The Journey Begins

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton

The day is finally here. One of the dreams shared by a small group of people was to create something good, something helpful for preservice educators. So, this year at the 2018 ISTE conference this small group of dedicated and visionary professionals is hosting the very first “Un-Conference” titled, “Tips, Tools and Techniques for Redefining Teaching and Learning. Become an Educator of Impact!” The day is finally here and I’m so excited to be a part of this. I couldn’t wait to see the results of all the hard work this group, led by Randy Hansen, has accomplished. 

The event started with a steady flow of people entering the beautiful facility at National Louis University. The hum of conversation, laughter, renewal of old friendships and making new connections filled the room. The event is based on the Ed Camp format and promised to be an engaging event. We started with some idea generation focusing on what attendees wanted to learn about and shifted to a series of Ignite sessions about each of the tech standards. I’m always reminded that doing an Ignite presentation can be a nerve wracking experience (for the presenter!). One just needs to put yourself out there and give it a try. 

We learned about being leaders, being present, collaborating, and asking questions. We were asked to ponder and to consider who our tribe is? One of my favorite quotes was, “learning is creating not consumption.” What a wonderful challenge for not only our students, but for ourselves. If you haven’t experienced an event held in the Ed Camp format you’re missing out. This format allows for the event’s topics to be ground sourced allowing the event to specifically meet the needs of the attendees. A series of 12 topics were synthesized and divided into three time blocks. The discussions were active and the sharing of ideas and resources plentiful. This was truly a successful venture and I hope it continues and grows  in the coming years.

My day was headed to a more relaxing afternoon as Julie and I headed to Grant Park to enjoy the beautiful weather and some welcome sunshine. During this time I was periodically checking my phone as I was coordinating plans for members of the Teacher Education Network leadership team to have dinner together. We eventually headed back to the hotel and after arriving I realized I left my phone at the park. This was only a block away, but alas the phone was gone. I took the time to open Find My iPhone and put the phone into lost mode and posting my wife’s phone number. Then I waited.

The leadership team was up for some classic Chicago deep dish pizza and we were headed to Lou Malnati’s for some tasty slices of the good stuff. While we waited for everyone to arrive ?Julie’s phone rang. It was my iPhone. It had been found and after paying a worthwhile finders fee (or ransom…whatever you call it was worth it!) I had my iPhone once again. Back at the restaurant, eight of us gathered and thoroughly enjoyed each other’s company. We renewed friendships, made new acquaintances, and fell into comfortable conversation. The delicious pizza pie soon filed our stomachs and it was time to end the day with a walk back to the hotel. 

ISTE has begun. A gathering of thousands of educators from all over the world who come together to share, learn and grow. It’s an amazing feeling to be here with those I view as my “tribe.” I cherish these moments, the people who are in them and the process of re-charging my batteries with ideas that will change my students’ lives. Until tomorrow…