METC Conference 2016 next week - why you need to go!

     If you live in the St. Louis area, attending the Midwest Education Technology Community Conference is a must!  It is three days of immersing yourself in ideas that will revolutionize the way you do things as an educator.  It is an opportunity to network and meet like-minded educators who are using technology to teach their students to be creative and innovative and to be problem-solvers.  

     I have attended the METC Conference for the past six years.  When I come back, I am inspired and rejuvinated!  I want to make changes and better meet the needs of the students who come through the doors of my library.  I always tell my principal that, if we don't have the funds for me to attend this conference this year, I will pay for it myself.  It truly is that great of a conference.  They create strands of workshops to meet every educator's job title/subject area, and they bring in experts from the across the country as guest speakers and presenters.  The ideas being presented are fresh and cutting-edge.  

     This year, I will be looking for more ideas for Makerspaces, which are changing the library as we once knew it.  We have recently purchased a lot of materials and equipment for our Makserspace, which we will be calling The Design Studio.  And we will be debuting the space in the coming month.  But, the question is, now I have all of this stuff, what do I do with it? How do I get the students excited about it?  How do I get the students to come in and start exploring?  This space will help us expose students to more STEM concepts, but I have to get them here first!  So I will be looking at ideas to make my space ROCK!!!

     The conference is February 8-10, 2016.  So, it might be late to get registered for 2016.  But, put it on your calendar for 2017, because I assure you that it is the best conference you will ever attend!