Stay updated with the latest TCEA announcements. Find news, event updates, and important information for educators and tech enthusiasts.
On January 24, 2017, Google announced some powerful enhancements for Chromebooks available for education, both for educators and students. These features (available in devices from Acer, Asus, HP, Dell, Lenovo, and Samsung) enhance the Chromebook’s versatility. With more than 20 million teachers and students employing Chromebooks, both will soon have access to devices that rely on “apps, stylus, and increased touch capabilities,” as well as USB-C charging (source).
For Teachers
For teachers, Chromebooks will come with world-facing cameras. This enables teachers, as well as students, to capture videos and photos from all directions. Teachers will also have access to many Android apps, as well as specially designed cloud apps. These include Adobe Creative Cloud apps (such as Photoshop Mix, Lightroom Mobile, Illustrator Draw, Photoshop Sketch, Adobe Comp CC, and Creative Cloud Mobile). Teachers will be able to combine these intelligent enhancements with Chromebooks. They can use just-announced Google Classroom notifications for better assignment management and tracking with the new models.
Chromebooks for Students
Students, in addition to a greater variety of bundled Android apps, will be able to enjoy access to creative applications:
- Explain Everything: An incredible, robust presentation, digital whiteboard app, and video annotation tool that is indispensable.
- Soundtrap: This web-enabled audio editing and podcasting tool is a much needed addition for Chromebooks.
- WeVideo: A browser-based video editing solution that, like audio editing, remains in high demand in Chromebook environments.
All these solutions are available at discounted pricing for schools.
Even more exciting, especially in math and other classes where drawing is involved, students are able to take advantage of the inexpensive, high-quality stylus. This is an advantage when using the Google Classroom Android app. Styluses can be shared or easily replaced if lost since they do not require charging or pairing with a Chromebook.
Thanks to Google for continually listening to educators about the needs of the Chromebook-powered classroom!
Once you have your focus planned, then it’s time to do some research. The TCEA convention offers in-depth learning opportunities on almost any topic in the edtech world that you might be interested in. But you have to know how to search out exactly what you need. To do that, you’ll need your computer and 
I Love You So Much
Mount Bonnell
Enjoy the excitement and energy of the exhibit hall in a whole new way this year. Tuesday’s Opening Reception is the ideal way to kick off your convention experience. Dedicate some time for exploration and inquiry, discover the latest and greatest in edtech solutions, and pick up great schwag from over 450 education and technology vendors.
Explore the Power of You in this interactive learning area. Spend lots of hands-on time exploring makerspaces, breakout rooms, and programming. Discover activities and approaches that enhance learning by sharing in this peer-to-peer, network-rich presentation area.
Meet other edtech enthusiasts in the social media and connection Hub of TCEA 2017. Featured presenters and edtech experts are scheduled throughout the week to share their favorites tools, techniques, tips, and tricks. Whether you’re new to social media or have more followers than Justin Bieber, this is the spot for integrating social media into your repertoire.
The Thursday social is the must-attend event at the convention, and this year we’ve moved it to a new, more convenient time. Let your hair down and power up with live music, great fun, and fabulous door prizes. There will be games, contests, and energetic tunes, all from the Live Music Capital of the World – Austin, Texas.
