ISTE 2014

I've just returned from my first International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) conference. I've been to other national/international conferences but this one is by far the best!!!

Tell me more, you say…well...

I attended the first Keynote session with Ashley Judd.

I won two tickets to hear Levar Burton tell his story, sat in the second row--up close--and got a selfie with him!

He shared how his mother single-handedly raised him with the goal of providing the absolute best education possible for him every step of the way. Imagine: she put her children's needs first! It's a concept that is quickly disappearing these days…. He considers himself an educator, and he is. His work with Reading Rainbow--he took over the brand when it was taken off the air during the No Child Left Behind days--has proven to be some of the best work out there to promote the enjoyment and lifelong desire for reading.


I talked my way in to a dinner at the Beluga exhibit of Georgia Aquarium and listened to my PLN mentor, Eric Sheninger @principalspage, tell his story.

He shared how his school cannot afford a 1:1 digital device initiative, which was an eye-opener for me because he, his faculty, students, parents, and community have piled up mountains of accomplishments in as many areas as you could probably imagine. And they have proved it's not the number of devices a school has available; it's the mindset you have as you use them. "Give up control and let the kids have the freedom." Then stand back, 'cause the learning is going to blow up!


I was the last person to be allowed in the #YouMatter session with Twitter PLN, Todd Nesloney @TechNinjaTodd, and made new connections with Steve Mesler (U.S. Gold Medalist in Bobsled, btw, and now heads an organization which gets athletes and other experts to mentor children) and Brad Waid @TechBrad.


This "You Matter" message is the same as the one Dr. Tommy Bice, our state Superintendent, said 3 weeks ago at the JSU CORE Academy: develop a relationship with the students. Sounds simple, but if you are a teacher you know it is not. We let too many other pressures--important, yes--get in the way of the most important…our personal relationship with our students. This connection is not one of friendship. It is one of trust. When students trust you they will risk failure. But children won't trust people they don't know. After all, what do we teach them from the time they can walk and talk? DON'T TRUST STRANGERS!

All this in just the first two days of the conference, and there's more to come….