Showing posts sorted by date for query #ICE19. Sort by relevance Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by date for query #ICE19. Sort by relevance Show all posts

The #ICE19 Conference Experience - ICE Conference Tips and Tricks

This is my 5th and final post connected to the #ICE19 before the conference gets started. I've already shared posts connected to the workshops, featured sessions, the exhibitor hall, and the ICE book store.


ICE Conference 2019
Lifelong Learners Unite
February 25 - 28
I know this is quite a few tips for one post, so my advice is to explore one tip at a time and don't try to run through this whole post in one sitting. I hope there is something here that can help everyone make the most of their ICE experience. 

 If you have any additional tips, events, or questions to share, please post in the comments below.
________________________________________________

Tip 1: Know Your Why
Planning and organizing your days is important (Tip 3), but if you are only focused on the where and the when you might miss out on a more complete learning experience. This year I plan to develop a mindset connected to these 3 quotes that I will use to drive my conference experience. Having goals before I choose my sessions is important to me.

Make Connections and Have Conversations - Be Present
"Everyone you will ever meet knows something you don't." - Bill Nye
Create a Complete Experience & Don't Just Focus on Conference Sessions
"Don't forget to stop and smell the roses." - Walter Hagen
Learn Something New Whenever, Wherever, and From Whoever - Build A Bigger & Better PLN
“I have no special talent, I am only passionately curious.” - Albert Einstein

________________________________________________

Tip 2: Be an Active Learner
It is too easy to sit in the back of the room during sessions and only focus on the presenter. I know because this was who I was for quite a few years. I kept to the back of the room and took notes. I learned, but I now realized that I missed out on so much. There are so many great educators who are not standing in front of the room who have so much to share. I started volunteering at the conference a few years back and this year I am lucky to be on the Program Committee, introducing speakers, and working in the book store. 
Volunteer at the Conference
If you are interested in volunteering, sign up at bit.ly/ICE19volunteers - Choose your specific opportunity and a specific 2-hour time slot. If you have further questions, please reach out to Charlene and Lauren at volunteer@iceberg.org.
Play Escape the Conference
Be sure to plan some time to Escape the Conference in the Exhibit Hall! In this session they won't just talk about what active learning should look like - they will actually role model the 4 C's: Creativity, Communication, Collaboration, and Critical Thinking. You will be working in teams and competing against other attendees to be the first to "escape". After participating in this experience, you will leave with ideas on how to develop problem solvers in your district, design engaging professional learning activities, and learn about innovative ed-tech solutions. Visit ice19conference.sched.com to plan out your Escape experience.

________________________________________________

Tip 3: Right Place - Right Time - Start Planning Today
Why Are You Attending?
There are so many incredible learning opportunities at the conference this year, so it is important to know your why before attending. I like to start planning my conference with my school's improvement plan in mind. Personal teaching and learning goals are also important (Tip 1).  Knowing why I am attending the conference helps me choose sessions that connect to why I am at the conference. 
The ICE Conference Schedule
A complete list of all sessions, including workshops, can be found at ice19conference.sched.com an interactive site that lets you plan your daily #ICE19 schedule.

 The ICE Conference uses SCHED to organize the sessions and activities for all 4 days of the conference. The ICE SCHED works on all browsers and mobile devices. If you sign into the SCHED you can save your favorite sessions and create your own schedule inside of the bigger schedule. If you do this ahead of time, SCHED will even email you a daily overview of the sessions you've checked.

The Conference Center Map and the Exhibitor Hall Map
Explore the Schaumburg Conference Center Map, the Exhibitor Hall Map, and the Exhibitor List before your first day at the conference. Seats are not reserved, so getting to a session early is a great practice. There is also an #ICE19 App that you can find in your App store. 
Presenter Resources
Many presenters will share some incredible resources in their sessions. Attendees can also explore presenter resources for most sessions in the ICE Symbaloo of Presenter Resources. 

________________________________________________

Tip 4: What to Bring?
What to Bring
I would start with a Laptop or a Chromebook. Tablets and mobile devices are ok, but there will be sessions where having a full sized screen and keyboard are a huge bonus. I also like to have a pad of paper for some sketchnotes and brainstorms on the side. Bring a refillable water bottle and some snacks to keep your energy levels up. Finally, dress in layers. The temperature can vary a bit in different spaces at a larger conference. 


________________________________________________

Tip 5: Organizing Your Digital Resources
Google Drive
There are many great tools educators can use to create collaborative notes and share resources. Google Drive has become my go-to collaborative resource, but it can quickly become a cluttered mess if not organized. Check these links to learn more about staying organized with Drive.
Google Keep
Google Keep is another great resource to create reminders, notes, and to-do checklists. If you use the extension you can even save links to resources on the fly. The Keep Notepad in Google Docs is a great bonus if you are using documents for your conference notes!
Learn More About Google Keep in this post: Google Essentials - Google Keep

________________________________________________

Tip 6: More Than Just Sessions
The breakout sessions are incredible but don't miss the Exhibitor Hall, PLN Plaza, Playful Learning Space, and Tech Playground. There 
Exhibitor Hall 
There are some incredible exhibitors and sponsors in the Exhibitor Hall. The hall opens Tuesday night and is open all day Wednesday and most of the day on Thursday. Taking some time to explore the hall can be an extremely valuable experience.
Playful Learning Space 
The Playful Learning Space is in the Exhibitor Hall and features some incredible gaming experiences, esports, board games, and more.
PLN Plaza
The PLN Plaza is a must visit. The ICE Book Store along with a full schedule of learning and engagement experiences need to be experienced.
Tech Playground
Experience the latest in robotics, virtual reality, augmented reality, and more in the Tech Playground. 

________________________________________________

Tip 7: Be Present - Find Your Tribe
Make New Connections
Connect with your digital PLN. Connect with vendors. Connect with presenters. Connect with new people. Don't be the anonymous person in the back corner of the room. You will miss too much alone. Find someone new to talk to. Step out of your comfort zone and grow as a teacher and a learner. Challenge yourself to meet as many new people as possible. You won't be disappointed. 
Social Media 

Share ideas, ask questions, and engage in conversations using the conference hashtag, #ICE19. You can even share your Twitter contact information with anyone using this quick Twitter Tip that I learned at the 2018 ISTE Conference.
Photos
Did you know there is a Google Photos Album where you can share pics during the conference? What will you share as part of your learning experience? ICE also maintains an Official Instagram Account. 
Flipgrid
Introduce yourself and share your daily reflections on your learning experience using Flipgrid. 

"We learn best when we learn together." - Seth Godin

________________________________________________

Tip 8: Organize Your Social Feed
The hashtag this year is #ICE18 and it will be going fast once the conference gets rolling. Jumping into the Twitter hashtag stream can quickly become overwhelming. I always try to remember that it's ok to miss some tweets. Here are a few tips to help organize your social media engagement.
  • Hootsuite and Tweetdeck are great resources to manage the stream of information.
  • Create a Twitter list of presenters and attendees. Lists are a great way to narrow down some of the clutter that such a busy conference hashtag will generate.
  • Have a heart and like some tweets that catch your eye. A lonely unliked Tweet is very sad. Looking back at your 'liked' tweets at the end of the day is also another great way to reflect on your learning experience.
  • If you connect with a tweet leave a comment for the tweeter and get a conversation started. Most educators on twitter are looking to do more than just post and run.
  • Engage with the Exhibit Hall Vendors on social media. Keep an eye open for challenges and prizes shared by the vendors on Twitter. 
  • The site 'If This Then That' (IFTTT) has some great Twitter Recipes to help you save and organize tweets.
  • Particpate is another great place to keep up with your Twitter Chats and Hashtags. They will be a great ally for anyone at ICE 18. Follow Participate on Twitter to get updates on the sites ICE 18 resources. 
  • I have also started to explore Wakelet as another tool to collect and organize tweets I want to remember.
  • Another great place to share and explore is the ICE Facebook Community.
________________________________________________

 Tip 9: Take A Break - Read a Book or Catch Up On Stuff
CAFE Connect
CAFE Connect is next to the PLN Plazza. Enjoy some comfortable furniture and get off your feet for a bit in this great gathering place. The PLN Plaza is a great place to meet, take a break, collaborate with some new friends, or just explore a new book from the nearby book store. Sometimes a quick impromptu book discussion with a small group can lead to some great collaborative learning. Check out some of the books that will be available in this post.
________________________________________________

Tip 10: Take Time to Reflect and Share Before, During, and After the Conference. 
Whether you blog, share via social media or share your notes with a colleague always remember that it is important that you share your learning. You never know what connections you might make if you share your ideas and resources

The More You Share, The More You Learn

 It's hard to grow as a teacher and a learner if a daily reflection is not part of your learning process. Take time to look over your notes and make connections to your teaching every day. I've been to too many conferences and sessions where I took some incredible notes, but then never went back and connected these notes to my teaching and learning experiences. Don't let this happen to you!
________________________________________________

Final Thoughts
It's O.K. to leave ICE 2019 with more questions than answers. I've found that some of the best questions lead to new questions and more learning. This is why the best educators are life-long learners.


5 comments:

The #ICE19 Conference Experience - The ICE Conference Bookstore and Book Signings

If you are interested in more ICE Tips, please take a moment to explore my other ICE19 Posts. 

 The ICE Conference is a great place to connect with educators, engage in conversations about teaching and learning, and explore the newest EdTech. I love having the chance to make new friends and reconnect with old friends at the conference. It is always an incredible learning experience for me. 

 This year I am super excited about the ICE Book Store in the Exhibit Hall and the Featured Speaker Book Signings. There is even a rumor that John Orech will be the featured employee of the month at the book store. 

 I was lucky enough to get a preview of some of the books that will be available and I wanted to share them with my PLN before the conference. Which of these books and authors are you most excited to add to your reading list?
I am sure there will be more great books available at the conference and I also think EdTechTeam will have some of there incredible books for sale at their booth. 

 The best educators are not content to do the same old thing year after year. Innovative educators push their thinking by engaging in social media, exploring blogs, attending conferences, and exploring the newest generation of educational books.

If you are curious about additional books recommended by my PLN, please check out this site to explore some great books connected to teaching and learning. 

No comments:

Getting Ready for the #ICE19 Conference - Featured Speakers, Thursday Events, and Breakout Sessions

This post is my third connected to my Getting Ready for the #ICE19 Series. My first post was all about the incredible workshops and my second post explored the Exhibitor Hall Experience.


Planning your schedule for any educational conference can be a daunting challenge and the 2019 Illinois Computer Educators Conference is no exception There are so many incredible educators sharing so many incredible things, it is hard to even know where to start. This post includes a few tips on getting started organizing and planning your day of sessions and speakers.
Keynote and Featured Speakers

 The easiest place to start planning your day is by checking out the Keynote and Featured Speakers for the conference this year. I've been lucky enough to learn from and with many of these speakers in the past and they are truly an inspiring group. I love these educators!

You can view the full list of the Keynote and Featured Speakers on the ICE Conference Page. You can also filter the ICE Conference Schedule by Featured Speakers or Keynotes.


Creating Future Ready Schools Workshop at #ICE19

I've been lucky enough to attend a Future Ready Workshop in the past and I always walked away inspired and motivated. The ICE Future Ready Workshop will be another great learning experience for everyone registered. (This event does require a separate registration on the ICE Conference Site.)
"This workshop is designed for interested district and school-based leaders (Admin in charge of PD and Curriculum, Principals, Librarians, Instructional Coaches) to explore effective school-based strategies that assist in providing robust and innovative student experiences for all students. Grounded in leadership and school culture, participants will leave with tangible strategies to build strong instructional partnerships, foster change and collaborative learning, and deploy effective strategies for a Future Ready school."
The ICE /IETL Leadership Summit at #ICE19

 I've been fortunate to see several of Dr. Joe Sanfelippo's keynotes in the past and I don't have enough words explain how much I admire him as an educational leader. I know the Leadership Summit to be a great experience for everyone.  (This event does require a separate registration on the ICE Conference Site.)
"Join ICE and IETL for their annual Leadership Summit, this year, with Joe Sanfelippo. You will not want to miss this experience with Dr. Joe Sanfelippo, Superintendent of Fall Creek School District in Wisconsin and renowned national author and speaker. Based on his book Hacking Leadership, Dr. Sanfelippo has designed an energetic, interactive workshop, aimed at building leadership at all levels and finding innovative solutions to issues that have plagued the system for years. Built on intentionality, opening doors and developing staff, you’ll take away practical applications that can be implemented tomorrow!"
Illinois Computer Educator Conference Breakout Sessions
Breakout Sessions are hour-long sessions on a variety of educational topics. I think of these sessions are the main event on all 4 days of the conference. Popular sessions often fill up fast during the conference, so don't be late! 


 Here are some of my favorite presenters and friends who will be facilitating breakout sessions this year. I know this is a long list, I consider myself fortunate to know quite a few awesome educators. 
Now that I am almost done with this post, I am a bit nervous that like an Academy Award Honoree I may forget to thank someone.  In fact, I am sure I am probably missing some important people and sessions. If I know you and missed you, I am sorry. No slight intended. I still love you!

 There are also many great presenters I've never had a chance to learn with who will be presenting at the conference.  I highly recommend visiting the ICE Conference Sched to exploring more sessions to find your own favorite speakers and sessions.

So now it is now your turn. Who are you the most excited to learn from this year? Please share!

If you are interested in more #ICE19 Tips, please take a moment to explore my other ICE19 Posts. 

No comments:

The #ICE19 Conference Experience - Exploring The Exhibit Hall & Connecting with Exhibitors


If you are interested in more #ICE19 Tips, please take a look at my post connected to the conference workshops. I will also be sharing some of my breakout session recommendations next week and share some of my tips for the conference soon after that. 
ICE attendees will want to dedicate some time to explore and learn about the incredible things that are happening in the Exhibitor Hall to support all educators and learners. Attendees will also have a chance to take part in the "The Escape the ICE Conference" experience. This new experience challenges attendees to make connections with exhibitors as they explore the exhibitor hall and compete to escape the conference. The Escape Experience is hosted by Travis Allen, one of the keynote speakers this year. 

Conversations with exhibitors can add so much to the ICE Conference learning experience. The ICE 2019 Exhibitor Hall can be an awesome learning experience. The exhibitors are friendly and the swag is out of this world. There are also incredible mini sessions, book signings, the Tech Playground (Robotics and Coding), the Playful Learning Space (eSports and Gamification), the PLN Plaza, and more. 

Before attending the conference, I recommend creating a list of at least 5 to 10 exhibitors that you would really like to learn more about. There is nothing wrong with wandering but having a short list to start with is a great way to make sure you are efficient with your time and don't miss something. 

While I hope to have time to visit every exhibitor, I am building a list of exhibitors that I really want to meet. If anyone is curious about my list, here it is in alphabetical order with a brief description of each exhibitor. I am approaching the exhibitor hall with a High School teacher's mindset, so I am my focus is more on exhibitors who I think can support my student's learning experiences. 

Bird Brain Technologies (Booth 335)
BirdBrain Technologies serves as a catalyst for transformative, physical computing-based learning experiences for all students. Our products, the Finch Robot, and Hummingbird Robotics Kit empower students to take ownership of their technical and creative skill-sets and engage in flexible problem-solving activities.

Classcraft (Booth 405)
Classcraft is a platform that transforms any classroom into an adventure. Acting as a gamification layer around any existing curriculum, the game revolutionizes the way a class is experienced throughout the school year, with a focus on behavior management and personalized learning.

Codemonkey (Booth 1233)
CodeMonkey is a game-based educational learning environment that offers a variety of coding courses that range from helping a monkey catch bananas by writing real code to programming chatbots. CodeMonkey’s courses are designed as a classroom resource and do not require teachers to have prior knowledge to successfully roll-out.

Eblox (Booth 437)
E-Blox is an emerging leader in educational electronic products that engage children in a whole new generation of educational toys that provide a STEM/STEAM education. E-Blox stimulate imagination and creativity through interactive storytelling, creative reasoning, and systematic building of objects that provide endless hours of fun and learning.

EdTechTeam (Booth 834)
EdTechTeam is a global network of educational technologists dedicated to inspiring and empowering other educators. EdTechTeam provides change management, strategic planning, and professional development services to schools and districts. We invite you to partner with us to transform teaching and learning in your organization.

Imagine Learning (Booth 509)
Imagine Learning delivers award-winning language, literacy, and mathematics solutions for K–12 students, revolutionizing the way kids learn. Students and teachers love Imagine Language & Literacy, Imagine Math, Imagine Math Facts, and Imagine Español because they are research- and evidence-based, data driven, instructionally differentiated, and incredibly fun to use.

Media Technologies (Booth 511)
Media technologies manufactures innovative furniture for learning environments. Since 1979 we have been providing creative solutions for school media centers, classrooms, labs, commons, and makerspaces. 

Otus (Booth 611)
Otus is a technology platform for K-12 classrooms, schools, and districts that combines classroom and learning management tools, assessment management features, and a student data management system in one place.

Pear Deck (Booth 423)
Created by Educators for Educators, Pear Deck is an intuitive suite within Google Apps for Education that facilitates 100% student engagement and real-time formative assessment. Build slide presentations from scratch or import existing Google Slides or PDFs. With unlimited storage and sharing capabilities, the options are endless.

Project Lead the Way (Booth 810)
Project Lead The Way provides transformative learning experiences for PreK-12 students and teachers across the U.S. We create an engaging, hands-on classroom environment and empower students to develop in-demand knowledge and skills they need to thrive.

Rocketbook (Booth 836)
Rocketbook makes endlessly reusable, cloud-connected notebooks. With our companion scanning app, users can easily organize and instantly send handwritten notes to a multitude of cloud-sharing services, emails, or texts. With a little water on a cloth, notebook pages can be wiped completely clean and endlessly reused.

SymbalooEDU (Booth 815)
Symbaloo helps you organize your web resources and deliver the right content, in the right place, at the right time, to the right person.

Texthelp (Booth 421)
Hello, we’re Texthelp. We believe that literacy is every student’s passport to academic, social and professional success. It’s our genuine desire to help students understand, learn and express themselves. We create user-friendly literacy and learning solutions, that provide the support each student needs; through reading, writing, math, and research features.

Wonder Workshop (Booth 823)
Wonder Workshop are the creators of the award-winning Dash, Dot, and Cue robots, found in over 15,000+ elementary schools throughout the US. We bring wonder and excitement to learning coding and robotics with our aligned curriculum, professional learning, and robots.


This is by no means a complete list. There are some exhibitors who are new to me that I will also be visiting. Attendees can create there own plans using the Exhibitor Hall Map and Exhibitor List before venturing into the exhibitor space.

I am also going to wander and make sure I visit at least exhibitors that I don't know much about as part of my ICE experience.

 Most exhibitors also love to make connections through social media. If you have a favorite or have a great experience meeting someone, be sure to give them a thank you on Twitter. Be sure to tag them (@ . . . ) and use the hashtag #ICE19

 If you have a favorite exhibitor that I missed or question please post in the comments below.

 If you are interested in more ICE Tips, please take a moment to explore my other ICE19 Posts. 


No comments:

Getting Ready for the #ICE19 Conference - Workshop Recommendations

One of my favorite midwestern educational conferences is a little over a month away. I cannot tell you how excited I am to make new connections and reconnect with some incredible educators.  I've attended the Illinois Computer Educators Conference on and off as an educator for more than 20 years and I always walk away with something new that helps me grow as a teacher and learner.  I've even been lucky enough to facilitate a variety of sessions over the last 10 years. 
"The ICE Conference is a teaching and learning conference that attracts educators, educational leaders, and pre-service teachers from PreK - Higher Ed. The conference engages educators from across the Midwest in an exploration of pedagogical strategies and resources connected to instructional technology. Districts, schools, classrooms, and libraries will all gain valuable insights at one of the Midwest's largest educational technology conferences. In fact, last year was our biggest conference ever as over 5,000 unique visitors joined us at #ICE18."
I've also loved watching the conference evolve over the last decade. The primary focus when I first started attending was hardware and software. It was all about what to buy and how to use the software. Today the tools still have a place at the conference, but pedagogy has taken the lead as educators explore how EdTech can support and enhance quality teaching. I've been to quite a few EdTech conferences and I don't think you can find one that is better than ICE. 

 This year I was lucky enough to be part of the selection committee and one of my areas of focus for me was the conference workshops. There are some incredible workshops being offered at the conference this year. 
#ICE19 Workshops are full and half-day sessions that must be registered for separately. If you have already registered for the conference, just add them to your registration; if you have not registered yet, be sure to check the workshops out during your registration process.
The ICE Half-day and Full-day Workshops are a great way to take a deep dive into just about any topic or resource you are curious about. I believe all of the sessions and presenters are incredible, but I am going to highlight 7 in this post that I really love. Hopefully these 7 workshops will inspire you to explore all of the workshops being offered at the ICE Conference in 2019. 

  • Design Thinking Sprint By Future Design School
    The majority of the workshop is a Design Sprint. Participants will learn the process of design by developing a solution to a common challenge. The session includes techniques for empathizing with a user and ideating solutions. These repeatable methods can be used with students to help them solve real-world problems. Along the way, students build their skills in creativity, collaboration, communication, and critical thinking. 
  • Genius Hour - Time to Get Your Hands Dirty
    This workshop will move you through the steps of Genius Hour and how it really feels to go through the process. By remembering how it feels to be a learner we can understand the struggle often felt by our students. We will also chat through some tips and tricks to the successful implementation of Genius Hour.
  • Technology and Literacy A Love Story
    Add to your arsenal of technology tools that work together perfectly to promote literacy in the classroom or in the library. Bring a device and get ready to explore 50+ tools that promote literacy in our technology-filled world!
  • Cardboard Challenge A Celebration of Creativity, Innovation, and Teamwork
    A cardboard challenge is a celebration of creativity, innovation, and teamwork, where teams of students use the engineering design process to build whatever they can imagine out of cardboard and then play it or display it. See and hear about how we planned, organized, and staged a school-wide cardboard challenge in our 3-5 school. You will also be taken through the same process students went through as you get to design and build your own cardboard creations!
  • Compassionate Leadership Leading with a Tech Mind and Heart
    During this active engagement workshop session, participants will evaluate/identify their current technology management approach, review the principles of compassionate leadership with a lean-to diverse tech teams, learn techniques to integrate compassionate leadership in to their day-to-day work and develop a team development strategy with a focus on 1) learning; 2) standards; 3) bulldozing barriers; 4) leveraging influence; 5) fueling passion and reinforcing the value of a team.
  • Breakout! Design Your Own Digital Escape Room
    Digital escape rooms make learning meaningful and engaging for multiple contents, even when you're not there. Participants will explore how to use free tools to create digital escape rooms with Google Sites, Google Forms, and Canva. By the time the workshop is done, participants will be well on their way to having a completed digital escape room for classroom use.
  • Mythbusters EDU The Empowered Learner Episode
    On this episode of Mythbusters EDU, we will tackle the myths of student empowerment. Join us as we explore activities that promote learner engagement, voice, choice and design thinking. Let’s not just talk about the myths regarding student empowerment, let’s put them to the test! 

There are many other incredible workshop options and I wish I could include them all here. I hope 7 is enough to inspire you to explore all the workshops the conference is offering this year. What workshops are you excited about? Let us know in the comments below!

 Registration is open and some great early bird discounts still apply. You can check out all of the workshops in the ICE Workshop Schedule and then register on the ICE Website. I hope to see you there. 

 A complete list of all sessions, including workshops, can be found at ice19conference.sched.com an interactive site that lets you plan your daily #ICE19 schedule. 

You can also download the official #ICE19 app on iOS and Android and stay up-to-date on everything for #ICE19.

Even if you can't attend the conference this year, mark your calendar to engage in the conference Hashtag #ICE19 on February 25th through the 28th. 

This is part 1 of a 3 post series connected to the ICE conference. Up next will be some of my favorite vendors and I will wrap up the series with 1o general conference sessions that I love. Stay tuned! 


No comments:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)

Top Posts