Now in its 86th year, SUNY Oswego’s Technology Fall Conference continues to cover timely topics, from advanced manufacturing with the coming of Micron Technology to the impact of artificial intelligence to incorporating evolving technologies in the classroom, plus much more.

Taking place Oct. 30 and 31 on campus in Park and Wilber halls, the conference tends to host more than 50 presentations and hundreds of technology teachers and students, most of them SUNY Oswego graduates working in education and related fields.

“We have a lot of cool, leading-edge, bleeding-edge topics coming to the conference,” said program coordinator Chris Stein, a technology education faculty member and alumnus. 

“It was interesting to see big themes come together in submissions,” Stein noted. “AI is a huge theme. A lot of people are mentioning Micron and advanced manufacturing in their course descriptions. The conference encompasses what is happening and what people are talking about.”

But many presenters submitted on more timeless topics involving hands-on manufacturing and teaching, including making pinball machines or constructing rockets. Stein thinks the broad array of topics reflects how SUNY Oswego and high school technology programs find ways to impart lessons while engaging the interests of many students.

“It’s a very egalitarian conference,” Stein said. “We ask professionals from the field to come up with these great ideas and projects and they give, for free, these incredible presentations. We also have students present. People are always inspired in various ways.”

The cost of registration of $150 includes the two days of presentations, breakfast, lunch and an afternoon snack on Thursday and Friday, as well as Thursday’s dinner banquet at the Lake Ontario Event and Conference Center.

Encouraging interaction

“The banquet dinner is like the cherry on top,” Stein said. “The whole conference is really interesting. Humans are social animals, and what I find so interesting about this is how much we engage people in an interactive way. It’s very personal and social, different from some other educational conferences.”

Stein said the networking, conversations and ideas sparked during the conference transcend value.

“We leave lots of space between presentations,” Stein noted. “Lunchtime is very long to encourage these social interactions. For a long time, it has been very thoughtfully designed.”

The conference is open to all K-16 educators and professionals from different school disciplines who want to find out the latest developments in technology education and network with other educators and professionals. 

In addition to the presentations, the two days feature a number of vendors, presenters and partners showing off the latest tools and trends in the corridors of Park and Wilber halls.

Attracting attendees mainly from Central New York as well as many from Long Island, the conference has become a sort of homecoming for technology teachers who come back to their alma mater, reconnect with faculty and former classmates, and reaffirm their dedication and passion for teaching technology.

“People leave here, they go out in the field, gather all these experiences, come back in the fall and then go back home with even more ideas,” Stein said, with the cycle repeating annually.

For more information on the Technology Fall Conference and to register, visit fallconference.com.