I had the opportunity to attend, share, and connect at the recent ISTE (International Society of Technology Education) conference in San Antonio, Texas. The event is like none other, so to recap the experience and compare notes with peers, I've recapped my full conference experience: Sessions that I shared, events I attended, and great interactions I had during the conference.
------------------------PRE-CONFERENCE------------------------
Discussions w/ISTE on Student Voice
Before the conference began, I took advantage of the gathering of like-minded people to catch up with some of the amazing ISTE folks to talk about Augmented and Virtual Reality in education. I enjoyed chatting with these ladies and learned ISTE shares our interest and enthusiasm for empowering our students. It was refreshing to hear that #stuvoice (student voice) is going to continue to grow and thrive in our future classrooms.
Interested in learning more? Check out the discussion captured via Facebook Live.
Capturing Expectations + 360's I was also able to take a few moments to capture these 360 images (below) that bring the popular #NotAtISTE experience to a new level.
I also “captured” my personal thoughts about the upcoming conference via a Periscope. This can be a great activity to set personal expectations and get in the right mindset for a conference - try it sometime!
------------------------CONFERENCE KICKOFF------------------------
Ignite Session
If you’re not familiar with them, the ISTE Ignite sessions feature various presenters with only five minutes each to share their passions—take my word for it, it is intense.
The lineup of speakers were incredible, and I was pumped to share From AR & VR to MR: Mixed Reality in EDU (view my slides). While preparing to go on stage, the behind the scene interactions were filled with fear, enthusiasm, and more fear. The common theme of “what did we sign up for” was mixed with “I'm so honored to be here”.
This wasn’t my first Ignite. I also shared last year at ISTE in Colorado, but the format continues to challenge me to grow and stretch as a professional. I learn more about my weaknesses in those 5 minutes than I do all year long, but I can't argue that it's worth every minute!
To give you an idea of what it’s like, here’s the view from the stage after the session below. Click and drag around in the image below to view it in 360.
Face-to-Face Connections
I was excited to connect with many of my Twitter friends in person for the first time, including EdChange Global, #GlobalMakerDay,Edumatch, Vedchat, DigCitSummit, Hoonuit, and #ARVRinEDU friends!
Global Collaboration Poster Session: EdChange Global & Global Maker Day
EdChange Global and #GlobalMakerDay are passions of mine, and I was honored to share both with ISTE attendees via poster session. If you weren’t able to join me at the conference, I encourage you to get a first hand look joining #ECG2017 (formerly Edcamp Global) later this month, as well as #GlobalMakerDay in October! Both events are completely virtual and completely FREE.
------------------------MONDAY------------------------
Playing with Game Maker
After an incredible day of connecting on Sunday, I had the chance to “play” in my Game Maker session. While the attendees didn't quite know what they were in for, we had a great time creating a game during the session. We were challenged to constantly modify our plans and work as a team—a great reminder that growth should be a regular part of our vocabulary.
Take a “behind the scenes” look at my Game Maker session with this recording via Periscope, or check out my presentation.
#ARVRinEDU Meetup
I had a chance to connect face-to-face with my #ARVRinEDU friends on the future of Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality & Mixed Reality in education. If you’re interested in learning more about this fun group, check out Michael Fricano II’s 360* capture of our chat via Periscope.
ISTE Award Luncheon
I was honored to attend the ISTE awards lunch and witnessed Rachelle Dene Poth, Kim Lane, Fran Siracusa, and other amazing education leaders be awarded for being AWESOME! The highlight of the lunch, for me, was watching Sarah Thomas get recognized for a much deserved award, Making IT Happen. Check out the Periscope of her face and response to the award below and view some pictures from the lunch!
Exhibit Hall Fun
I found time in the intense schedule to make it to the vendor hall, and explored a variety of tools. One of my highlight stops was Microsoft Hololens with Lifeliqe. If you're wondering what edtech passion looks like, check out this Facebook Live by Lifeliqe—I'm excited about our current technology, but our future classrooms using mixed reality is a game changer. I couldn't get enough, and am beyond excited to see more Mixed Reality coming into our classrooms.
Hoonuit Booth
If you missed it, Atomic Learning is now Hoonuit. The booth shared the new logo and included both the Professional Development and Data offerings. I’m so honored to be part of the Hoonuit team and work with all our incredible Learning Ambassadors!
ISTE Global PLN Scavenger Hunt
I literally ran from the vendor hall to the PLN lounge only to find a massive crowd ready for the ISTE Global PLN Scavenger Hunt. Tara Linney and Amanda Rogers did a great job of putting together the questions, challenges, and activities for the evening, and I had a blast watching the teams search through San Antonio finally meeting us all in the last location, Rio Rio.
------------------------TUESDAY------------------------
ISTE PLN Breakfast
The day started early with the ISTE PLN breakfast where I was able to see many people recognized for their investment into education. I’m blown away with the talent represented at the conference.
Hoonuit Learning Ambassador Brunch
Following the breakfast, I was able to spend time with the Hoonuit Learning Ambassadors at brunch. This group is always full of energy, and a favorite to meet with. Ambassadors were able to join in discussions with the Hoonuit (formerly Atomic Learning) leadership team, including Paul Hesser, CEO; Clay Anderson, CFO; and Andrea Gronberg, VP of Marketing. Thanks to the all the amazing Ambassadors who were able to join us. Special thanks to Claudio Zavala who provided the photo. View the 360 image below.
AR/VR Playground
Another session I was excited to present, was the BYOD session Augmented and Virtual Reality Playground. The session consisted of several resources that included some Mixed Reality tools, including a MSQRD (Masquerade) featuring volunteer Kathy Schrock as Red of Angry Birds. You can access the full presentation here, as well as viewing Schrock’s video by clicking the image.
EdChange Global Session
Taking off my presenter hat, I attended Deb Atchison's session on EdChange Global, in which she and Matthew Lincheck shared their passions for global collaboration. The next event is coming July 28-29, and you can register here.
Virtual Reality TCEA Poster Session
I had the opportunity to share more of my passion for Augmented, Virtual and Mixed Reality at the TCEA poster session with Trixi DeRosa-Davis. We had the MergeVR Holocube out for others to play and even had the Zapbox Mini Golf setup but I’m waiting for my “official” controller to play. Check out this Periscope of the experience.
Flipgrid Dinner
The last event of the evening was hanging out with Flipgrid Ambassadors. Many of Hoonuit’s Ambassadors are also Flipgrid Ambassadors, and our #ManintheStreet Claudio Zavala and #KidintheStreet Curran were at ISTE using Flipgrid to ask what attendees have learned for #Hoonuit. Check out the responses here.
------------------------WEDNESDAY WRAP-UP------------------------
Global PLN Playground
The last day of ISTE is still somewhat of a blur. I was able to help run the Global PLN playground and bring in incredible people to share resources for our educators and classrooms. I recorded a Periscope during one of the hours and you can watch it here.
Just a few of the sessions included:
Jennifer Williams on Teaching the SDG’s
Claudio Zavala on Flipgrid Global Connections
Leigh Zeitz on Global Collaboration in Higher Education
Marialice Curran on the DigCitInstitute and Summits
Erin Dowd on Level Up Village LUV
Andi McNair on connecting with Industry Professionals in Nepris
Claire Cucchi and Alicia Moss on Buncee Buddies
Jessica with Pen Pal Schools
Tara Linney on Cultural Competence
------------------------SUMMARY------------------------
ISTE 2017 was an amazing experience, and I look forward to next year’s conference. I can’t wait to connect with more educators on these exciting edtech topics at #ISTE18! I also would like to do a special shout out to @DebAtchison and @DDicksonEdTech for all their help at the conference. If you have any questions or would like to connect with me further, reach me on Twitter at @JaimeDonally.