Thanks to NCTIES, I had the opportunity to attend ISTE this week - and it was a FULL week!
Because NCTIES - the North Carolina Technology in Education Society - is an ISTE affiliate, I started my ISTE adventure by attending the affiliate meeting. This was a fabulous opportunity to learn with and from other organizations around the world. The breakout groups helped give insight into what other affiliates are doing to support their members throughout the year. NCTIES has had many conversations about this same topic! I, and the other two from our organization that attended, brought these ideas back to share at our retreat later this month. Look for exciting things to come from NCTIES! I attended many sessions, but the poster sessions were my favorite overall. In these sessions, educators had prepared a brief statement to share on their topic, but the BEST part was the takeaway! Each had a shortened link to QR code for visitors to take and review later. Let's face it - any EdTech conference is A LOT, so being able to leave with a way to revisit the resources is priceless. I encourage anyone who presents at conferences to do this! When I present, I put that shortened link on EVERY slide. Conference attendees often session hop trying to maximize their learning so someone can pop in at any time - I want them to quickly join in the fun! Another great part of the poster (and playground) sessions was the organization. Each strand or theme that had been identified based on the special interest groups. When someone joins ISTE, they have the ability to join multiple groups based on their job and interests. As we work to grow both posters and playgrounds, I thought that this structure was something we could possibly work towards with NCTIES. At a large conference like ISTE, there are big names from major companies offering evening gatherings. I went to many - even participated in a second line from one event to the other. All arranged and sponsored by several EdTech companies. My favorite, however, took place one morning. Adobe had planned and arranged a photo walk around the Bourbon Street area that highlighted many historical locations. We ended our adventure at Café du Monde where we had the world famous beignets and café au lait. While not quite the historic level of New Orleans, NCTIES happens every year in downtown Raleigh. There are still some striking architecture and monuments - and food halls with a variety of unique food options. This type of walkabout would make a great pre-conference session! The vendor floor was hoppin' from the minute it opened. I was one in line waiting for the doors to open! We had a list of vendor booths we wanted to make sure we went to first thing! And as a bonus, because we were early - warm beignets! The vendor floor at ISTE is always another place of learning as companies often have a schedule of brief presentations by users of their products. Sometimes these are big EdTech names, and sometimes you find ordinary educators like me sharing their district's journey with a product. Perhaps the most significant part of the ISTE22 journey was the honor to be a part of the group attending from North Carolina. Our state is the FIRST to provide every educator an ISTE membership. The ISTE membership provides access to professional learning opportunities that align with those self-identified interests I mentioned earlier. I've been a member of ISTE for a few years because it is something I value. As a member, the email communication about upcoming events and opportunities to expand your knowledge and grow your professional learning network always gets opened - and I often sign up for some webinar or another. Even if I can't attend live, they are almost always recorded for you to watch when you can! I'm thankful to NCTIES for allowing me to attend as a representative of their organization. I'm thankful for the hard work of those at NCDPI who worked to make the ISTE membership available to all teachers. I look forward to seeing how NCTIES, as an ISTE affiliate, can further support teachers both with getting the most of their ISTE membership and as they create rigorous, engaging lessons and activities that utilize technology.
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AuthorJeannie Timken Archives
March 2023
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