I consider myself the luckiest teacher on earth due to my position as an ISTE board member. ISTE, the organization, is so multifaceted, and although I've been active in the affiliates (and especially in my own affiliate from Minnesota - Shout out to MEMO!!), and in the special interest groups (with another huge shout out to my favorite SIGMS peeps!), there are so many parts of ISTE that are foreign to me. Besides that, the board is filled with these amazing people (with big letters like PhD after their names) and I'm just a small town librarian from Minnesota. I am so in awe of them, these experts in the field, and I feel excited and charged to be in their presence (and scared half to death sometimes too!) But I keep telling myself that it is crucial for us to keep teachers and teacher librarians on the board to represent the majority of ISTE members, and to keep the focus on the classroom and the student in everything we do.
So - where to start?
On Friday morning we entered the San Antonio Convention Center for a pre-conference tour. We actually got to see the exhibits, the signage, the displays, the lounges as they were being built! It was amazing! What would become the keynote hall was filled with tables, and volunteers were filling the 14000+ bags with programs, flyers and other conference paraphernalia. Thank you to the hundreds of volunteers that day, prior to that, and over the next five conference days!! They make everything run smoothly - and thank you to ISTE's remarkable staff, who had everything organized down to the second!
One downside of being a board member is missing out on some great sessions. I need to get back into the backchannels of many of the sessions, and onto the resources listed in the program, and take in everything I missed. I want to note my big ideas, some of which I will pull out and discuss further as I have time to chew on them myself. In no particular order, here is what I was struck by at ISTE 2013:
1. Gamification: I believe it enough now to consider creating a game that my entire school can participate in, with the goal of reaching that epic win at some point in the year! Stay tuned!
2. Contributions required: I've been spending a lot of time encouraging others (and myself) to build PLNs, to follow blogs, tweets, posts, etc. I need to move further into the contribution end of that - for myself and my friends.
3. QR codes: I know how to make and use them, but I haven't done enough with them. I need to use them much more. They are awesome!
4. Voice: I need to strengthen my own voice. I also need to clarify who I am as a teacher and as a learner.
5. Changing the World: The very best "share" I can give you is Adam Bellow's keynote. No one says it any better. If there was something every teacher could watch before the summer ends and we head back to school, it would be this keynote. It made me cry and laugh all at the same time.
As ISTE Board members we get to be the biggest ISTE cheerleaders ever. (Seriously! I think my main duties - at least during the conference - are to smile and to say "thank you". It's great fun!!) My PLN has definitely grown. I am invigor-xausted! And yes, Adam, I am ready to change the world!
If you are also just back from ISTE I hope you get the chance to rest and reflect. Let's collaborate in the coming year - and we'll see you at Atlanta in 2014!!
No comments:
Post a Comment