What a week! The numbers from Philly confirm the claim that the ISTE show remains the biggest edtech event in the US. The total number of participants topped out at 20,369. They came from all 50 states and 81 countries. They learned from 3,196 presenters, including 479 students. They sent 123,479 tweets using #ISTE19, #ISTE2019, and #ISTEinPA and shared 104,222 Instagram stories. More than 550 education companies exhibited in the ISTE19 Expo Hall at the Pennsylvania Convention Center.
For Tech & Learning’s part, we tried our best to cover it all—from the keynotes and sessions to the parties and press conferences. We followed the social media scene live through our social media hub. We hosted a few events of our own. We also asked some of our favorite edtech bloggers to share some of their takeaways from events, which you’ll find in our Big Ideas section.
One of the biggest efforts of the week was performed by our stalwart crew of pseudo-anonymous advisors who braved the show floor and the avalanche of pitches and tchotchkes to judge this year’s Best of ISTE competition. More than 100 companies entered their latest and greatest edtech wares to be scrutinized. Those companies whose technologies were identified as extraordinary should know that this recognition is not just a badge of participation but a true endorsement by some of the most innovative educators in the country. Congratulations to the winners. What were your takeaways from ISTE19? Drop me a line at kevin.hogan@futurenet.com.
— Kevin Hogan
Managing Director, Content
kevin.hogan@futurenet.com
