Back From Denver

I spent part of last week in Denver at the International Society of Technology in Education (ISTE) conference. Of all of the conferences I have ever been to, this was the best. It was the best Professinal Development I could ever ask for in regards to technology. I met teachers from all over the country and the world and we shared some interesting ideas about tech integration and professional development.

The one thing that I walked away with was the fact that, like myself, there were many teachers that were there because they wanted to be there. They were not sent their by their district, they found the conference and asked the district to if they would send them. Technology in education is something that needs to be teacher driven and building/district supported. That is the only true to grow and expand technology in the classroom. The connections I've made over the past 6 months on Twitter and the various blogs and Nings I'm part of will have a major impact on my methodology this upcoming school year.

I have a few blog posts I'm linking to for your consideration. They cover various aspects of the conference and technology in schools. Take some time and consider what they mean to your classroom or building. Now is the time to get on board and be innovators instead of playing catch up a few years from now. I hope your summer is going very well and you are resting up for another exciting school year. Please, please leave a comment with your thoughts on this post and others. Without your input, we will never know what direction to head.

Here is The ISTE Ning if you are curious as to what ISTE is. 

Here are a few posts from me during and after the conference.


A Blogger's  Cafe In My Classroom?

Man in the Mirror

Classroom Creativity

So, Now What?

Mary Beth Hertz - She was recognized as an Emerging Leader by the ISTE at the conference and I had a chance to hang out with her and talk for a bit. She is very smart and has some great ideas about technology in the classroom. Here are a couple of posts from her that you should read. Follow her on Twitter at @mbteach

Dissecting the 21st Century Teacher

Is ISTE Still Relevant to Young Educators?

This post is by George Couros who is a principal at K-12 program in Alberta, Canada. He has some interesting insight into technology in the classroom for administrators. If you are an admin or are working on your Masters in Administration, you should check out the post below and his other posts. If you are still not on Twitter, sign up and follow him at @Gcouros.

An Open Letter o School Administrators


Here is a great set of videos from Buzz Garwood about Personal Learning Networks (PLNs). You should watch it because it has me in it, but more importantly it further explains the value of Social Media (Twitter, Facebook, etc) to teachers. I'm in the one at the bottom of the group of videos.




Kyle Pace is an Instructional Technology Specialist and is active on Twitter. He moderates the US version of #edchat. You can follow him @KylePace. An excellent post on PLNs and what they can do for teachers.

The People of a PLN

Kristina Peter's post on the Digital Generation is a must read. Our students do not learn the same way we did in school Here are some great notes she took during an ISTE Conference Session that explain this generations learns and what we can do to help them.

Those are just a few of the posts from people that I had so much fun meeting and sharing ideas. I look forward to meeting these teachers at other conferences and continuing to grow and push the limits of technology in  my classrooms and others. Please leave me a comment if you have any ideas about PLNs, Twitter, ISE, etc.

Thanks and as always,

- Give it a try!