My EdTech Takeaways

IUSD Professional Learning Summit

My two biggest takeaways from IUSD’s first Professional Learning Summit are 1) I am so lucky to work in a school district that values the importance of quality professional development and 2) I work with some seriously smart and innovative people. I felt honored and humbled to be among the many talented presenters and I learned so much from them throughout the day. The EdTech Team did not disappoint, from the Sylvia Duckworth Swag Bag to the hysterical keynote speaker, Lisa Highfill. The day may have flown by, but the takeaways are long-term.

All in a Day

All in a day, I laughed and collaborated with my colleagues, built my professional learning network, followed fellow educators through their experiences on Twitter, and presented with a teacher I highly respect.

My big takeaway from the keynote:

Allow students time to wonder.

 

For the closing, the EdTech Team had a successful Demo Slam, one of my favorite parts of the day, because really, who doesn’t love prizes!? And I’m not sure what it is about Demo Slams, but I always laugh until my sides hurt.

My big takeaway from the Demo Slam:

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Because who doesn’t want to turn themselves into a motivational poster?

Okay, I actually have two big takeaways from the Demo Slam:

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Already installed this…come one, you know you have a need for this at times.

Other amazing EdTech Takeaways:

1. Book Bentos
2. Hyperdocs
3. BreakoutEDU
4. Affirmation that the IFTTT app is truly the best thing ever
5. Student Bios with Vocaroo
6. Again, and this cannot be stated enough, I was surrounded by some seriously smart and creative people

Quick Reflection

I never consider my job a job. Going to “work” every morning is something I look forward to and with a great sense of pride. The students make me laugh and smile each day, as they go throughout their day experiencing failures and successes. It can be easy to get lost in the minutia of the day-to-day tasks, but it is important to remember what’s really important, what makes it all worthwhile; the kids. And with that, this video (from yesterday’s keynote), demonstrates just that.