ISTE 2014...Let the Fun Begin!

It's hard to believe that three years ago I was a newbie to ISTE. I had always wanted to attend, and I thought San Diego would be a great place to travel to. Knowing that it would be a hard sell to my husband to just go to San Diego as an attendee, I thought I would jump in a give presenting a try to justify the trip. I was thrilled to be accepted as a presenter, in which I did a BYOD session on Edmodo. What a wonderful experience I had! Thankfully I had fellow Michigan educators that were my security blanket for that first ISTE experience. From a fellow Walled Lake teacher, Mark Lada, who worked at the TechSmith booth to my fellow EdCamp Detroit organizers, Erin Klein and Nick Provenzano, it was nice to have a bit of home amongst a gigantic conference! One of the highlights was being selected by Texas Instruments to ask a question to Mayim Bialik during her session on the TI-Nspire, which led to a fun roof-top reception.

Now three years later, I though I still have my #MichEd security blankets, I also have the security in knowing that no matter where I go at ISTE, I am sure to find awesome educators from around the world. Educators that I have connected with face-to-face over several conferences and events, educators that I chat with each week on Twitter, educators that I have collaborated with on Edmodo, and my newest tech tool, educators that I have connected with on Voxer. Last year my ISTE blog post focused on my ISTE connections feeling like an #EduFamily, and I am so excited to be back at ISTE strengthening our family bonds and impacting the educational world together! Cheers to ISTE 2014...let the fun begin!

(ISTE 2014 with Erin Klein and Todd Nesloney)

We Are Family...I've Got All My Techies with Me!

Last year, when I attended my first ISTE, I was amazed that I was able to come across people that I already had met at all points of the conference experience. In a sea of 15,000 attendees, it would not seem possible to regularly cross paths with acquaintances, yet I continually ran into people all over San Diego. How could I be at such a large conference, in a large city, and actually feel at home? (To read my blog post about Home Sweet ISTE click here.)

You could say that Twitter and social media are the reasons I feel at home at tech conferences. I am not a twitter superstar, as I just went over 1,000 followers during ISTE this past week. Yes, being on Twitter helps people stay connected. Yes, Twitter is one of the best ways to share information, neat lesson plans, innovative ideas, and student projects. Yes, participating in chats on Twitter allows people all over the world to discuss topics that can impact education and beyond. Reflecting on the ways I met many of the people I consider my Techie Family, Twitter had little to do with it.

Photo courtesy of @TechNinjaTodd!  Thanks Todd!

Steve Dembo (@teach42), one of my all-time favorites, has been a regular presenter at our state technology conference in Michigan referred to as MACUL (Ma-Call). I have interacted with him several times at our conferences. I owe him credit for mentioning Edmodo in a session in 2010, and I have been hooked ever since, leading to many awesome opportunities! Our conversations have ranged from an Iron Chef Technology Competition years ago to parental balancing acts and applying to be an ISTE presenter, to the pride he felt for his best friend Adam Bellow, after delivering the awesome ISTE 13 Closing Keynote.

Enjoying lunch in Greektown during the MACUL 2013 Conference. Photo via Erin Klein

 

Rushton Hurley (@RushtonH), another one of my favorite MACUL speakers, has become a great friend. After delivering the keynote at the Teaching and Learning in the Cloud conference in Holland a few years back, he attended my session on Edmodo. Having him there increased the pressure I put on myself, but he was so positive and laid back, I was able to view him as a normal conference goer. Since then, we have regularly connected at conferences, and he even included me in a FETC dinner he hosted this past January. I completely enjoy his passions for technology, education, and people! He has the best educational newsletters out there!  Make sure to go to www.nextvista.org and sign up to receive them!

Rushton is the founder of an awesome educational resource...www.nextvista.org

 

Nick Provanzano (@thenerdyteacher), I first met when I attended EdCamp Detroit, in which he founded. In 2012 I joined the EdCamp Detroit Organization team. It was great connecting with him and helping out EdCamp Detroit. When I attended my first ISTE in 2012, I was able to meet Mayim Bialik and during the autograph session, she and I took a finger stache photo for Nick and Tim...the Edubros. I was even able to get her to sign a personal photo for Nick, which he absolutely loved...until someone stole it.

The EdCamp Detroit Team

 

I also met Erin Klein (@KleinErin) while working on EdCamp Detroit. She and I clicked, and at ISTE 12, we spent a lot of time together. I was so thankful to have her there, as I traveled alone to ISTE. Throughout this past year, Erin and I have grown closer, presented together, and I was even able to visit her classroom during one of my breaks. She and I have children that are the same age, we teach similar ages, and we both share a passion for technology and creativity! I love staying in contact with her and feel fortunate to have her here locally.  

Having fun at MACUL 2013! Photo via Erin Klein

 

Joan Young (@flourishingkids) and I had not crossed paths until the Bammy Awards this past September. I was waiting in line at Starbucks, and she was stopping to get a coffee before a run around DC. I don’t believe the run ever happened, as we talked for a long time! (For those who don’t know me...talking is another passion of mine!)   I had not followed her on Twitter until then, as I quickly realized she was a great resource to have in my PLN. We were able to spend a lot of great times together at ISTE this year, from singing on stage together to enjoying a dinner on the Riverwalk.  I have a huge amount of respect for the work she is doing to impact education and admire her heart!

Having fun in the photobooth with Ashlie and Joan

Speaking of fun!  I met Ashlie Smith (@smithsciencegms) at MACUL this year, as she works with Erin Klein.  She went to her first state conference in March and attended ISTE in June...which has been quite a roller coaster ride for her.  She has been a blast to hang around with, and I am so glad to have her here locally!  She is doing great things with flipping her classroom and creating quality videos to teach science concepts.

Catching up with Autumn at the Mobile Playground

 

Last year while hanging out with my college friends in Chicago, we met up with my friend’s sister and her friends. One of her sister’s friends is Autumn Laider (@MsLaidler). Autumn and I go way back to the daycare in Collier’s Lanes...a local bowling alley in Oxford. Our moms bowled on the same league, and we went to the same elementary school, yet were 5 years apart. I hadn’t seen Autumn in years, so I wasn’t clued in that she was in teaching, but once we started talking... I quickly realized she was able to talk the same language as me...tech talk! I rarely meet people out socially that can talk the edtech talk, and I was so excited to start following her on twitter! This past March, I was part of #AppMadness13, which was a fun way to introduce apps to others and have them advance through brackets voted on by people. Brad Wilson (@dreambition) and Andy Losik (@mrlosik) were the creators of it, and they asked me to join them. We needed another person, and I mentioned having Autumn join. It was so much fun! I hope we can do it again! Autumn attended her first ISTE this year, and I enjoyed connecting with her and catching the end of an awesome session she did with @MsMagiera.

Thank-you Adam!

 

While Erin, her husband, and I were waiting for our ISTE 12 flight home, we sat with Adam Bellow in the airport. We were able to pass the time along, by reflecting on ISTE, chatting about EduClipper, and just hanging out. This past year I have seen Adam several times from the Bammys to FETC and MACUL to the highlight of all highlights, ISTE 2013, where he was the closing keynote. When walking to lunch with him on the Saturday during HackEd, I learned what it must be like to be friends with a celebrity. Our group was stopped many times by either people Adam knew or people that wanted a photo with Adam. One, because he was wearing his Google Glass, and two, because he is Adam Bellow. The best part of it was, Adam was always the guy that I met hanging out at the airport...there wasn’t and isn’t an ounce of arrogance in him. When a woman said, “Adam Bellow...I have heard that name before,” he could have referred to his name and photo being everywhere, since he was the closing keynote, but he did not. He was very humble, and said, “Perhaps we have met before?” He’s one of the most genuine people I have met! 

 

Again, these are the people that I met the good old fashion way...face to face.  We began our relationships by starting conversations in line for coffee to having the guts to approach the keynote speaker to a simple introduction by an acquaintance to being on a committee together.  Our relationships have continued to be fostered through social media, but the true connections are when we share the physical space and time with each other!  Cheers to ISTE 2013 and my #EduFamily!  

 

 

 

Behind the Scenes of Summer Vacation for Passionate Teachers

I waved goodbye to the busses on June 12.  I packed up my room each day through June 15. I prepared for the ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) conference the week of June 18-22. I attended ISTE from June 23-25, and was saturated in educational conversations every waking moment. I spent hours reflecting on my ISTE experience, following up with connections, continuing the conversations via twitter and edmodo, and sharing my experiences with others ever since.  I have spent 1 ½ days with the staff from Brighton Area Schools to help develop a vision for technology in Brighton, to put bond funds to use in the best possible way.  Taking a break from education?  Not the case here!

          My summer is not unique.  Based on the educators that I follow on twitter and communicate with in edmodo and Facebook, educators are not taking a break this summer from improving their practice, collaborating with others, and creating new content to share with next year’s students.   On any given night, you can check in on twitter and follow a chat.  This week I tuned into #edchat, in which we discussed, “How do we teach Collection of information, Collaboration, Communication, & Creation in setting of today's ed system?”  Through the hour long chat, I had wonderful conversations back and forth with groups of teachers.  Some of the teachers I had met at ISTE this year, but many that I have never come in contact with.  We talked about our roles in education, ways to encourage collaboration and data collection, and the journey of learning for both our students and ourselves. 

      Being in a twitter chat is like being in a room full of teachers and having many conversations to jump back and forth from.  High speed professional development!  Many teachers participate in several chats throughout the week to connect with teachers from around the world.  These chats take place all year long regardless if school is in session or not. You can find an extensive list of the chats on Cybrary Man's webpage, along with any thing else that you ever wanted or needed to know about education.  He is a wonderful resource!

Brighton Staff members tour Maker Works.

          Speaking of collaborating, I have enjoyed working with the Brighton Area Schools Tech Committee.  Earlier in the spring, I helped with Yes for BAS, a group of parents and community members who were in support of the 88 million dollar bond to improve the schools.  The bond passed in May, and there was a need for parents to be part of the committees that will make decisions on how the bond money will be spent.  Having passion for technology, the tech committee was a natural fit for me.  I have to give the Brighton Technology Director praise for the leadership he is providing for this committee.  Elson Liu has created a Summer Vision Series, with the hopes to first create a vision for Brighton Area Schools, which will lead to the purchasing of the technology and piloting the vision. The Vision Series so far has taken us to Ann Arbor to visit The Brandon Center, a modern learning space for media and technology, at the University of Michigan’s College of Education, as well as Maker Works, a shared workspace that has a craft lab, woodshop, metal shop, and circuit lab. 

The Brandon Center at U of M

We have also attended a session on 21^st Century Education with representatives from Apple, and communicated with Leigh Graves Wolf, the director of the MSU Educational Technology Program via a Google+ Hang Out.  We have several other sessions planned throughout the summer as well.  Each of the sessions I have attended have had around 15 members, combining media specialists, teachers, and even administrators.  I am very pleased to see the dedication of these educators…using their summer vacation to enhance our local schools. (To access my notes and photos from the series, click here.)

          I know that there are teachers out there that celebrate the summer and turn off the teaching light in their minds, but for many teachers around the world, it is a light that burns 24/7.  Teaching is more than a job, it is a lifestyle packed with passion and dedication, and I feel blessed to be amongst the teachers day in and day out that connect via twitter, edmodo, blog posts, Facebook, etc. and continue improving the educational world, one connection at a time!