Higher Education and K-12 Collaborate at Learning with Innovative Technology Conference

More than 250 educators from primary, middle and secondary schools, BOCES, private colleges and universities, private-sector technology and publishing companies and CUNY and SUNY community colleges, colleges and universities, gathered at Saratoga Springs High School for the third annual Learning with Innovative Technology Conference.

Co-sponsored by SUNY Empire State College’s School for Graduate Studies and the Saratoga Springs City School District, the conference attracts educators of all types, including K-12 teachers, higher-education faculty and students, technologists, librarians and other professionals interested in the use of technologies in education.

“There are an ever-increasing number of educational technologies available to instructors at all levels of education,” said Nathan Gonyea, interim dean of the School for Graduate Studies. “While these technologies can be a boon to educational innovation and effectiveness, they also can lead to interesting, yet educationally questionable, multimedia experiences. The goal of the LIT Conference is to bring teachers, scholars and practitioners together to share knowledge about the effective use of educational technologies. This will provide educators and, in turn, their students with a more enriching learning experience.”

“Participation of K-12 and higher education educators in each other’s sessions provides learning and teaching opportunities throughout the education spectrum and, perhaps just as important, fosters a community of learners, which is a core element of SUNY Empire State College,” said Christine Paige, SUNY Empire State College’s director of instructional design and a conference organizer.

Again this year, SUNY Empire graduate students in the Master of Arts in Learning and Emerging Technologies and Master of Arts in Teaching programs had the opportunity to earn credit for their participation.

Many K-12 participants are eligible to receive Continuing Teacher and Leader Education (CTLE) hours from the New York State Education Department for attending the daylong conference.

The conference took place June 29. Planning for the 2019 conference is underway.