They’ve got the conference program iOS app right. I did not consult the printed program but a couple times.
Two new catch phrases: Being Netflixed—replaced by a new technology-based service. Blockbuster was Netflixed. A black collar worker—someone who makes his living through creative, entrepreneurial work. Black as homage to Steven Jobs’s black turtlenecks.
I was thinking about a conference theme for ISTE 2012. iPads, 1:1, flippedclassrooms are all kind of old news. Perhaps it was Yong Zhou, who reflected a couple often-heard conversations during the past few days: the importance of creativity and personalization in education. Yong’s powerful arguments about the inverse relationship of high national test scores to national productivity and creativity may help turn the corner on the testing mania.
Everybody, and I mean everybody, at the conference had multiple devices. And, according to a tech I was visiting with, it’s been a real struggle to build wireless capacity. Many speakers are now asking the audience to participate in online activities. (Todaysmeet was the backchannel tool du jour.) Not so good when the wireless is weak. Best wifi we’ve had at ISTE, so congrats to those techs and the conference planners.
The Sir Ken Robinson keynote was, to say the least, disappointing. After being herded into the hall by the conference center Nazis, we got 10 minutes of the witty and insightful Sir Ken… and then a damn panel. I got nothing from the panelists, I’m afraid. More Ken, less sales pitches, please ISTE.
All said, ISTE is still the best conference going. It’s easy to snip about details, but it’s something everyone should go to. But don’t—think of the lines for the bathrooms!
Best quotes Via Carolyn Foote
“Can any school create a common core for Lady Gaga?”
Yong Zhao
“Curriculum should develop the personal strength of students. It’s not about fixing deficits.”
Yong Zhao
“Less us, more them.”
Gary Stager
“Learn first, teach second.”
Will Richardson
“What IF?”
David Jakes
“What do we need to unlearn?”
Will Richardson
“Don’t Deliver Curriculum. DISCOVER it.”
Will Richardson
“Most of us work in schools that have had computers for 30 years and yet we are still cajoling teachers to use them.”
Gary Stager
“Why should I leave my recliner to come to your library?”
Doug Johnson
VIDEO Gallery
Just words can’t describe the ISTE experience. Visit techlearning.com/aug12 to watch highlights of sessions, keynotes, and other generally cool multimedia reports such as this outtake courtesy of Ken Shelton.
