ISTE Conference in San Antonio

We had about 14 people from our district go to ISTE in San Antonio this week.  I am still exhausted from it all.  This is a national educational technology conference.


We found out last minute that we were going to actually be able to take some of the classes.  We were originally scheduled to attend the floor only, which in this case, is more than enough in itself.  In the case of PreK, many of the floor products were better suited to me anyway.

Many of the classes are for PreK-12..this ALWAYS mean for 8-12!  I don't find a lot geared to the younger elementary, so that is the only slightly negative thing I have to say about ISTE.  With that said, a friend pointed out that Matt B. Gomez, a Kindergarten teacher/blogger, was there.  I do so wish I knew what classes he was attending beforehand to have a little more guidance on what to take.  This was my first year for ISTE and I would have loved to have a better run down on what I should have gone to.

But guess who I met?  A bunch of characters, but my all time favorite has GOT to be Moby from Brainpop!   I saw him last year as well at the TCEA convention in Austin.  I took the picture and immediately sent it back to my students.  They were just as excited as I was!


Many of the classes were on the Flipped Classroom.  Have you heard of that?  This was the first time I had been introduced to it.  Unfortunately, I was not able to attend any of the classes.  But, from what I can tell, it is letting the students watch a video of some sort at home (the lesson) and then when they come to school they apply what they've learned (the homework).  This way, they can ask questions, discuss the video, and help each other while at school when you have all the resources there with you.  Unlike when you are at home and possibly getting stuck on the concept.  It is very student led while the teacher answers questions and steers students to come up with their own answers.

One table lesson I went to was on QR codes, which I have been particularly interested in the last couple of years.  This is something my 4 & 5 year olds can do.  I am so excited to be making some lessons for next year and posting them online.  I'll have to update this when I get some made.  I love the flexibility of QRs..you can have them provide answers, ask questions, they can be audio, text, a link to a video, a picture, etc.  I can see a lot of student initiated centers and learning going on with QR. 


My mind was on overload the entire time!  There is just so much to take in.  I am very fortunate to have been able to go to ISTE and soak up all it had to offer.

I would love to hear any comments on the flipped classroom!  How you use it..what you like or don't like about it.