Essentially, I had a blast this past week in San Diego at the International Society of Technology in Education (ISTE) Conference. I learned so much and cannot wait for the Fall as a result. I love the feeling I had upon returning to Seattle. I am eager for the school year to start up and I honestly think there is nothing better than being excited and in love with your job.
I found myself feeling inspired and amazed countless times throughout the week. Surprised by the conference, yes, but the ideas, collaboration, and energy that the SAAS group brought to San Diego was the most awe-inspiring part of the entire experience. I felt nervous at first, having heard from past ISTE goers that the experience would be overwhelming. Some warned that it was entirely likely that I would come home in a drunk-like-tech-information-overload-haze and not implement anything I learned during those 5 days. Haters truly are gonna hate, am I right?
But despite my nerves and the exhorting words, the opposite effect occurred and the world of tech enthusiasts invited me in with glee and open robotic arms. Sure, the Expo room was shockingly enormous, the sessions were at times above my level of tech intelligence, and all jokes made at the club-like Google party were over my head, I eventually found my way. The "Newbie Crew," though missing a few key players, was in full swing. We laughed the entire time as we navigated the foreign world, negotiated sweet giveaways, swam late night in the hotel, and cracked jokes about anything and everything. We took ISTE with full force and realized at the end that the ideas/resources we will go into our second year at SAAS with are abundant and exciting. The memories of a great week together building friendships will bring a smile to my face for years to come, but the changes I am eager to implement in my classroom heavily outweigh any other benefits of the conference and trip to Cali.
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