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Ed Tech Day Showcases New Technology for Classrooms 29th Ed Tech Day at Ithaca College

By Madelyn Urabe

Brendan, Anchor: It’s the age of technology but some teachers feel like it’s hard to know all of the gadgets that are available for them to use in the classroom. NCC News reporter Madelyn Urabe joins us in studio with how one community is working with tech companies to help teachers and students find new innovations.

Madelyn, Reporter: That’s right Brendan. Take this touch screen for example, reporters like me at NCC News can use it to help explain a story better to viewers like you. Organizers at Ed Tech Day at Ithaca College today say having some access to technology like this is key for teachers and students. I spoke with some high school students today at that event and they say that even though technology can be scary at first, it’s rewarding to their education.

Zac Kobylarz, Senior at Lansing High School: “There is a lot of people here and it’s kind of intimidating at first, cause you have all of these adults dressed in their fancy suits and here we’re just high school students. But we seem to be drawing a lot of attention to the area- I mean its a cool robot. We have one of the coolest looking physical displays.”

Reporter: Seniors Zac Kobylarz and Ethan Zemanick are members of Lansing High School’s Robotics team… they built a robot that uses facial recognition technology and cameras to pick up and drop objects…
They both want to pursue engineering as a career after high school- and they say being here at Ed Tech Day- has helped them solidify that decision.

Zac Kobylarz:”It’s amazing being able to talk to people about what you are really interested in because I plan to do engineering in college, and this experience with help further my decision and know I am making the right decision”

Ethan Zemanick, Senior at Lansing High School: “It’s a great opportunity, like he said, to just learn what you want to do…”

Reporter:And beyond the robots, technology experts at Ithaca College say that giving community members the exposure to modern technology items that they can use in their education- is a rare experience in Central New York…

Dave Weil, Associate Vice President of Information Technology at Ithaca College: “We don’t have as much access to the larger cities like New York or LA or something like that; so having a technology show that about 700 people from across the New york State region can come to, at no cost, is great.”

Becky Lane, Immersive Tech Expert at Ithaca College: “I’ve had some people say that they are trying to initiate the same thing in their university and colleges which is really encouraging. And we’ve seen some people come who have said they are just starting and want to try some new experiences and get our thoughts on what we have done and what we would do differently and what has worked and what hasn’t worked.”

Reporter: Today was the 29th Ed Tech Day and the new item this year was that Virtual Reality Headset… The tech expert I spoke to said that if a school has a VR headset, and say they are learning about Anne Frank- they can actually put the headset on and be immersed and go to Anne Frank’s home that is is thousands of miles away from Central New York… So pretty revolutionary if you ask me…

Anchor: Wow, yeah. Opening completely new avenues for education. Thanks Madelyn

Educational teachers, faculty and students from local school districts and college, and Central New York community members learned about new technology devices that can be used in classrooms at the 29th Ed Tech Day at Ithaca College.

More than 1,000 visitors and more than 60 vendors also attended the technology event and set up stands at the Ithaca College Campus Center to showcase their items or hosted small seminars and ground discussions to teach people about some of the newest technology gadgets and how teachers can use them in their curriculums.

Some of the vendors at the event include Dell, Microsoft, Apple, and Corning.

Dave Weil, the Associate Vice President of Information Technology at Ithaca College, said that having this large of an event with so many powerful technology companies coming to share their tools is a rare opportunity for educators in Central New York.

“We don’t have as much access to the larger cities New York or L.A or something like that,” said Weil. “Having the technology show that people from the Central New York Area can come to, at no cost, is great.”

As this is the 29th year of Ed Tech Day at Ithaca College, Weil said that this year they added new experiences to keep the event innovated. One of those new additions was the virtual reality section.

This area took visitors on an immersive experience where they could:
– color
– check out different parts of the human body in 3-D
– visit Anne Frank’s house in Amsterdam

Ed Tech visitor trying Virtual Reality Exhibit

Becky Lane, an immersive technology expert at Ithaca College, said that teachers can use virtual reality tools to help their students become more immersed in what they are studying. For example, if a class is learning about Anne Frank, they could use the VR technology to visit her home while staying in Central New York.

“Some people have said they are just starting and they want to try some new experiences and get our thoughts on what we have done, and what we would have done differently, and what has worked for us and what hasn’t worked,” said Lane.

This is an annual event at Ithaca College. The next Ed Tech Day is scheduled to be held at the college next spring.

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