About
The 2011 TECA Eastern Regional Conference will be held Sunday, November 13 – Tuesday, November 15, 2011 at the Virginia Beach Resort Hotel & Conference Center, 2800 Shore Drive, Virginia Beach, VA 23451. The conference is being hosted by the Department of Technological Studies and the Technology Education Society at The College of New Jersey. The planning committee has been at work developing ideas for exciting competitive and social events. We want to encourage all schools in the TECA Eastern Region to begin planning for the November conference. Our goal is to host well over 250 college students from 10–15 schools in the conference region.
The new TECAeast.org website has been redesigned and features on-line registration and social networking. One important new feature is the Forum for students to get up-to-date information about each contest and be able to interact with their contest coordinator. A Flickr link will allow schools to upload and share pictures from past and present conferences.
Conference Overview
Students and faculty advisers should plan to arrive at the conference center between 4:00 – 7:00 p.m. on Sunday November 13th. Registration packets and conference T-shirts will be distributed. All participants will have until 7:30 to get unpacked and enjoy the beach.
The revamped Technology Challenge will begin at 7:30 p.m. Schools will have an opportunity to have greater participation with an expanded Technology Challenge format. The challenge will be followed by a Beach Party and Geocaching Scavenger Hunt. All schools are expected to participate in both Sunday events so plan to bring one GPS device (iPhone, car GPS, etc) for every 8 participants. Be sure to learn how to access the longitude and latitude coordinates on your device prior to arrival! The Geocaching Scavenger Hunt will be on the beach and is a rain or shine event so bring appropriate rain gear. Towels will be provided if necessary. Back at the hotel, the party will continue with music by DJ Tom Staab (technology teacher) and food. Prizes will be awarded for Geocaching Scavenger Hunt winners!
Monday will be the traditional Competitive Events day. We want to encourage schools to participate in as many events as possible. A new student designed event as well as a new K-5 STEM competition for K-5 students only is being planned. A scheduled Job Fair over the noon hour is a great opportunity to talk with teacher recruiters. We conclude Monday’s competitions with a Formal Banquet.
Tuesday has been restructured to allow greater student participation. A stadium viewing area is being planned with video projectors for student presentations of contests. We plan to have all contest material viewable in the stadium area. Breakfast items will be available during the presentation hour. The Awards Luncheon will be from 11:00 – 12 noon allowing our more distant schools to get on the road home earlier.
Hotel room rates have been held at $85.00 per night ($97.05 with taxes) for a quad occupancy per night. The $67.00 conference registration covers participation in all events, the Beach Party, Formal Banquet, Continental Breakfast, and Awards Luncheon.
