This weekend Philadelphia will be host to the ISTE Conference #ISTE2015. The city of brotherly love is a great place to host such an event. So many amazing places to visit. Delicious and interesting restaurants to test and revisit. I understand due to the development of my PLN and my #DEN-ln I have many wonderful friends in the #Edtech community. But there is nothing like walking along every few feet and being greeted by another familiar DEN or #Edtech face. Of course there are some I know by name only. But then there are those you must meet with a hug because we have so much shared #DENlove.
It is a great feeling that two of my colleagues from my district share this opportunity with me. It's nice to compare notes, share notes, collaborate on notes, and hum a few notes at the Karaokes together.
I woke up in the middle of the night one night, realizing that I had not yet booked our ISTE hotel. I scrambled to my computer to make the arrangements for the three of us. The hotel we had been looking at was now unavailable. So I looked for the next available reasonably priced location. The one we found sounded good in theory. Point 2 miles from the conference center is its location. Not 2 miles but point 2 miles. Click book quickly.
When we arrived you could easily miss it. The entrance is small. In fact, I circled more times than I would like to admit. But what a great location. Beautifully modern hotel inside. While waiting for my colleagues/friends to arrive, I waited outside to direct them to it and parking... I began to run into #DENfriends. The squeels, the cheers, the hugs. You feel like Norm in Cheers with all the "Neene's" as I come off an elevator. Love you guys.
Visited the conference center to get a lay of the land. Spotten an awesome light table that gave me an idea for next year at school. Love that the ideas are percolating for #OurSTEAMCafe even before the conference officially gets under way.
The Mobile Mega Share #ISTEMLN pre-conference was amazing. So many great ideas. So many wonderful contacts made. Virtual field trip ideas, raffles (no I didn't win), Copernicus work caddy (thank you Copernicus, http://www.copernicused.com/), Lego storytelling ideas (thank you Lego Education, http://education.lego.com/en-us/) and makerspace ideas like Foldify. Resources available at https://sites.google.com/site/istemobilelearningnetwork/iste-2015-conference/mobile-megashare-2015. Can't wait to digest it all later. But for now... sleep.
Are you enjoying #ISTE2015? Someone at one of the round table sessions said, "I feel so overwhelmed." I responded, "Then you are doing it right!" There is so much to see, absorb, learn, consider, and more. But the experience is well worth it. Looking forward to experiencing more tomorrow.
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