This week is the annual International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) conference in Chicago. I have worked this conference in the past and it an #edtech dream. As with any conference, there are so many offerings and events, that it can be overwhelming. However, if you attend with a goal in mind, you will leave with numerous ideas.
Sessions:
There are over 1200 sessions offered at ISTE. They range from coding, to apps, to software, to so much more. There are many #edtech presenters there that I follow on twitter. There are also over 600 exhibitors and over 2500 presenters. It is quite a sight!
When I filter the search tool to “music”, it comes up with 24 sessions, many of them poster sessions. When you click on a session, like this poster session titled, “Using Technology in Art and Music”, presented by Devon Calvert and Justin Kamp, the program shows the information of the session. It includes the devices being used, the topics, the apps, the grade levels, the focus areas, and the ISTE standards being addressed. I love how ISTE sets up the program so you know exactly what you are going to see and experience when you go to the session.
Following ISTE
For over a decade, ISTE has been wonderful about making their conference easy to follow, whether you can attend or not attend. When attending, there are the twitter feeds of #ISTE18 (official hashtag) and #IST2018. If one cannot attend, there are the feeds of #NotAtISTE18 #NotAtISTE2018. These latter feeds encourage you to submit your info for a chance to still win door prizes. In addition, the presenters (#PresentersOfISTE18) are listing their handouts on these feeds so that those who cannot attend, can still acquire the information.
When I cannot attend a conference, I find it very helpful to follow the presenters and the conference through social media. I look forward to learning a lot through the feeds this week.
