ISTE Gems!

The Stack

Every year I return from ISTE with a backpack full of information and a google doc filled with session notes. Like everyone else who has been to ISTE over the years, I have come to find that the connections made during the conference are invaluable, but there is still a benefit with sharing the little gems with others who didn't attend. These are just a few highlights that I found in my pile of "stuff".

Maker Movement

I think it is safe to say that Raspberry Pi has made a dent in the maker movement, and allowed students to learn programming skills, create technology rich projects, and not break the bank in the process. At the Raspberry Pi + iPad session, Mike Amante did a great job sharing his experiences with the device and how he is using the technology with his students and plans of expanding the program in the fall. More information from Mike can be found here. A big surprise at the end of the session were two representatives from the Raspberry Pi Foundation showed up and shared news about Picademy USA, you can find more info here.

Innovators Mindset
If you have ever listened to or follow George Couros, then you understand that he has a great way of using short, but thoughtful statements that make you really think about education and what it could be. I always try and catch one of his sessions at ISTE because he never fails to provide great thoughts that can easily be shared at admin meetings, staff meetings, or lunch time conversations. Here are a few (as accurate as I could be) that he used in the session Developing the Innovators Mindset.

• Relationships are the most important piece in schools now and in the future
• Biggest barrier is our own way of thinking
• Think different
• Digital factory model is still factory model
• Technology is more than a tool
• Technology can be transformational in hands of a great teacher
• Would you want to spend all day in your own classroom
• Everyone is a teacher and a learner
  
  

The PLN

One of the hardest thing for many educators to do is build their PLN. Taking that first step from

Courtesy Roy Blumenthal CC 2.0

picking which social media platform to venturing out of the four walls of the classroom can be scary, but absolutely necessary to grow as an individual. The session, The Passionate PLN, by Jessica Raleigh, was a very informative hands on experience that introduced Twitter to everyone as a way to connect and make a difference. A highlight was The Breakfast Club, #BFC530, as a place to participate in a one question twitter chat, every weekday at 5:30am. If you are looking to build your PLN  and connect with others, give it a look here.

ISTE 2016
The ISTE conference has a little something for everyone and is consistent with the variety of sessions that makes it a good destination. If you are an educator looking for an event with options, want to grow your PLN, and meet like minded peers, then I would recommend educating your school boards and administrators on the opportunities ISTE has to offer. But remember, finding local events, lunch and learns, Twitter chats, coffee on a Saturday morning, also provides collaborative time and opportunity for connections to help us grow professionally. Get out of those four walls and see what others are doing and share!

School's Out For Summer

Willie Style

Who can forget when the Fresh Prince was throwin down "summer, summer, summertime, time to sit back and

unwind?" I am showing my age with that bit of information, that song was the first single on his Homebase album, released in May of 1991, nice play record studio. As educators we all know that summertime doesn't afford much time to unwind, although we try to sneak in a little time for "cool shootin some b-ball outside the school," the downtime is used in different way. Teachers are busy searching for new resources, building their PLN's, and planning for the upcoming school year, which is a full time job. Tech staff is using this time to upgrade hardware, implement new software, and refresh thousands of devices before the new school year arrives. Frantic as it may seem however, this may be the time to seek out new ways to collect resources, build your PLN, upgrade devices, and take a deep breath before the new school year arrives.

Your Not Alone
If you are a student, teacher, administrator, or techie, there are thousands of your same kind out there working on similar projects looking to collaborate with others. So how about taking a little time this summer to connect with others, gather some great resources, and build your PLN by following other educators on Twitter. Twitter is arguably one of the best places online to gather educational ideas and resources. Follow people like Free For Teachers @rmbyrne, hashtag #chromebooks, or if iPads interest you, guru @tonyvincent! The great thing is, you don't have to work hard to find great educators to follow, here is a list of educators that will get you started by content area/title, you can even add yourself after you create your Twitter account http://goo.gl/k8U1Yc. If you would like to take it a step further and participate in a Twitter chat, follow this link for times and hashtags http://goo.gl/9h74lg (thank you @MrsKim_Reynolds for sharing). 

                                           Change It Up

Summertime is also a chance to reflect on the traditional things that we seem to do when this time of year rolls around. Speaking from the technology side of the house, the first thought that comes to mind is re-imaging of devices. Spring always seems like the time when new images are being built for deployment, so the second the students and teachers are out the door, massive re-imaging starts taking place. Often we can't avoid this type of scenario, we will be doing our fair share of imaging this summer, but maybe there is a better way. Use this time to reflect on the processes and see how you can eliminate some of the lengthy projects that seem to take up most of those summer days that you could be focusing on other areas.

Another idea that is always refreshing during the summer months is the start of the day. When school is in session, start times are critical for providing good customer support. Summer can allow flexibility for your tech staff to start the day off in a different way. Use this time to have brief 15-30 minute sit downs to share how their summer projects are rolling along, collaborate on any issues that may be happening and enjoy a nice ice coffee or smoothie to start the day! 

   

Social "Media" Bigfoot

Footprint
Here are a few questions that I often hear when social media is being discussed that deserve some attention.

1. What is a social media footprint?
2. How big should it be?
3. Why do I care?

The Numbers
From a pure numbers perspective, it seems to make sense that jumping into the social media landscape can be a benefit to the professional growth model. Facebook currently has over a billion active users a month alone, even if you discount that 100 million of those users are pets, objects, or brands, 900 million is alot of humans. Twitter has 554,750,000 active registered twitter users that tweet on average 58 million times a day according to Statistic Brain.  As of January, 2013, Linkedin reached 200 million users, "LinkedIn now counts over 200 million members as part of our network, with representation in more than 200 countries and territories. We serve our members in 19 languages around the world." Google+ is a bit harder to get a true read on numbers, but even if we go with 135 million users actively posting to Google+ Pages, that is no small number.

Why Do I Care
All the numbers above can be dissected, debated and manipulated for company purposes but I see them as an opportunity to connect with others that run in the same professional circle as myself (no pun intended). I care about growing as an individual and bringing new ideas into the workplace and sharing my successes with others, which is easily done through social media.

                                        How Big

The size of your social media footprint depends on your comfort level in this arena. Some can juggle multiple feeds while others feel overwhelmed with more than one. My suggestion is take your time and find what works for you, and use technology to help you organize. There are a number of programs out there that will help you streamline your feeds and better manage the large amount of information coming in and out of your busy day. HootSuite is one that I have found to be very helpful for me and worth a look if interested in managing multiple streams.

Give It A Try
We often hear the saying that you have to get out of the four walls of your classroom or office to see what is happening out there. That is a true statement as we all know that sharing, collaborating and having an open mindset will help us grow as individuals. To grow professionally you have to care, why not use social media as one option to step outside those walls.

Social Hurricane

Where To Begin
With all the social media tools out there to choose from, it can be overwhelming to know where to begin. Just when you think you have chosen the one or three that you want to focus on and get the most return from, another pops up to take its place. Take a look at how Google+ is really starting to create a stir and take a shot at the Facebook crowd! Who would think that anything could ever challenge the giant that Facebook has become. It may be difficult to know where to begin, but the value in using the social platform of your your choice for staying current professionally, keeping in touch with parents, community, and students, shouldn't be overlooked.

Embrace It
It doesn't have to be overwhelming though, just relax a bit, take a deep breath and ask yourself who your audience will be. I am not an expert on social networks, but this has seemed to work for me. I jumped into the mix some years ago like many with:


I enjoyed myspace, it allowed for creative control of your profile and the number of bands using the site to promote was amazing. But the audience I was wanting to connect with were friends that I had lost touch of and current friends. I was able to connect with a small number, but not the number that I had anticipated. As Facebook gained traction, I created an account and started exploring, basically my entire graduating class and many more were quickly friends and we all know what has happened to myspace. My point, if one social network is not meeting your needs, don't be afraid to look at others, take advantage of the many choices available.

The Professional Menu
When Looking at this menu, I have tried to focus on what social network is going to connect me to a peer group that will help me grow as a professional and stay current with the rapid change that technology provides. But more important than that, I wanted to be able collect great resources from others that I could then pass along to the teachers, administrators, and other staff members in my district. Sharing is caring, but I wasn't sure what platform was going to best provide what I was looking for, choosing the appetizer when I really needed the main dish took some time and exploring.

The Plug
My main dish that I was searching for happened to be right under my nose, which is my only plug for a social network that I would recommend everyone spending some time with if you are looking to jump into the game.


I have had a twitter account for some time, but didn't really understand the buzz and was not liking the celebrity attention it was getting, yes I think you are OK Ashton Kutcher, but I am not interested in what you are doing on a daily basis. But I realized one weekend that I could follow the Supercross race real time, since it was not on TV. It brought relevance for me on the personal side and with the encouragement from Nick Sauers and Tracy Watanabe, I jumped in and started following peers on the professional side. I have to say that this has been the one of the best professional decisions I have made in the last year. The vast amount of resources that I have been able to take in and contribute has been amazing. Check it out!

Game Changers
It is difficult to predict the next best thing that will come along and change the way that social networking is valuable to us. Google may be on to the big game changer in my opinion with Circles, their answer to organizing friends, and how you communicate with them. This seems like a logical way for educators to use social networking tools and keep their personal lives separated from professional, which seems to cause some issues at times. Others may have a similar feature, but Circles is very user friendly.

Social networks are part of our culture and here to stay, just ask your students:-). How we participate will be up to to each individual to decide, jump in feet first and give something a try!