Inspiration is a Powerful Tool

If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader. ~John Adams

Day three of ISTE 2018 has come to a close and the ending was incredibly inspiring. At the end of the day the Teacher Education Network celebrated examples of what is best about education. Awards were given to Liz Kolb (Excellence in Teaching), Mary Ledford (Video in Action) and to Rhonda Christiensen and Gerald Knezek (JDLTE Outstanding Research Paper). These awards epitomize the hard work and dedication to excellence educators around our world exhibit each and every day. They are inspiring to us all and I’m thankful for what they do.

Long lines continued to exist outside of many sessions usually associated with something Google, project-based learning or Apple. What these lines show is that there are topics of interest that educators believe have a positive impact in their classrooms and on their

students. An amazing group of Teacher Education Network leaders presented the “Top Ten Tools Every Teacher Needs” to a large group of attendees. Apps such a Adobe Spark, Seesaw, Flipgrid, and others were shared along with stories and examples of creative applications of the apps. Attendees left feeling reaffirmed in their use of apps and inspired to try “at least one new thing” based on what they learned today.

In the morning, a large group of about 90 higher education representatives met to discuss the pressing issues associated with preservice education. Some common threads emerged with all voicing the need for ideas that might somehow get peer faculty to embrace the need to regularly integrate technology into their curriculum and pedagogy. Another thread focused on the need for support from ISTE in providing regional professional development opportunities. ISTE leadership announced some exciting new programs including a new text for ed tech classes, “Edtech for the K-12 Classroom” that includes a free ISTE student membership. This was met with great excitement and honestly, I’ve never seen a text so perfectly organized and with easily digestible material. The discussions brought strangers together and gave them a shared voice. A community was created and all left uplifted and hopeful.

From a personal standpoint I have to write about something that inspires me. It’s the people of ISTE. There are people like Teacher Education Network President Torrey Trust who provides upbeat and energetic leadership to a PLN of over 4000 members. She inspired me to become engaged with TEN and my life changed. Those incredible people that make up the TEN leadership team give me energy and renew my passion for teaching. They are more than a community. They are family. The folks that are currently members and those who are becoming members of the TEN community remind me we are not alone. There are twenty-five thousand people at this conference who all believe in the difference teachers make in children’s lives. Finally, I’ll mention one person who I was overjoyed to see this evening. Everyone deserves a mentor who inspires those around them to be their very best. They inspire their mentees to strive to want to be like their mentor in some fashion. When you look at the quote this blog started with there is one person it describes. My mentor was Dr. Ann Thompson. She set me down the path my career has  followed by instilling a sense of passion and a belief that I could make a difference. Each of you surely can name that one person who inspired you as a professional. When you get the chance say, “thanks.” Because of them, WE are changing the world. So, Dr. Thompson, “Thanks” for believing.