ISTE Bound!

Wowowowowowowow.

After years of asking, the planets have finally aligned and I am headed to ISTE this month!!! I am positively GIDDY. The technology grant our school received not only covers the conference, but also allows me to register for some paid workshops. SO COOL! On top of this, I’m hoping to catch up with some of my Twitter colleagues, whom I’ve only known virtually for years now. My husband refers to them as my imaginary friends, so I’ll have to be sure to take pictures!! 😉 I’m following #ISTE2015 on Twitter, and am excited to hopefully meet some of the educational leaders I’ve admired from afar for many years.

Now the overwhelming part… I’ve been searching the sessions (SO MANY), and trying to determine how best to use my time. I went to FETC last year, so I feel I’ve dipped my toe into the “mega-conference” waters. But ISTE… Wow.

So I have been reading “ISTE Tips” and other posts, trying to make sure I don’t miss anything. (Who knew EdTech Karaoke was a thing?!?)

Here’s the few things I’ve learned – If you’ve got other tips for me, please leave them in the comments below – I need them! Hope to see you there!

1. Read the information at the conference website – as much of it as you can. Learn how to click the star in the circle near the session title and “favorite” the sessions you are interested in. When you go to your dashboard, you can look at and print your favorites. Know that some sessions (like the BYOD ones) don’t cost extra, but have limited space, so be sure to register for them early!

2. Follow the Twitter hashtag #ISTE2015, find ISTE on Facebook – Gather as much information as possible! That’s how I learned about “Slice of ISTE“, a cool way that educators are giving back and helping to feed the homeless of Philadelphia.

3. CONNECT – ENGAGE. That’s what this is about! Join the conversation and get prepared before the conference. Make a name tag with your Twitter handle. Sign up to attend evening events. Plan to share by tweeting and blogging about the conference. Make the most of your experience!

Exhibit Hall by Andrea Christman, on Flickr
Creative Commons Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic License   by  Andrea Christman 

 

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