loans, who to make them to, whether to purchase assets, and how much reserves to hold. But there are threats to the bottom line, and solvency, from bad borrowers, fickle depositors, and even from other banks. The speaker will discuss the game, how it can be improved, how it can be implemented into a course, and how students have received it so far.
- Friday, March 3rd at 3:00-4:00pm: “Developing Engaging Content for Today’s Learners in a Digital World,” Kay Leigh Shannon, Content Developer, iCEV
- Friday, March 3rd at 3:00-4:00pm: “Effective Teaching Practices for Equitable Instruction,” Carmen Macharaschwili, Academic Strategy Consultant, Association of College and University Educators
- Friday, March 3rd at 3:00-4:00pm: “The Future of STEM and CTE,” Chris Udofia, Strategic Account Executive, Itopia Labs
Check out the art, computer science, economics, and office technology discipline-specific pages for more details on the sessions listed above, and don’t forget to browse the other discipline pages to view the over 150 programs we have lined up! Make this event your own by mixing and matching with the sessions that speak the most to you.
Did you know that several colleges around the state have partnered with TCCTA to cover your registration fee? View the list of participating colleges and register today!
Make your hotel reservations at the Westin Galleria and Westin Oaks Hotels for $135/night online or by calling (713) 960-8100 and mentioning TCCTA to get the discounted rate.
We look forward to seeing you there!