Our Favorite Moments from ISTE 2018

Two weeks ago, we sent our team to Chicago for the biggest edtech conference of the year – ISTE 2018! With over 18,000 attendees and hundreds of booths to visit, our team kept busy over the four-day conference.

With so many unique things to see and experience, we asked our team to weigh in — what were your favorite moments from ISTE 2018? 

Chrissy Rebert, VP of Instructional Solutions

“My favorite moment at ISTE was seeing how excited the participants became when they learned about Teq’s online professional development, Opd. One Technology Coach was happy to hear her job was about to get easier since Opd allowed her to create playlists of courses for her educators to take prior to their in-person training. This way, all participants would start at the same skill level and the effectiveness of their in-person PD would be maximized.

Additionally, I loved seeing the “Aha” moment when educators learned they could access a certified teacher through the nOw button. Our nOw Instructional Support service provides on-demand support for educators who have questions or need real-time assistance in preparing lessons. Offering a solution to enrich someone’s job and then seeing them walk away smiling made ISTE very worthwhile!”

Learn more about Teq’s online professional development and nOw Instructional Support.

Jessica Wenke, Curriculum Specialist

“The most thrilling part of ISTE 2018 for me was presenting my session “Creating Your Own STEAM Makerspace Program: Ideas and Considerations.”

To my surprise, at 9:30 AM they had to close the doors—we were at capacity a half hour before the session was slated to start! I saw the turnout as an excellent reflection of the passion, commitment, and bravery our community has to better themselves and try new things.

By the end of the session, STEAM and maker education knowledge was added to the toolkits of educators across the US and in places like London and the Philippines. It’s collaborative and informative opportunities like these that help shape positive pathways in education, and I felt proud to be a part of that.”

Nina Sclafani, Marketing Specialist and Event Coordinator

“My favorite part of ISTE was seeing our light-up LED badge activity come to life! For this activity, we were inspired by one of our popular Teq Online PD courses, “Introduction to Circuits Using Breadboards.” Growing up, I never excelled in the STEM subjects and for many like me, approaching those topics was always intimidating. We chose this activity specifically to take the fear out of STEM.

As group after group approached our booth, we were able to encourage them to sit down and try their hand at creating the light-up badge. It appealed to the people who were comfortable with STEM, while also appealing to those who were more comfortable with the arts. It felt like a perfect blend of arts and science. 

No moment was better than when we had a group of students from Mexico join us at the table to create their own badges. It was amazing seeing them troubleshoot their work, and never get frustrated or give up. They recognized that they were in the learning pit and worked through it to find success.”

Robert-Wayne Harris, Chief Learning Officer

“This year at ISTE 2018, the Curriculum team designed an oversized breadboard – a solderless unit for making temporary circuits and prototyping – in order to demonstrate how to make electrical connections between components such as resistors, LEDs, and capacitors.

The team crafted their oversized breadboard using styrofoam for the board, pool noodles to represent the wiring, and copper tape for the circuitry.

Educators at ISTE were captivated by the design as well as the benefit of the oversized breadboard on early childhood and special education students. Many asked to purchase the oversized breadboard, while others inquired about replicating this activity in their schools.”

More ISTE!

To see what else we did for ISTE 2018, check out our previous blogs:

• Be a Maker at ISTE 2018
• PD: Make Your Own ISTE Light-Up LED Badge
• PD: It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s a Breadboard! 
• ISTE 2018: Get Your EdTech Karaoke Badges! 
• 10 Ways to Learn About 3D Printing at ISTE 2018