I was incredibly blessed to be sent to ISTE this year in San Antonio. ISTE is the International Society for Technology in Education and one of the premier conference for edtech enthusiasts to attend. Their convention center was like three BJCCs. I felt like Joey from Friends in London - I had to get in my map multiple times to figure out where I was going. Next year, it will be in Atlanta! I did not think through arriving Friday, June 21 and returning Thursday, June 27 to return to work today. Thanks to lots of coffee and a gracious invitation to take today to digest the ISTE experience, I am still processing everything I learned. Here are the big three takeaways I had from ISTE.
1. It's about collaboration. My district is in the planning stages of a 1:1 Digital Transformation. And we transformers only have a few ideas of our own. With the help of twitter, I have been able to collaborate with other autobots like @kylepace, @jmakeyAP, @jennifer_hogan, @bryanphillips, and @jedipadmaster to get ideas on how to implement a Learning Management System (LMS), how to do fixed assets inventory, and how to roll out devices to students and teachers by providing vital professional development in those areas. If you're not on twitter, I highly recommend it. If you are on twitter and you only retweet or quote, I encourage you to become a part of the conversation. A lot can be said in 140 characters. Discovery and innovation come from conversation. Steven Johnson even spoke to this at ISTE. He contributed great ideas like the internet to a liquid network, a place where ideas can flow like the coffeehouses and tea salons of yesteryear. Twitter provides that to connect educators across counties, countries and continents.Thanks to @chrisjenks and @_clayr_, our district started a twitter chat this year with our own hashtag #TCStech. Twitter has been a big part of my educational career. I don't know what I would do without it!
2. It's about reflection. I have a reminder set on my calendar every week for Reflection/Blogging every Friday from 3:30-4:30pm. I kind of threw that out the window with managing fixed assets and the whirlwind that is the end of the school year. I am no good to provide other teachers with personal and professional development if I am not reflecting on my own. So, I vow to write a blog post on how it's going at least once a week. Maybe twice. Professional blogging will be a new spin for me. It'll be weird to not post recipes all the time but I look foward to learning this new skill. Not only is reflection important for me, but reflection is a huge part of the evaluation process. I'm hoping to cultivate more reflection with the teachers I work with next year. Another big ISTE takeaway - evaluating teachers is more about spurring them on in self-reflection rather than mandating use of technology. I want to create a comfortable space and time for teachers to reflect on their own pedagogy and best practices.
3. It's about learning. As a teacher who has left the classroom to transition into a tech coordinator position this year, I miss my students terribly. I miss the facilitating of French, the community environment of the classroom, and the "a-ha" moments when the students are able to finally communicate in the target language. Teaching teachers how to use tech is no different. Some of the best advice I've received this week from ISTE that I will put into practice is:
So those are three oreos out of the massive package that I will be snacking on these next five weeks before school starts. What are some things you have learned this summer that has affected your craft?
1. It's about collaboration. My district is in the planning stages of a 1:1 Digital Transformation. And we transformers only have a few ideas of our own. With the help of twitter, I have been able to collaborate with other autobots like @kylepace, @jmakeyAP, @jennifer_hogan, @bryanphillips, and @jedipadmaster to get ideas on how to implement a Learning Management System (LMS), how to do fixed assets inventory, and how to roll out devices to students and teachers by providing vital professional development in those areas. If you're not on twitter, I highly recommend it. If you are on twitter and you only retweet or quote, I encourage you to become a part of the conversation. A lot can be said in 140 characters. Discovery and innovation come from conversation. Steven Johnson even spoke to this at ISTE. He contributed great ideas like the internet to a liquid network, a place where ideas can flow like the coffeehouses and tea salons of yesteryear. Twitter provides that to connect educators across counties, countries and continents.Thanks to @chrisjenks and @_clayr_, our district started a twitter chat this year with our own hashtag #TCStech. Twitter has been a big part of my educational career. I don't know what I would do without it!
2. It's about reflection. I have a reminder set on my calendar every week for Reflection/Blogging every Friday from 3:30-4:30pm. I kind of threw that out the window with managing fixed assets and the whirlwind that is the end of the school year. I am no good to provide other teachers with personal and professional development if I am not reflecting on my own. So, I vow to write a blog post on how it's going at least once a week. Maybe twice. Professional blogging will be a new spin for me. It'll be weird to not post recipes all the time but I look foward to learning this new skill. Not only is reflection important for me, but reflection is a huge part of the evaluation process. I'm hoping to cultivate more reflection with the teachers I work with next year. Another big ISTE takeaway - evaluating teachers is more about spurring them on in self-reflection rather than mandating use of technology. I want to create a comfortable space and time for teachers to reflect on their own pedagogy and best practices.
3. It's about learning. As a teacher who has left the classroom to transition into a tech coordinator position this year, I miss my students terribly. I miss the facilitating of French, the community environment of the classroom, and the "a-ha" moments when the students are able to finally communicate in the target language. Teaching teachers how to use tech is no different. Some of the best advice I've received this week from ISTE that I will put into practice is:
- Don't make it a thing. (@TechWendy)
- Pick one tool and run with it. Say "Why don't you try _____?" (a tech coach from Arizona)
- If the tool isn't working, re-evaluate your goal in using it and the tool itself. (@web20classroom)
So those are three oreos out of the massive package that I will be snacking on these next five weeks before school starts. What are some things you have learned this summer that has affected your craft?