ISTELive 23 lands in Philadelphia on June 25, and the annual conference promises to be packed with content for administrators, curriculum directors, classroom teachers, and everyone in between.
This year’s conference theme, “Discover Your Next,” celebrates the ideas, partnerships, teaching strategies, and edtech tools that can take learning to its next iteration. Register here, for in-person or virtual access.
With more than 900 sessions, it’s hard to choose a handful to highlight—but here are five sessions that caught our eye:
1. Class Visits: A PD Model for Teachers Growing Teachers
Instructional coaches are frequently asked, “What is everyone else doing in their classrooms?” Learn how our school created a successful PD system for teachers to learn and be empowered by each other by participating in a virtual class visit. Caty Carmendy, the Instructional Coach of Mooresville High School, leads the session.
2. VR and Privacy: Superheroes and Supervillains
Virtual reality technology allows us to engage in futuristic and limitless immersive experiences for education, gaming, collaboration and more. VR devices have an unprecedented superpower setting them apart from previous technologies. Led by Steve Garton, Sr. Manager with the Common Sense Media Privacy Program, session attendees will explore best practices for privacy and security for VR technology for students and children everywhere.
3. You Can Teach Computer Science! A Former English Teacher’s Story and Advice
This presentation will highlight the skills that all teachers already have and discuss how to apply those skills to computer science. There is an increasing need for CS teachers. Good pedagogy is applicable to all content areas, and new content knowledge grows with time and experience. Let’s recruit more teachers! Danna Pearsall, an ISTE Certified Educator and a new computer science teacher with 16 years of experience in education, leads the session. Pearsall made the switch from teaching English to Computer Science after seeing the need to make Computer Science programs more inclusive and diverse.
4. Chart a New Course: Teaching Essential Skills for Tomorrow’s World
The session will share ways to design more purposeful learning experiences to drive student engagement and motivation, promote creativity in learning, model risk-taking and build classroom culture. Walk away with resources to help students develop essential skills through authentic, real-world and personalized learning experiences. The session is led by Rachelle Dené Poth, a STEAM and Spanish teacher, author, consultant, attorney, and presenter. Also an ISTE Certified Educator, Poth is a past president of ISTE TEN, and a recipient of ISTE’s Making IT Happen Award.
5. A11y to the Rescue: A Villainous Escape Room
Can you escape a fairy tale nightmare? Help A11y escape fairy tale villains while experiencing the same obstacles that disabled students encounter in digital spaces. Will you and your teammates successfully solve the escape room puzzles and return to reality, or will you end up as the old hag’s breakfast? Presenter Chrystal Trapani is the Lead Instructional Technologist: Accessibility Architect with Digital Innovation, an adjunct instructor, and a doctoral student at Old Dominion University. She is a Google Certified Trainer and Instructure’s Educator of the Year (2022).
Related:
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