In a previous blog post of mine, What Makes ISTE Different, I mentioned that I was going to have a meeting with past ISTE conference attendees at our school and have them give “feedback to feedforward” to the two #newbies I am bringing with me this year. I expected the conversation to be engaging and interesting, but it was so much more! It was such an inspiring moment to hear these three teachers explain how going to ISTE’s conference has actually changed the type of teachers they are! What a powerful statement!

Contribute your ideas to the second edition of Web 2.0 How-To for Educators.

Have you been using web 2.0 tools and mobile technology in your classroom? ISTE authors Gwen Solomon and Lynne Schrum want your innovative ideas for the eagerly anticipated second edition of their bestselling ISTE book, Web 2.0 How-To for Educators!

Solomon and Schrum are seeking real-life examples of web 2.0 and mobile technology use in the classroom to feature in their new book. Submit your ideas by filling out a short survey for a chance to be published in the new release, which is slated for publication next summer.

SIGML (mobile learning) is holding a charity drive, called Mobile Share, to collect old tablets, handheld devices, e-readers, iPod touches and laptops as well as any accessories that go with them.

All devices will go to the Kramden Institute to be refurbished and donated to educational nonprofits and schools, with the goal of getting technology into the hands of students who need it.

Conference attendees who don’t want to lug their old device to San Antonio or ISTE members who can’t make it to the conference this year can ship their electronics, marked “Mobile Share,” directly to the Kramden Institute. (See the website for details.)

“We are delighted that Kramden is willing to work with us for this step in preparing the mobile devices for the hands of children!” said Susan Wells, SIGML president. “We know this project will have a tremendous impact on equitable access to mobile learning for students across the country.”

Tax-exempt receipts will be available on the ISTE 2013 Conference Ning.

ISTE will host the standards focus group on Monday, June 24, 11 a.m.–12 noon at the San Antonio Convention Center during ISTE 2013. If you are interested in participating and available at that time, please fill out a short survey by Thursday, June 20. ISTE will select participants by Friday, June 21, and follow up by email with information about the session in the convention center.

Each participant who completes the survey will receive a free copy of ISTE’s NETS for Students Curriculum Planning Tool.

Upload a photo about what gets you excited about ISTE 2013 to Instagram and tag it with #ISTEgram13 for a chance to win!

One of the best things about going to ISTE’s Annual Conference and Exposition is all the new connections you can make with like-minded educators from around the world. But you don’t have to wait until you’re onsite. Start networking now by getting involved with one or all of ISTE’s social channels and communities:

Share your photos in the ISTEgram 2013 Contest. Are you excited about ISTE 2013? Share that passion by submitting photos showing what ignites your enthusiasm for the conference, education technology, or digital age learning and teaching. To enter the contest, just snap a photo, tag it with #ISTEgram13, and share it with your friends on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook. There’s no time to waste—ISTE is already giving away weekly prizes, including Amazon and Starbucks gift cards, ISTE 2013 keynote books, and some awesome ISTE swag, for the best and most popular photos. Each of the top three photos will snag a grand prize of an iPad case, a messenger bag or an iPod shuffle.

Here’s a tip: You can increase your chances of winning by submitting lots of photos (there’s no limit), sharing them far and wide, and using popular hashtags such as #ISTE13 to maximize exposure. Check out the contest webpage for rules and details.

Tag your photos on Instagram with #iste13. As long as you’re uploading conference-related photos, don’t forget to use the official conference hashtag so that your fellow attendees can see and comment on your pics.

Download the ISTE 2013 mobile app for all your devices. If you don’t already have the new conference mobile app, get it for free now to connect with ISTE and other attendees in a whole new way. Available for iOS, Android and via the mobile web, the app will let you:

• Play the official ISTE 2013 game! You can earn points for all the things you would normally do onsite, such as attend events, tweet with the #iste13 hashtag, visit the expo hall and take session surveys. The top three winners will receive fabulous tech prizes, and one lucky winner will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to ISTE 2014 in Atlanta, Georgia, USA!

• Make new contacts by searching for attendees by name, job function or affiliate. Then message them through the attendee messaging center.

• Connect with ISTE communities on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and the Conference Ning.

• Get recommendations for local restaurants to host your meetups.

Follow @isteconnects on Twitter and tag your tweets with #ISTE13. If you are not on Twitter, sign up today and start following @isteconnects. Then search for the official conference hashtag, #iste13, to get insider info, conference news, and valuable guidance from ISTE staff and fellow attendees. Join in the discussions you find there and search for other popular hashtags, such as #EpicYEN for young educators and #EDUawesome.

Join the ISTE 2013 Ning. Signing up for this online community puts you in contact with hundreds of other attendees instantly. You can join a group, ask questions and contribute your own conference knowledge. And if you’re looking for a party to attend in San Antonio or want to invite others to an event you’re hosting, check out the ongoing Social Events list.

Register your blog and find others to read. Let ISTE 2013 attendees know how to find and follow you as you live blog the conference. Don’t have your own blog? Follow other ISTE 2013 participants’ blogs to get the latest on what’s going on at the conference and in the world of ed tech.

Follow the ISTE Connects Blog. This year, ISTE’s official blog features posts from several expert guest bloggers in addition to updates from ISTE staff. Read, learn, comment and discuss!

Like ISTE on Facebook. ISTE posts daily links of interest to the ed tech community, questions for community discussion, and announcements about the conference and ISTE programs. Keep up with what we’re doing and read comments and posts from other ISTE members, during the conference and beyond.

Follow ISTE on Pinterest. Follow all of ISTE’s boards for a visual feast of ed tech infographics, images and links. You can even share your own finds with other members on our boards.

Join the ISTE LinkedIn group. ISTE members and others in the wider education community participate in some pretty juicy discussions about all things ed tech on this free group. Sign up and add your voice to the conversation!

ISTE 2013 will feature a unique event and strand aimed at superintendents, principals, CTOs, technology coordinators and other leaders to address emerging leadership topics. Epic Leadership: Beyond the Hype of Gamification is the first in this series and kicks off Sunday, June 23, from 9:00 a.m. to 12 noon during the conference.

Gamification has been a recent trend in education that’s characterized by two very different perspectives. Some see engagement, concentration and collaboration, while others see isolation, social dysfunction and addiction. This interactive, three-hour session will dispel the myths surrounding gaming, draw clear connections between games and learning, and give attendees practical examples of this pedagogical approach happening right now in schools all over the world. A combination of experiential learning, presentations from gaming experts and a Q&A by ISTE 2013 opening keynoter Jane McGonigal, this session will explore gamification from a leadership perspective and demonstrate how games can help us create rich, dynamic and challenging learning environments. Enter the code lead when registering on the Special Events page. This session is sponsored by AutoDesk. 

Continuing the emphasis of Epic Leadership, ISTE is also offering the Leadership Strand. The Leadership Strand will focus the conference experience for education leaders and decision makers. Take this opportunity to collaborate with your colleagues from around the globe to elevate the conversation about educational technology and its role in creating learning environments that work.  As you plan your schedule, look for the expert-selected sessions identified with the leadership icon  and add them to your Conference Planner. This strand is sponsored by Promethean.

Leadership Strand Orientation

The Leadership Strand kicks off ISTE 2013 with this orientation and networking session. As you plan your daily schedules, look for expert-selected sessions identified with the leadership icon. Sunday, 4–5:30 p.m. in room 103B.

The Leadership Strand sessions include:

• Personalize Learning through Innovative Uses of Technology
• Official Release of the NMC Horizon Report: 2013 K–12 Edition
• Technology Transforms Pedagogy: Combining the Tools and the Vision
• Successful Implementation of Project-Based Learning in a 1:1 Environment
• How to Choose: iPads, Androids, Chromebooks, Laptops?
• Tech That! Extending Student ‘Digital Environment into the Classroom
• Speak Up: 10 Years of Student Voices on Educational Technology
• Leading-Edge Initiatives in Mobile Learning: Lessons Learned and Next Steps
• Beyond the Apps: A Pedagogical Approach to the iPad
• Mega Makeovers: Five Global Tech Trends That’ll Change Everything Educational
• Dynamic Assessments Using Google Apps
• Leadership to Lead a Ubiquitous Learning Ecology
• Cultivating Digital Age Instructional Leaders

The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE^®) today announced that Microsoft Corp. plans to give a Microsoft Surface RT to 10,000 ISTE 2013 conference attendees as part of the Windows in the Classroom Surface Experience Project. Online ISTE conference registration is open until June 18 for the world’s premier education technology event slated for June 23-26 in San Antonio.

“Access to meaningful technology for all learners is at the core of ISTE’s mission, so there’s tremendous synergy between our goals and Microsoft’s generous investment in our 2013 conference attendees,” said Brian Lewis, ISTE CEO. “This bold move is illustrative of Microsoft’s commitment to the effective use of technology in education. It’ll be fantastic to watch attendees take their conference learning experience to the next level through the power of their new Surfaces and to hear about the ways they use them with their students.”

Supported by hands-on workshops and sessions in the Microsoft Learning Lounge at ISTE 2013, the Windows in the Classroom Surface Experience Project provides an opportunity for educators to experience how a Windows 8 touch device makes learning come to life.

“Educators using Surface RT have the best of both worlds: the wonderful experience of a tablet combined with a no-compromise experience of a full-functioning laptop that includes Office and allows for creation and collaboration, and not just consumption,” said Margo Day, Vice President, U.S. Education, Microsoft. “Educators already using Windows 8 tell us they are able to get grading and planning done more quickly because they can multi-task and they can imagine new and personalized learning experiences for their students.”

To participate in the Windows in the Classroom Surface Experience Project, registered ISTE 2013 attendees may go to http://WICExperience.itnint.com to learn more on how to qualify. Educators must have a school official and/or ethics officer sign a gift acknowledgement letter provided by Microsoft and bring it to the ISTE conference in order to receive a free Surface RT device for their school.

The world’s premier education technology event, ISTE 2013’s agenda is headlined by three provocative speakers, Jane McGonigal, Steven Johnson and Adam Bellow, and features nearly 700 sessions and interactive learning environments. The ISTE Expo will include more than 500 exhibits from ed-tech companies around the globe.

For more information including terms and conditions, go to http://WICExperience.itnint.com

After my whirlwind tour of international STEMx projects, I have returned to the whirlwind of preparation for ISTE 2013 in San Antonio. You can meet the people behind the projects I had the chance to visit by attending the conference’s poster sessions and workshops from the #HPCatalyst Initiative. You can also find me at the ISTE Research and Evaluation consultation area outside Room 213 on Monday, June 24, 1–4 p.m.

Visit the Learning Stations of my hosts in Brazil, Kenya and India between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Monday, June 24, in the SACC Tower View Lobby:

Community Leader Badge: Blended Learning Course for Global Competence
Learn about an ICT + ESL + Global Competence curriculum that prepared youth in disadvantaged communities in Rio, Brazil, to seize and benefit from the influx of business opportunities associated with the 2016 Olympics.

Supporting Teachers in Technology Integration in Kenyan Secondary Schools
Learn how teachers in Kenya are overcoming barriers to integrating ICT into their classrooms.

Collaborative Assessment Platform for Practical Skills (CAPPS) for K–16 STEM
Discover how you can use CAPPS to allow your students to construct experiments instead of just performing them and recording results. This process arouses their curiosity with what-if simulations.

You can also learn about the HP Catalyst–sponsored global collaboration between Ghana, India and South Africa that integrates project based-learning with Scratch technology at Manorama Talaiver’s panel on Computing through Design: STEM Learning Projects on Tuesday, June 25, 2–3 p.m. in SACC 213.

Plus, find out how you can bring these innovations to your classroom through the new HP Catalyst Academy. Sessions include:

Concurrent Session

HP Catalyst Academy: A Fresh Approach to Online Professional Learning
Monday, June 24, 8:30–9:30 a.m., SACC 213
Join us for an introduction to the exciting and free online professional learning opportunities for #STEMx teachers that the new HP Catalyst Academy offers.

Poster Sessions

Talk with academy mini-course instructors at their poster sessions on Monday, June 24, between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. in the SACC Tower View Lobby:

Apps for Good: Helping Students Create Apps That Change Their World
This innovative course helps student teams find problems they care about and takes them through the design process to create an app that addresses it.

Building a Framework of Digital Fabrication
Based on demand from schools and community organizations for K–12 STEM learning activities, this experience will provide a framework for hands-on learning opportunities through digital fabrication.

Leveraging the Power of Learning Games in Your Classroom
How do you harness games for deeper learning in your classroom? We’ll share our best practices and tools for game-based learning, including www.PlayfulLearning.com.

Learning to Think Spatially

Polar Bears in a Changing Climate: Leveraging Real-World STEM Education
Polar Bears International provides innovative STEMx educational resources to communicate the impact of global warming. Integrative technologies and real-world connections inspire action for environmental stewardship.

Project-Based STEM+ Learning in the Real World
Learn about TakingITGlobal’s new mini-course, developed with the support of HP Catalyst, to bring STEM+ project-based learning to classrooms through the power of technology.

Sail Away! Learn to Teach Global Competence through Virtual Travel
Learn how to cultivate a global perspective in your classroom by taking a virtual journey of your own design around the world!

Using E-Portfolios to Develop Formative Assessment Strategies for STEM Learning
Formative assessments, defined as ways to help improve learning, are naturally implemented in an e-portfolio environment. This poster presents an integration of these ideas.

And don’t forget to visit the HP booth (#13158) in the expo hall to meet HP Global Education Program Manager Jim Vanides, who will be hosting presentations from some of the HP Catalyst Academy Fellows:

Monday, June 24

• 10:15 a.m. with Jen Groff, Learning Games Network
• 1:30 p.m. with Michael Furdyk, Taking IT Global

Tuesday, June 25

• 10:45 a.m. with Tonia Lovejoy, Reach the World
• 1:30 p.m. with Debbie Forster, Apps for Good

Wednesday, June 26

• 10:15 a.m. with Susan Kowalski, Colorado School of Mines

As you can see, there are many opportunities to learn more about the HP Catalyst Initiative and the HP Catalyst Academy at ISTE 2013. Please be sure to introduce yourself to all of the participants and let them know how you are leveraging these projects with your students.

Clare Strawn

@clarestrawn

Interested in learning from the HP Catalyst community? Sign up today for the HP Catalyst Academy mini-courses for STEMx teachers launching in June 2013.

STEMx educators are invited to join the HP Catalyst Academy. Apply for an HP Catalyst Academy Fellows grant of $16,000 (deadline July 8). Visit www.hp.com/go/hpcatalystacademy for grant application details.

Donna Román

The ISTE Convention in San Antonio is less than two weeks away, and I can’t wait…for many reasons. My colleague, Lisa Parisi, and I are absolutely thrilled to have won the first place ISTE SIGOL award for online learning. Attending the ISTE conference in San Antonio to receive that award is such an honor, so that alone would be plenty, but the networking and collaborative learning available is something so alive and powerful that that would also be way more than enough…yet there is still one more thing.

Lisa, an author and my award winning project partner, and I met a few years ago in a Flat Classroom project. It was my maiden global collaboration, and we have worked closely together since. We’ve been through trenches, over mountains, in valleys…we’ve walked through deserts and jungles, and crossed sometimes placid, sometimes rough seas during that time…braving district mandates, policy and procedure, and technical difficulties of all shapes and sizes. We have learned countless programs, developed curriculum specific projects, dealt with student ‘learning opportunities’, parent issues, Hurricane Sandy, the very edge of a teacher strike, disappointing and triumphant circumstances of all kinds…together.

We have met on Blackboard/Elluminate, Skype, Google Hangout, and on the phone at all hours and on every day of the week…with colleagues in Prague, Dubai, China, Costa Rica, Canada, and so many places I can’t recall them all. We have joined our students together to collaborate on Skype, Edmodo, Kidblog, Google Hangout, Voicethread, and countless other platforms, many in beta form. We have been true pioneers stopping at nothing, and living true collaboration on every single level…and I have never actually stood in the same room with her.

The last thing that I am looking so forward to is this: looking into Lisa’s eyes without a screen between us, along with the countless other educators that I have been truly blessed to have learned from and worked with in the past several years. The world we are privileged to work in right now is absolutely stunning in its ability to provide limitless opportunities to stretch, grow, give and receive. And there is not one other industry filled with as much professional generosity as the field of education. All we have to do is be open and make the effort. It’s all there.

For conference newcomers like me, it has been so easy to navigate the planning. The conference scheduler has been great, I love the ISTE 2013 Mobile App for my phone, and there’s a Newcomer group on the ISTE Conference Ning. It’s been exciting to follow the conversations from people preparing to come from all over the world. I can’t wait!

Donna Adams Román is a 5^th grade teacher/blogger in Geneva, Illinois. Her focus is Individualized Professional Development, Project-based Learning, Global Collaboration…and of course, the effective use of Educational Technology.