Thursday, June 23, 2011

Blogging at ISTE!

Part I
My first visit to an ISTE conference was in 2009, in Washington DC. Not only was the conference amazing for a number of reasons, but it was also my first trip to the nation's capital. I was able to take part in a number of great sessions, listen to amazing keynote speakers, and also get in a little sight seeing as well. Seeing the capital for the first time and meeting the Obama's at the conference, you can see from the picture below I was a little nervous, was a great experience.


Part II
I was not able to attend the conference in 2010, but will be attending this year in Philadelphia in just a few short days. I am again excited for the trip and what makes this trip more special than the first is we are able to take a small group of teachers along! I can't wait for them to experience the week and have them bring back their experience to other teachers in our district, sharing resources, ideas, and general conversation will benefit each of our schools. I have also decided to use the conference planner this year, novel idea right, and should be able to cram in almost everything that I want to attend.

Blog Away
I am going to give it my best shot to blog my experiences throughout the week while attending the conference. Here is my disclaimer, I am not quite sure what kind of random thoughts, resources, or experiences I will end up sharing, but going to try and capture the experience and not just session by session type of info. So check back during the week and enjoy!

5 comments:

  1. Hi Jon,
    As you know, this is my first ISTE conference. Besides using the planner, do you have any other tips for me? I've seen a few other tips out there, such as Scott McLeod's http://bigthink.com/ideas/38843.
    Kind regards,
    Tracy

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  2. I was a little hesitant to offer this piece of advice, but I noticed it was Scott's #2, so I will reinforce. Never be afraid to politely leave a session if it is not what you thought or isn't meeting your expectations. Your time is very valuable during this busy week, if you are not going to take something away from a session, don't feel bad about leaving to find another.

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  3. I am very excited to be going to ISTE this year. I have my planner planned and have taken Scott's #2 to heart. Just to be sure, I've double- and triple-booked my time.

    The fact that we have so many people going is really exciting to me. We will be able to talk about experiences and help cement them in our brains. I look forward to reading your blogs. :-)

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  4. Jon,

    I'm glad you are able to come to ISTE and that some teachers were able to come along with you. My first ISTE(NECC) was in Philadelphia in 2005. It was a terrific experience and I have always looked forward to attending the conference. I hope they enjoy the conference and that we get the chance to connect sometime this week. There is an AzTEA meetup on Monday at 5:30pm if you and your group have time to stop by. It is at The Mission Grill is located at 1835 Arch Street (Corner of 19th & Arch).

    Enjoy Philly and ISTE!

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  5. @Jon, Thanks! I will take that to heart. I know I did that at the T & L for one session and ended up somewhere great. So, that is good advice.

    @Elizabeth, yes, when I'm learning, I need to talk it out with my peeps to organize it, draw meaning, and make goals for implementation.

    Regards,
    Tracy

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