They learned how to count change using an interactive display on an iPad, write with a Cajun flair, use interactive games to teach social studies and create art and music for lessons on the Civil War.  From June 14 to June 16, about 300 East Baton Rouge Parish School System teachers daily attended Flip Flop Professional Development Conference workshops to learn some classroom games and high-tech tricks that make learning more fun for students.  The event was held at the East Baton Rouge Parish School System’s Professional Development Center.

New and returning teachers were treated to keynote sessions each day that made references to the Terminator, geeks and “Wheel of Fortune.”  They included:  “The Motivator:  Making Your Kids an Offer They Can’t Refuse,” “The Geek:  Keeping Up with the Younger Generation” and “Interactive Games:  Spinning the Wheel to Success.”  Workshop sessions also included “Photo Fun for Free,” which was enjoyed by Maria Shingleton (pictured), a fourth-grade teacher at Villa del Rey Elementary School.  The workshop’s instructor taught participants how to access free photos on Flickr and manipulate them.  In addition, teachers participated in “101 Cool Tools and PD Websites,”  “Tell It Like It Is:  Digital Storytelling across the Curriculum,” “Enriching Social Studies through Outdoor Education” and “Technology Smackdown.”