Welcome back to……Me.
This blog has been the bane of my existence. I have started it, left it, tried a live-blog of Edcamp and then it became an empty shell floating in the sea of the internet. I was not a blogger.
Then ISTE 2015 happened.
Inspired by the talk of being a curator of content and sharing thoughts and ideas have inspired me to try again. So, in my own little slice of the internet world I thought I would attempt to share my first experience from ISTE and the “big rocks” I took from it.
My Overall Experience
Amazing, Thrilling, Exciting, Exhausting ( I averaged 15 miles walking a day, Thanks new Apple Watch!) That’s what my first ISTE experience was. Starting with pre-conference workshops and all the way through Wednesday afternoon, I sat in rooms, listened, participated and learned from like-minded Edtech superheroes. Idea’s flooded into my head and inspiration was around every corner and in every room.
Walking through the exhibition floor, things like LittleBits and 3Doodler grabbed not only my educator eye but also the possibility of what I can bring to my home to further my 6 year old and 3 year old’s learning.
The hours at the Philadelphia convention center melded into dinner conversation with the team of folks from my school system. These conversations were thrilling and engaging as we debriefed our days and thought of where we are and the possibilities of what could be.
By the end of the conference I was honestly struggling, how do I return to my role as a school AP while I have spent the past 5 days thinking on a giant, global, educational scale?
My Three Big Rocks
1. Choose your own device.
“It’s not a technology initiative, It is a learning Initiative”
Sitting through the presentation by Ottawa-Carleton Schools allowed me to see the need for differentiated technology choices. Their blended model of school supplied resources from a menu and BYOD allow students and teachers to use the tool which best needs the needs of the students and that days particular lessons.
2. Mobility
“There is no reason that classrooms should look like graveyards, with desks in rows like tombstones.”
Learners and classrooms need fluidity, the days of the large, immobile desktop computer in the corner of the room are gone. Classrooms need to be flexible and dynamic giving students and teachers the ability to move, group and regroup, and interact with one another constantly, while utilizing mobile technology that provides them with access and resources from across the globe.
3. Comfort with Tech
“I am not comfortable with technology” is no longer something that should be heard within the walls of a school. This comment is now akin to, “I am not comfortable with the new version of the textbook.” Teachers, even reluctant ones MUST engage in the practice of discovering ways to infuse technology into their pedagogical tool kit or risk losing the ability to speak to students in their language.
What’s next for me.
I am not sure what comes next. My mind is filled with possibilities and to be honest, I am still processing it all. I am excited for where my school and my district can go, and I am certainly excited for next year’s ISTE conference. Onward to Denver.