SUNY Oswego’s Department of Technology will welcome hundreds of teachers for its 83rd annual Fall Technology Conference starting at 9 a.m. on Oct. 27 and 28 in Wilber and Park halls.
“We expect about 400 to 450 teachers from across New York state and beyond to come back,” said Richard Bush, who is the chair of the Department of Technology on campus and the conference committee chair.
A variety of vendors will showcase different types of technology as well. “We have about 20 exhibitors that line up in the hallway between Wilbur and Shineman, and then they are also selling tools and pieces of equipment and software, and they also present,” Bush said.
Various presentations over the course of the two days include how to start an e-sports team in your school, how to spice up your curriculum with new electronics projects and many more, said Bush.
“The conference has five presentation time slots on Thursday and four presentation time slots on Friday,” Bush said. “There are about 55 presentations across all those time slots having to do with the latest and greatest of what’s going on in the technology teachers' classrooms and laboratories.”
The conference is all about teachers helping other teachers and sharing what they’ve been working on. Many alumni come back to share their experiences since they graduated, as well as return as attendees.
“The bulk of our presentations are made up by practicing tech teachers,” said Bush. “Many who are alumni and they’re coming back to help train everybody on what they figured out and how cool it is and why you should be doing it.”
Bush has been involved with the Fall Technology Conference for more than 25 years, or since he was a student at SUNY Oswego during their 49th annual conference.
“This is a very homegrown conference,” said Bush, adding he appreciated “alumni sharing back to the community.”
The conference is a chance for alumni to see each other after so many years, but it’s also a great learning opportunity for SUNY Oswego students. Students in the Technology Department are very involved in the conference.
The conference is open to anyone on campus to attend. For more information, visit the conference website.
-- Written by Gabrielle Kroeger of the Class of 2023