EdCamp Detroit Connections at ISTE



Erin Klein and I killing time at the Marriot before our red eye flights back home.



      As much as I love learning about new technology integrations, new devices, and what the future holds for technology in education, I love connecting with other like-minded individuals even more!  I am a social butterfly by nature, and ISTE allowed me to take flight in San Diego.  Prior to ISTE, I had helped with EdCamp Detroit .  This allowed me to get to know some of the innovative leaders of Michigan and be able to connect with them at ISTE. 



      One of them happened to be Erin Klein, an education blogger extraordinaire, pictured above.  What an asset she is to education!  I enjoyed hanging out with her and her husband and having wonderful conversations about being a teacher! She introduced me to so many amazing people!  She is a networking pro!  I think I have found a blogging mentor and a fellow passionate teacher/crazed mom of young children friend.

I attended a reception with Mayim and encouraged her to pay tribute to the Edubros.

       I attended the EduBros party on Sunday night after the keynote.  Nick Provenzano, one of the EduBros, is the founder of EdCamp Detroit, so I had connections with him previously.  I told Nick that I would be meeting Mayim on Monday, and he said it would be awesome to get Mayim to do a fingerstache.  So, at the VIP reception for Texas Instruments, I asked her if she would be up for it.  By the looks of the picture, I am sure she felt a little silly, but hey...it was all in fun!  She was signing posters, in which I had one made out to my sister, Meredith, who is huge fan of Mayim's.  After the fingerstache photo, I asked her if she could make one for Nick...and draw a stache on her photo.  She agreed and actually took her time to draw a nice mustache on herself. I was impressed!  Actually, each time I talked with her, both in the morning at her session and at the reception, she never seemed to be in a hurry.  We had real conversations, and I think she could be a great asset in the world of educational advocacy. 

      I attended EdCamp Detroit for the first time 2 years ago.  Prior to going, I had tweeted something about what I would like to present.  I remember being on my couch and getting a direct message from @EngagingEd about EdCamp.  We chatted back and forth.  I wasn't quite sure who I was talking with, as @EngagingEd uses a logo instead of a photo.  I never was able to meet up with him at EdCamp, but we continued to chat via twitter about education throughout the year.  I attended TEDx Detroit this year in the fall, and while I was eating lunch, I saw a guy walk by with the Engaging Educator logo.  I met up with Ben, and it was great to put a face to the twitter back and forth conversations and the leadership he provides to the education world.  In prepping for ISTE, we exchanged tweets, and he asked me to be a guest on his Blog Talk Radio Show to share my ISTE experiences. 

Listen to internet radio with Engaging Educators on Blog Talk Radio

      First of all, I didn't even know there was such a thing like Blog Talk Radio...and I plan on using it in my classroom next year!  Secondly, I was so honored that he would think of me and include me in such a cool thing!  The radio show was easy and fun to participate in, as I was walking through the convention center and standing in line for Yong Zhao's keynote!  I spoke about my presentation on edmodo, as well as being a newbie at ISTE! Later that morning, I had purchased a hot pretzel and pop, and I needed to sit down to eat it.  I stumbled upon a presentation on the Common Core that Ben was doing at the Blogger's Cafe.  He did a great job showcasing resources out there, much of which Engaging Educators had assembled.  Again, just another way my local EdCamp Detroit connections made ISTE feel a bit like home! 

Home Sweet ISTE!

(I decided to create a new blog home page. My previous blogs about technology can be accessed on the Technology Tidbits page.)

A view of the San Diego Convention Center from PetCo Park.

 

       By the sounds of my title, you would infer that I have been to ISTE several times, but this actually was my first year attending ISTE…I was a newbie.  You see, I grew up in Oxford, MI, a small town north of Detroit.  (Yes, the same Oxford that is referenced in Dr. Yong Zhao’s new book!)  Oxford is the type of town where you run into people you know anywhere you go.  My mom is a social butterfly, and a simple trip to Food Town would turn into a 2 hour trip, as she would run into people throughout the store.  When someone asked you if you knew someone they knew from Oxford, most of the time, I knew that person.  It was, and I believe still is, a close knit community.

        Going away to college at Western Michigan University, I never thought I would be able to feel that sense of community in Kalamazoo, yet it happened sometime during my junior year.  I remember going to Meijer and running into several people I knew throughout the store.  I was having a Cathy moment! (Of course referencing how my mom could work a grocery store with her connections.)  My connections at college continued, and I was able to make Kalamazoo feel like home!

      I have lived in Brighton, MI now for around 10 years now, and I think it took around 4 years to start having those moments when I would run into several people in a store.  People from church, from my neighborhood, etc.  Now, most times I go out in Brighton I run into people I know and have several Cathy moments. 

        Traveling to ISTE solo, and with  20,000 people attending the conference, I expected to find myself alone for the majority of the conference.  Boy was I wrong!

       When I found my seat on the plane departing from Detroit to San Diego, I heard a voice say, “Mam, you can’t sit there.”  I looked and saw a middle school teacher from my school district.  I learned that we both were staying at the same hotel too!  He was traveling with others from Tech Smith, so we all rode to the hotel together.  We decided to catch a bite to eat, and upon leaving our hotel, we ran into yet another Michigan technology leader, Dan Spencer.  He joined us for lunch.  I had to get my food to go, as I had to meet a group from edmodo for the Padres game.  I enjoyed reuniting with Lucia, a representative from edmodo that I worked a lot with prepping for last year’s EdmodoCon (FYI…August 8 is EdmodoCon this year!) I also met Jill, another edmodo representative that worked a lot with my district.  In addition, I was able to meet other power users of edmodo.  I was especially excited to meet Robert Miller who is using edmodo is such creative ways with his 5^th graders and US History! 

      After being at the game for a bit, I went to get something to drink.  Upon walking back to my seat, I realized that Pam Shoemaker, our district technology coordinator, was sitting a row behind me.  WOW!  Within the first 3 hours of being in San Diego, I had connected with the only 2 people from my district and had connected with others from my PLN! 

Jill Florant, from edmodo, and I enjoyed the Padres game!

     From that moment on, regardless if I was walking through the exhibit hall, ISTE Central, my hotel, or anywhere at the San Diego Convention Center, the most time in between connecting with someone was around 15 minutes. It was as if ISTE became Oxford for me…all because of my PLN!  Through connections built using edmodo and twitter, I was able to feel a part of the ISTE community!  Ironically enough, on my last day at ISTE, I ran into a fellow Oxford High School graduate that I hadn’t seen for 8 years.

     I hope the hometown feel continues through my ISTE experiences…and beyond...a hometown feel I never even thought was possible in a sea of 20,000 people and a large city.  The power of a strong PLN made my ISTE experience! (And hanging out with Jason and Erin Klein who allowed me to be their third wheel on Wednesday!  Thanks for your mentorship! )  I look forward to ISTE 13 and all the conferences in between where I will be able to connect again! 

Cheers!