#ASCD14 - Conference Wrap Up

Another ASCD Conference has come to a close and I am very impressed with how everything turned out this year. There were some things that stood out to me more than others, so here is my take.

I felt there was a diverse set of sessions across each day. There were so many choices that it was hard to choose which session to go to on any given day. That is a good problem to have. This issue can be dealt with by being active in the backchannel and following tweets using the #ASCD14 tag during the conference. This allowed me to see everything that was going on each day while I was busy with panels and other fun ASCD things.

I loved that there was an edcamp session at ASCD. It was very well attended and people were very excited about what edcamps can bring to the PD world. I'm glad ASCD has embraced the edcamp movement into their session because more PD for teachers is good for everyone in education. The edcamp team that put the session together did a great job.

The Keynotes were amazing. I had not seen Dr. Q (Russell J. Quaglia) before. He was funny, engaging and smart. It is one of the best Keynotes I have seen. He would be a perfect fit for ISTE. He had the audience from the start of his talk until the very end. He seemed to understand his audience and that is something you do not see all of the time from speakers. You need to check him out because he was just awesome. 

Jane McGonigal was perfect. A smart and funny talk that spoke to the gamer in me and should be required viewing for all students who feel like their passion for gaming is constantly tossed aside as pointless in the education world. Her examples of the power of gaming and what it can do for people were powerful and interesting. I was very much engaged in everything she had to say and so was the rest of the audience. She spoke at ISTE last year and I missed the session and I'm very sad that I did. She has a fresh perspective on learning and education that is valuable as we try to change education for our diverse student population. 

I mentioned this in an earlier post on ASCD, but it feel it is worth mentioning again. The vibe was just different this year. Again, it might have been the weather we had (amazing) that kept many of us frozen folks from the North in better spirits, but I think it was something more than that. As a teacher, you will sometimes just have a class that is the perfect chemistry to do amazing things. It is the luck of the draw and it could easily have turned out the opposite of that (we have all had that). I think that is what made this conference seem different. There seemed to be the right mix of educators that were their to learn, educators that were there to share, and a conference that was perfectly designed to bring those two groups together. 

Next year, ASCD will be in Houston and I'm excited to see what they have in store for all of us after a wonderful 69th Annual Conference. 

#ASCD14 Thoughts on Day 1

I'm excited to be back at ASCD this year. The warm weather alone is something that makes this event awesome for this frozen Michigan kid. Here some of the takeaways form the first day.

Vibe: There seemed to be a different vibe on the first day than I remember from last year. A high energy and connected feeling that Chicago did not have. Maybe it was the weather that added an extra bounce in each step, but it was something I could sense. I don't want to understate the value of this vibe though. I think it helped the participation level in the sessions I attended. People were wide awake, full of energy, and ready to learn. The open spaces that ASCD utilized allowed people to connect and feed of the energy. This was very nice to see and something I hope continues for the next couple of days.

Connected: There seemed to be more connected educators at the conference this year. I have watched the #ASCD14 stream and it is filled with great resources and comments from people that are attending the various sessions and those jumping in with ideas from home. I helped out +Elana Leoni and +Kyle Pace with their #SavedByTwitter session and helped a small group of educators start using Twitter for the first time. I showed them how to use hashtags, take and send photos, create lists, and search for amazing educators to follow. Having more connected educators is always a good thing. The more that people can be exposed to good ideas, the more that those good ideas can lead to great ideas. ASCD has done a great job at promoting the value of connected educators this year. I hope it is something they continue to support in the future.

Authors: I was able to meet some of the authors of ASCD books and pick up a copy of their books. Here are some of the books I have started to thumb through that you might be interested in reading.

The 5-Minute Teacher - Mark Barnes

Mark Barnes writes a nice book for the "arias" series about maximizing classroom instruction for teachers. Mark provides some simple ideas that any teacher can implement in their classroom right away. I recommend this book for teachers looking to tighten up their class time.

Short on Time - William Sterrett

This book focuses on making the time to lead and learn as a principal. This short book from the "arias" series from ASCD offers some great tips for principals that are looking to grow as a professional. There are always good books out there for teachers on how to make time for learning, so it is nice to see something that can support those administrators that want to grow, but cannot find the time.

Causes & Cures in the Classroom - Margaret Searle

I had a great conversation with Margaret about dealing with students in the classroom and really looking at what the root of classroom issues were. Her book provides great resources and flow charts on how to handle various issues with students that are acting out in class. The book breaks down the various types of issues and how to address them.

Day one was a great day and I really look forward to seeing what the next day hold. Make sure to follow #ASCD14 for more tweets and great ideas for the next two days.