ISTE 2019...The joy of missing out!

WARNING:  Long post and full of pictures!

Annnnnd that's a wrap!  #ISTE19 is over and all I can say is WOW!

I have attended ISTE every year since the last time it was in Atlanta (6 years....I think!) and I have to say that this was my FAVORITE ISTE yet!  For soooo many reasons!  Like several of my other edtech friends, Sarah Thomas and Mari Venturino, I created a schedule of all of the events that I COULD attend if I wasn't too tired, running myself too thin, or just had the time to do so.  Looking at this schedule before landing in Philly was definitely overwhelming.  I had a lot of events that overlapped or started as soon as another ended.  The point is, is that I gave myself options and choices.  In the past, I ran myself crazy trying to get to EVERYTHING to see EVERYONE!  Not this year.  I must admit that there are people that I am super sad that I didn't get to see and hug and will make it a point to connect with them next year. ISTE is just so HUGE that it's impossible to see and do everything.  Sadly, I also missed what would have been my first Google Innovator Energizer.  This event always happens the day before ISTE starts.  That day also happened to be my youngest son's birthday so being a mom had to trump being an Innovator.  I hope to be there next year!

I have waited to create this blog post as I have really had to process what happened!  LOL!  I think the best way for me to recap this amazing experience is to outline it by each day.  Here's my #ISTE18 blog!

Sunday

Chilling in first class!  

ISTE started off on a high for me!  My flight going to Philadelphia was overbooked and I was going to have to give up my seat.  At the last minute, they got me on the flight but moved me to FIRST CLASS!  This was my first time riding in first class and I loved every minute of it!  And of course I had to document it with a picture!  LOL

Our Voice Academy
Meet Up!

We dropped our bags off at the hotel and walked to the convention center to get checked in and get a lay of the land.  The convention center was HUGE!  There was a ton of walking that occurred over the week!  As a matter of fact, over the course of the conference, I walked the equivalent to a marathon!  After getting situated, I attended the Our Voice Academy (OVA) meetup.  It was refreshing to be around so many edtech educators of color that are working to share their voices in the edtech space.  The third cohort of OVA members (I am in the first cohort) was just announced and I got to meet so many of them!  I am excited to see how they take advantage of the opportunity as they begin to share their voices!

Quin (my Google
Innovator
Mentor) and I.

While waiting on the shuttle to go back to the hotel to get ready for all of the edtech meetups, I saw my Google Innovator mentor walking past the shuttle!  This was a HUGE highlight for me as this was our first time meeting in person!  I hopped off the shuttle and yelled, "QUIN!"  It was him!  We hugged and caught up for a few minutes!  Quin is JUST as awesome in person as he is over email and Google Hangouts and it was a pleasure to meet him in person and hug his neck!

After leaving the OVA meet up, I headed to the Microsoft in Education Expert (MIEE) meetup.  So many of my edtech friends were honored with some pretty darn amazing accolades!  At the end of the awards portion, they played a video of images and clips of all of the Microsoft and Minecraft trainings that have taken place over the course of the year and it was exciting to see how many educators and students that the MIEE community has touched!  We are a strong and mighty group!

Monday

Working at the
Microsoft Booth.

I got the opportunity to work at the zSpace booth and the Microsoft in Education booth and share the goodness of both with the tons of educators that walked by to check them out!  I LOVED sharing how we use these resources with our students and teachers in Atlanta Public Schools.  It was cool to learn from the educators that I interacted with and hear how they use these resources as well.

That's the cool thing about all of the technology that's out there.  All it is is a tool!  I always scream from the rooftop that it's simply a vehicle to deliver the content!  That's it!  You could have 100 different educators using the same technology resource and they could all be using it 100 different ways!  That's why it's absolutely critical that educators engage in and have a meaningful PLN (professional learning network)!  There's sooooo much to learn from one another!

My colleagues and I with the team at
@PlayCraftLearn!

My colleagues and I got to meet with the team at MinecraftEDU to talk about all things Minecraft!  We got to hear about some updates and we also got to share with them all of the awesome things we do with Minecraft in Atlanta!  Again, we were asked what support we needed and what we'd like to see.  I love that they listen!  If you think Minecraft is just a block building game, you are HIGHLY mistaken!  There are TONS of educational resources, lessons, etc for ALL content areas built right into Minecraft!

I had about 30 minutes to run over to the Google Certified Trainer/Innovator meet up before heading to the next event!  And although I told myself I didn't want to drive myself crazy getting to everything, it was important to me to attend this event as it was not only my first attending as an Innovator, but it was a chance for me to see and hug a lot of people that I hadn't had a chance to see yet!  There are a ton of updates coming from Google for Education!  One of the updates that I'm most excited about is the NEW Google Student Certification that is coming!  Students will now be able to take an exam (similar to the Level 1 and Level 2 exams that we take to show our mastery of the Google tools) and earn a certification that they can then place on their resumes!

Delivering my "mic drop" at
Flilpgrid LIVE!

Then it was time for FLIPGRID LIVE!  What an AMAZING experience!  (Side note....how many times can I say amazing in this blog post?  LOL)  I was selected, along with 8 other educators to deliver a 1 minute "mic drop" about my "why" to 1,000 educators!  This was definitely the highlight of ISTE this year!  See the video below for my "mic drop."  My coworkers and I decided to wear tutus and our "Techies in Tutus" shirts!  It was too cute!  During Flipgrid LIVE, there were TONS of updates announced!  My favorite was the AR component!  This is going to be a game changer when students return back to school!  To be able to bring the hard work of students to life in a special way....I can't wait!  I can't believe how many other edtech tools are now integrated with Flipgrid!  It was like there was update after update after update announced!  I don't know how they're going to top it next year!  Read all about the evening on the FLIPGRID blog! 

Tuesday

Tuesday morning consisted of a few meetings with different vendors.  We were able to share how we use their resources in Atlanta and also make some suggestions for what we'd like to see in the future.  I love that edtech companies are so willing to listen to their end users and actually incorporate the feedback they receive to make their products better!

Sharing how to use Google
Drawings to assess students
at the Google Playground.

I had the opportunity to share my love for Google Drawings and how to use them to assess students at the Google Playground that afternoon!  I shared how I use them and provided a ton of resources with them.  I also got to listen to the educators that stopped by my table and learn a few tips and tricks from them as well! Click here to access the resources that all of the presenters shared during their playground sessions!  I love that educators are so willing to share what they do with others!

Mike Tholfsen (One Note
Avenger!)  and I being
photobombed by Toney
Jackson
(@herhymeswithme)

My friends at Microsoft EDU hosted another awesome Hack the Classroom Event!  We go to hear about a few updates and then heard from 5 different educators about their experiences incorporating the Microsoft Learning Tools (which compare to no other) into their teaching practices!  The lives of students are literally being changed because of these learning tools!  Students are learning how to speak English as a second language.  I was inspired (as always) by Toney Jackson who shared the following message with us, "Your students are filled with potential they may never know about.  Love your students.  Dig into the core FIRST!  If we don't care, what's the purpose?  The imprint you leave on your students is a fossil and not a footprint."  I love the family that Microsoft EDU creates with their team along with the educators that decide to apply to be Microsoft in Education Experts.  They listed to the suggestions of educators and make updates to their amazing products based on those suggestions.  Being able to attend Hack the Classroom in person is always a treat!

Wednesday

On Wednesday morning, I headed back to the convention center to make a few more connections and network with a few more people!  It was my goal this year to find some great things that we might be able to use in Atlanta and I think I found some goodies!  I will share all of those in another post!  Once the conference was over, my colleagues and I decided to take a bus tour of historic Philadelphia.  I am NOT a social studies person at all but the architecture and the stories behind the buildings were so intriguing!  Here are a few pics from the tour!

Then it was time to come home!

I had such an amazing time with old friends and new ones!  Here are some of the pics that I snapped with new and old friends!

It was so refreshing to NOT have to be anywhere in particular!  I made it a point to spend a lot of time in the exhibition hall checking out new vendors and learning all about what they had to offer along with visiting vendors that I'm already familiar with to find out about all of the updates they were making to their tools!

As busy as I was, there was a lot that I missed.  And I'm okay with that.  There was definitely a joy in missing out.  Not forcing myself to be at events that would cause me to run from one to another.  I had an enjoyable time and learned a lot!  I am rejuvenated to begin the 2019-2020 school year!  Being around passionate educators that just want the best for their teachers and students has a way of energizing you.  Listening to others has a way of showing you the possibilities.  There is so much to learn.  There are so many amazing people out there.  I can't wait for #ISTE20!

Regardless if you were there or not, be sure to follow the hashtags #ISTE #ISTE19 #ISTE2019 #notatiste #notatiste19 #notatiste2019 to see what happened!

So there you have it!  What were your ISTE takeaways this year?

Until next time, Philly!

ISTE 2018....that's a wrap!!!

Well...#ISTE18 is officially over and I, along with my brain, legs and feet are TIRED!!!!!  I am sitting in the lobby of the hotel, waiting to check out and thought I'd jot down my highlights from this amazing conference!  As I'm reflecting, this post may be a little all over the place, so bear with me!  Update....I am now home, unpacked and finishing this post!  😀

First, Chicago is BEAUTIFUL!  This is my third time visiting The Windy City, The Second City, whatever you want to call it, but this was definitely my favorite visit!  Probably because of all of the like minded individuals that I was surrounded by while I was here!

ISTE is a time to connect with all of your ed tech colleagues and friends from around the WORLD!  While here, I was able to connect with colleagues from Australia, Canada, and all across the United States.

So....here are SOME of my takeaways:

1. I am UBER inspired to REALLY learn how to sketch note, like for real this time, by listening and being around Sylvia Duckworth (@sylviaduckworth) and Wanda Terral (@wterral)!  Wanda sketched the opening keynote and at the time that I'm typing this, she has over 490 retweets and 966 likes on this ONE post!  She was so excited that this post had such a far reach!  And it's REALLY a well deserved honor for her!  If you know Wanda like I know Wanda, she pours her whole heart into all of her sketches!  Congratulations, Wanda!
2. There are some new updates coming to Google for Education and I am so excited to dive into them and share them with my team in Atlanta Public Schools!  Pretty soon you will be able to keep your students from being distracted during a quiz by locking quizzes in Google Forms.  You'll be able to create quizzes directly in your Google Classrooms.  You will also be getting some more organization features within Google Classroom.  I might be the most excited about that one!  The Training Center is getting an update and will be called the Teacher Center.  There are a ton more updates coming, so get ready!  Read more about them here:  https://blog.google/outreach-initiatives/education/live-iste-12-google-education-launches-save-time-creativity/
3. Microsoft for Education is rocking and rolling with new and updated accessibility features across their apps including but not limited to Sway and One Note!  If you have not checked these out, you definitely need to.  They bring learning to the levels of all of our students and make reading and fluency so much easier!  You are able to make your screens larger, and brighter.  There is a narrator built in that can read the text to you. It will highlight the text as it reads. It can break down the syllables so as you are reading, it makes the words more digestible.  These tools make sure that all students are able to learn, the way that they need to each and every day! 
4. In case you have been living under a rock and haven't heard....my AMAZING friends at Flipgrid talked to my AMAZING friends at Microsoft and now FLIPGRID IS FREE FOR ALL EDUCATORS!!!!   This is the most AMAZING news ever!!!!!  Now everyone gets to take advantage of unlimited grids and not be confined to recording limits, etc!  If you're not yet using Flipgrid, let THIS be the year that you dive in! Check it out here:  www.flipgrid.com
   
5. zSpace has announced that they are releasing a NEW more portable augmented reality device!  They are going to release AR laptops!!!  Say what!?!?!?  Our district will be the FIRST district in the world to get their hands on them and we are SUPER excited about it!  Check out the Forbes article announcing it's release, including thoughts from my executive director, Dr. Aleigha Henderson Rosser here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/charliefink/2018/06/25/the-biggest-ar-company-youve-never-heard-of/#70b4703c282a
6. The power of a tweet should NEVER be underestimated!  In line with Wanda's AMAZING tweet-feat, I snapped a picture during a presentation by Laura Bradley (@LAMBRADLEY) while she presented about coding at the EdTechTeam booth.  It was a quote by Jamie Casap and boy has it traveled!  At the time that I'm typing this, it has 221 retweets and 478 likes with a reach of 32,365 impressions!  The picture is below!  I think that it's the most genius thing that we can do for our students to dive into inquiry (Trevor, see what I did there?) and REALLY work towards solving real world problems THROUGH learning the content. 
   
7. I met sooooo many AMAZING people this year!  This is going to be a LOT of "I met" so hang on!  I met the actual creator of Google Docs!  I met Captain Kindness (who you TOTALLY need to follow through her father's Twitter account @BrianRSmithSr).  I FINALLY met Claudio Zavala Jr from #singasong!  I met a lot of my Innovator #LAX18 peeps!  Glad to say that I'll actually go into the experience in a few weeks knowing some people!  I met Heather Dowd from EdTechTeam, who I've been working with and Google Hang-outing with for months regarding Applied Digital Skills!  She is much taller in person!  😀 I met THE Eric Curts from controlaltachieve.com, and on his birthday I might add!  If you haven't checked out his blog, you NEED to!  Trust me!  Mark Wagner, the CEO of EdTechTeam was amazing!  He even autographed a copy of his new book, More Now, for me!  I can't wait to dive into it!  THE Dee Lanier was just as awesome in person as he is on the internet!  There are a TON more people that I met!  And of course I took pictures with them all!  There is a link to my #ISTE18 photo album at the end of this blog!
8. It was TOTALLY inspiring to see so many ed tech people of color at ISTE this year!  One of Microsoft's Hack the Classroom keynotes was a teacher from the DC area who looked just like me!  She's doing phenomenal things with her elementary students in getting them to read using accessibility tools.  Check her out at @meryljgravey !  There were students of color presenting and checking out the exhibit hall!  My Our Voice Academy cohort members (new and old) where everywhere!  We had an awesome meet up and go to chat with Jennie and her bump! 
   
   And to top it off, my friend, Ken Shelton (@k_shelton) received the 2018 Digital Equity Excellence Award from the Digital Equity Network!  He is sooooo deserving of this honor!  He lives, breathes, and eats digital equity for ALL students, EVERY day!  I think it's soooo important for us to share these types of success stories with our students of color that need inspiration to continue to dream and know that ALL things are possible!
   
9. It is absolutely IMPOSSIBLE to do and see EVERYTHING!  While I did get lay eyes on a lot of my edtech peeps from Google, Microsoft, EdTechTeam, Our Voice Academy, and my Innovator #LAX18 cohort, scrolling through Twitter, I realize that there are a LOT of people that I didn't get to see and there are some awesome sessions that I didn't get to attend.  While scrolling through, I definitely felt the FOMO, but what I've come to realize is that there is value in the time that I spent with those that I did see as well as valuable takeaways from the sessions that I did get to attend.  I was EXACTLY where I needed to be and I was with who I needed to be with!
10. One of the moments that stuck out to me was at Hack the Classroom and included Toney @herhymeswithme (from the Surface commercials currently airing on TV).  I tweeted (of course I did) during his portion of this event.  He stated that EVERY student deserves to be heard and none of their voices deserves to be silenced!  Students should wander AND wonder!  But what REALLY got me was when he said that students are what stands in between what currently is and what COULD BE!  Let that sink in....I'll leave you with that!

And of course, I had to get my hands on the original Garrett's Popcorn and some Chicago deep dish pizza from Giordanos!  Delicious!!!!

Regardless if you were in Chicago this week or not, be sure to follow the hashtags, #ISTE18, #ISTE2018, #notatiste, and #notatiste18 to learn all about the amazing things that happened!

Here's a link to my Google Photo Album with all of my #ISTE18 fun!!!
https://photos.app.goo.gl/zH5LdNgmX33sZ4QRA

I look forward to ISTE being back in Philadelphia again next year and maybe I'll even run up the infamous ROCKY steps while I'm there!

After flight delays due to rain, we finally made it back home to Atlanta!  Chicago was amazing and the learning and networking was phenomenal!  Thanks to all that made attending ISTE 18 such an awesome experience!  Adios, Chicago!

What was your favorite part about attending ISTE this year?  What were your biggest takeaways?

#ISTE2018 Bound???

It's June....and as a technology educator, you know what that means!!!  It's time for ISTE 2018!!!  ISTE is the LARGEST international technology conference in the world and brings in hundreds of thousands of educators from all over the place!  This year, ISTE will be located in Chicago, IL.

I remember attending my very first ISTE when it was located in Atlanta, GA (my backyard) many years ago!  Since then, it has been in Philadelphia, Denver, and San Antonio.  That first year was UBERLY (yes that's a word!) overwhelming!  I remember going into the exhibit hall and being taken back at how many vendors were there, and even more so, how many attendees were there to visit those vendors!  I didn't know which sessions to attend.  I didn't know which presenters I wanted to see.  It was definitely a LOT to take in!  Sooooo, with all of the hype about ISTE in a few short weeks, I thought about putting together a quick blog post with my top 10 tips that I THINK will make you have a fantastic experience!

1. WEAR COMFORTABLE SHOES!!!!!  This is the most important ISTE tip that I can give you!  You will do a LOT of walking around the exhibit hall, to and from sessions, to breakfasts, lunches and dinners, etc!  Break them in NOW while you still have a few weeks to put some miles on them!  Trust me on this one!  I learned this valuable lesson after it was hosted in Atlanta.  Whew!
2. Wear comfortable clothes!  You will see people dressed SUPER DUPER comfy all the way to business professional.  Find where you fit in the mix and dress accordingly.  Some of the rooms can get a little chilly so you may want to bring a sweater or cardigan, just in case.
3. Do your research!  Research the keynote speakers so you know what to expect.  The opening keynote speaker is David Eagleman.  Read all about him here.  Go online BEFORE You get there and pick out some sessions that you want to attend.  Categorize them by: "must attend" and "would like to attend."  You will be exhausted as you are walking throughout the conference and may decide that you want sit and chat with some new friends instead of attending a session.  Or perhaps you want to spend some more time in the exhibit hall rather than attend a session.  Leave your options open!
4. Meet people!  Don't be afraid to talk to people.  Talk to the people sitting next to you in your sessions.  Talk to those people that you bump into in the exhibit hall.  Make connections!  I've met some AMAZING people at ISTE!  What's even better is when you FINALLY meet someone that you've been stalking, I mean following on Twitter for a while!  You will definitely have some fan girl/boy moments while you're there! 
5. Explore the exhibit hall.  I have spent a TON of time in the exhibit halls at ISTE and this is where I've gained a lot of the PL from!  It's great to meet the people behind the products and really get to pick their brains about how to use different tech tools in different and innovative ways.  Be sure to check out the vendors that you both know about already and ones that may be new to you.  There are a PLETHORA (my favorite SAT word) of awesome companies that you have no idea even existed.  So be sure to schedule time in your day to check them all out!
6. Bring your business cards.  You will meet a ton of people and will want to exchange contact information quickly.  Besides following each other on Twitter, you also want to bring your business cards with you to quickly exchange your information.  Be sure to carry a pen with you and jot down notes on the back of cards that people give to you so you are able to make the connection back to that person when you get back home.  QUICK TIP: By the way, in your registration bag, you will get a booklet of entry cards to enter various giveaways in the exhibit hall.  Save the time of filling them out by bringing some tape or a mini stapler and attaching your business card to the entry forms.  This is a TOTAL time saver and you can thank me later for this quick tip!  😀
7. Save some space in your luggage for all of the goodies you'll get!  You will walk away with tshirts, posters, books, hand sanitizers, lip balms, manipulatives, brochures, pamphlets, etc.  You'll want to have somewhere to stash all of that to get it back home.  So, save a little room in your suitcase for all that you'll be bringing back with you! QUICK TIP: You may want to make your way to a Garrett's Popcorn and get you a few bags of the Chicago Mix (caramel and cheese popcorn) to bring back home with you.  I may or may not have brought back an ENTIRE suitcase full of this popcorn the last time I was in Chicago...just sayin'!
8. Take it all in.  Again, you will be 100% totally overwhelmed when you are at ISTE and once you leave.  Take the time to take it all in!  You can't believe how many educators across the world WISH they had the opportunity to attend this amazing experience!  Guess what??  You get to go!!!  So take it all in and be ready to share the knowledge that you gain while you're there!  Don't keep all of the goodness to yourself.  Pass it along!  Each one, teach one!
9. Don't try to do EVERYTHING once you get back to your schools.  Do not, and I repeat, DO NOT attempt to try to come home after ISTE and implement EVERYTHING that you learn.  Pick a few things to become an expert in and perfect those!  You can't be a master at all of the things!
10. Decompress on the way home and in the days to come.  Whew!  You will leave ISTE feeling like a superstar that can and will want implement each and EVERY idea that you have stumbled across in Chicago!  Once you leave ISTE, take the time to decompress and marinate on all the new knowledge that you gain while you're there.  This is an important step and will help you in deciding what you want implement and what sounded good in the moment.  You may get home and realize that something that you were super excited about while you were at ISTE, won't work, or perhaps isn't the right fit for your classroom or your teachers.  Breathe. Review your notes. And THEN figure out your next steps!  

So there you have it.  My top 10 tips for a newbie attending ISTE.  I can't wait to hear all about your experiences while you're there!  And if you see me there, say hi!  I'd love to meet you!  What are you most looking forward to while at ISTE?  Safe travels!

Bye 2017....Hello 2018!

LONG POST ALERT!!!

Today is January 1, 2018 and as I sit here enjoying the last days of the holiday break, preparing and planning of the new year, I can't help but to reflect on 2017 and all that it brought!  At the end of 2016, I declared that my #oneword for 2017 would be "INTENT."  I chose this word based upon witnessing my twin brother's recovery from a horrific car accident that left him having to learn how to breathe, eat and talk all over again.  He's still learning how to walk.  His experience has reiterated to me the importance of living with intent and not taking any second of any day for granted.  I can truly say, that I lived 2017 with intent.  I stepped out of my comfort zone, stepped out on faith, and conquered a lot of fears!


Here are a few of the things that I conquered in 2017, fears that I overcame, experiences that brought me joy, and things that I'm proud of!

Tablet2Read
At work, we are in the middle of providing all of our first grade students with a tablet that they will be able to take home as a means of increasing literacy and providing remediation opportunities.  This year, I created the handbook for this project and was a part of the successful launch and pilot of the project.  To see the looks of the children's faces when they received their tablets was so fulfilling!  I helped leading the efforts in creating the project's name, the logo, choosing the applications, the device, and created the training plan for implementation.  We are getting ready to launch phase 2 and I'm so excited!  We also presented about this project at #GAETC this year!

Central Office "Tech Talk Series"
This was fun!  I was able to successfully launch a series of educational technology trainings for our central office staff!  My colleagues and I created and facilitated 3 sessions, 1 each month in the Spring (February, March and April) that allowed for colleagues in our central office to come and learn what is going on in the schools.  We led sessions on Google, Microsoft and other Web 2.0 tools that would help make their work days easier!  They were blown away at the ability to collaborate virtually and as a result, Google an Microsoft use have skyrocketed in our district!

Classy Graphics
Scrolling through Twitter one day, and maaaayyybeeee stalking Tony Vincent's feed, I saw that he was going to be hosting a class called Classy Graphics.  It was a 6 week course that he facilitated, created content and videos for, and taught it's participants how to create graphics that were sure to be eye catching!  I signed up and LOVED every second of it!  I looked forward to the new videos and assignments releasing every week and couldn't wait to try my hands at what he was teaching!  He is now going to release a Classy Videos course that I will DEFINITELY be signing up for and I can't wait.  If you see this offered, trust me, you NEED to do this!!

Started This Blog and created my LLC
This was a HUGE step out of my comfort zone moment for me!  Not only did I get inspired to start my own educational technology company that allows me to share my love of all things edtech with others, but I started this blog and have had some AMAZING traffic to it!  I am so humbled and blown away that so many of you care to read what I have to say!  I love learning and sharing with others so this is a win win for me!


Google Certified Trainer
A couple of years ago, Chris Craft came and trained our staff on all things Google before our district implemented Google Apps for Education.  He inspired to me to delve deeper into the world of Google and as a result I completed the requirements to become a Google Certified Trainer!  The knowledge and experiences that have come along as a result of this have been so rewarding!

Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert
This is my second year as an MIEExpert and I have LOVED every minute of it!  My district is a Google and Microsoft district so I have to be proficient in both!  Being an MIEE has been so amazing and the educators that I am fortunate enough to interact with make me a better educator!  The number of MIEEs in the state of Georgia have significantly grown this year and that just means that there are more people to learn from and collaborate with!

Twitter
I think I learn more from Twitter than I do anywhere else!  I have loved virtually meeting (and then meeting in real life) so many of my edtech heroes.  Being active on Twitter is the BEST way to grown your professional learning network.  There is soooo much professional development available out there on Twitter!  All you need to do is get involved!  I've loved taking part in different Twitter chats (ie. #alphasquirrels, #msftedu, etc) and learning from others all around the world!

ISTE
This was by far the BEST ISTE experience that I've ever had!!  I met soooo many amazing educators and got to interact with some really really smart people!  This was the first year that I was able to attend the Google Certified Trainer Meet-Up, the Alpha Squirrels Meet-Up, and the Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert Meet-Up!  San Antonio was beautiful, hot, but beautiful!  Seeing Jennie Magiera deliver the keynote was so inspirational!  Who knew that I'd meet her later in the year??

EdTechTeam Virtual Summit
Some how I was asked if I'd be interested in participating in the first Virtual Summit held by EdTechTeam.  Uhhhh, yeah!!!  I've blogged about this experience so won't relive it here, but it was amazing!  I was able present alongside some of the edtech people that I've looked up to and fangirled on Twitter over!  Definitely a highlight of 2017!

Our Voice Academy
BEST experience of 2017!  I'm STILL on a high from this experience!  Again, I've blogged about this a few times so you can read all about my experience there.  Being able to learn from 19 other minority ed tech leaders for a weekend in Minnesota was mind blowing!  I am so excited to use what I learned during this Academy in the future to help me continue to share my story and amplify my voice.  The main takeaway from OVA was that we all have a voice that deserves to be heard!

Looking forward to 2018
There is sooooo much that I'm looking forward to in 2018!  The #oneword that I have chosen for 2018 is "BE." I want to be present, be mindful, be intentional, be kind, and be impactful, just to name a few.

Professionally, there are a lot of ideas that I have for my school district that I can't wait to share with our teachers and students!  Some of these include:

• Launching the first Google Bootcamp in our District!
• Creating a district wide instructional technology podcast.
• Creating a cohort of edtech superhero educators!!!
• Launching the next phase of Tablet2Read.
• Launching the second year of our Central Office Tech and Talk Series.

Personally, I am looking forward to a lot as well!  Whether or not I will accomplish all of this is left to be determined, however these are SOME of the things that I want to do/accomplish in 2018.  I post these as a means of accountability for myself and I figure that once I put it out there, I don't have a choice, but to do it!  So, hold me accountable!

• Continue growing my PLN on Twitter, learning from amazing ed tech educators!
• Continue blogging, more often.
• Spotlight Speak with EdTechTeam.
• Deliver at least ONE keynote this year.
• Sign up for and take Classy Videos by Tony Vincent.
• Renew my Google Certified Trainer status.
• Renew my Microsoft Innovative Educator and Surface Expert status.
• Apply for the Google Innovator program.
• Being active with the second cohort of Our Voice Academy.
• FINISH MY DISSERTATION and FINALLY become Dr. Natasha Rachell!!!!
• Attend ISTE.
• Get healthier: eat better, exercise, drink more water, meditate.
• Continue on my spiritual journey.
• More to come.....

What accomplishments are you most proud of from 2017?  What's your #oneword for 2018?  What are you most looking forward to in 2018?  Write it down and find an accountability partner!  You can do whatever you set your mind to!

Courageous Edventures Challenge - Day 2

Today's #couraeousedventures challenge was to commit to a conference.  Jennie asks that we research different educational technology conferences and commit to attending at least one.  Once we have selected that conference, we are asked to blog about why we chose that specific conference and what we wish to learn as a result. 

Every year, edSurge puts out a visual wheel of the top K-12 Education Technology Conferences.  Here is a link to the wheel.

I print this wheel off every year and post it up in my office for a few reasons:

1. To see the latest and greatest conferences that are out there to attend.
2. As a reminder to possibly present at at least one of these conferences.
3. As a reminder to hop on Twitter during these conferences to see what's going on.

Every year I make it a point to attend the Georgia Educational Technology Conference (GaETC) and the International Society for Technology Education (ISTE) Conference.  I have presented at GaETC a few times as well as in the Exhibit Hall at ISTE.  I absolutely love the energy of the passionate educators at each of these conferences.  ISTE presents a global perspective of instructional technology as there are presenters and attendees from all across the world.  These 2 conferences are no brainers for me!  They happen every year!  I have toyed around with the idea of not attending ISTE and going to FeTC instead or Miami Device, but I always come back to ISTE.  There really is no other conference out there that brings like minded, techie people together!  

Hopefully, I will be attending Texas Computer Education Association (TCEA) this year as I have been accepted to present on a panel with some of my fellow Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert colleagues!  This presents an amazing opportunity to share the story of how 2 districts have been able to partner together and become educational technology partners.  

This challenge did indeed force me to take a look at different conferences that are out there, but honestly, these 2 conferences provide me with something new each and every year!   I hope to add TCEA to this list of conferences this year.

Which conferences do you attend every year?  What do you get out of them?