TIF Summit Bridges U.S. and Canadian Tech
What began as an idea to bring fresh perspectives to an educational technology conference grew into the inaugural Technology Integrator’s Forum - US/Canada Summit held June 15-19, 2020.
TIF North and TIF South organizers Melanie Kitchen and Andy Wheelock, tech integrators with the Western New York Regional Information Center, collaborated on the virtual week of events that featured eight guest speakers from the US and Canada in a closing forum. Inspired by several other events, the duo knew the best way to hold the event would be online.
“Even the TIF North and South groups had a different flavor of educational tech experiences and discoveries, so we knew by bringing Canada into the mix, we would have some different perspectives,” Wheelock said. “We wanted participants to be able to look at instructional technology with a wider lens, a broader focus.”
The speakers included Rob Dunlop, Erin Quinn and Tara Vandertoorn, Derek Tangredi, Dan Armstrong, Aimee Bloom, Michael Drezek, Nina Calarco and Mary Howard with a focus from creative uses of technology to hands-on STEM projects and the connection between education and technology.
Kitchen and her husband Kyle, who is in the instructional technology field in Canada, moderated the final day’s panel.
“This online summit provided an opportunity for WNYRIC districts and people in tech to talk and develop communication. It’s great to be able to connect with communities across the border. We go to some of the same conferences and follow each other on Twitter, so it was great to all get together for this conversation,” Kitchen said.
Based on an exit survey, the summit was well received by attendees.
“One of the takeaways was that even though Canadian schools are organized differently, we are all experiencing the same universal challenges, like accessibility for rural populations,” Wheelock added. “Collaborating is what we do as tech integrators, it’s what we’re all about. It’s that willingness to connect that powers TIF and this international TIF Summit.”
Plans are in the works for another TIF – US/Canada Summit for 2021. For more information on TIF or the use of educational technology in the classroom, contact Wheelock at awheelock@e1b.org or Kitchen at mkitchen@e1b.org.