Day 1 of ISTE 2015: A Whirlwind of Inspiration

What an inspirational day. 

It began with a call to action from the panel of amazing female edtech leaders at Paying It Forward: Leveraging Female Voices in EdTech. I was so impressed by the stories and strength of the five panelists (Ellen Bialo, Julie Evans, Margaret Roth, Kari Stubbs, and Dr. Mila Fuller). Then I was blown away again by the voices (both aloud and through Twitter) of the women in attendance. Getting young women engaged in STEM fields and leadership will be a big task, but I have hope after witnessing the power of the women I met today.

That session was followed with Carl Hooker's entertaining and thought provoking session Raised by Siri: A Course in Digital Parenting. Carl did a fantastic job of balancing serious discussions about the challenges facing parents and educators as we raise our digital native kids with the humor that is so necessary in facing those challenges.
       
After a couple hours of fun and games in the Expo Hall, I wasn't sure how useful Hacking Keynote with Adam Bellow and Dean Shareski would be. But I thoroughly enjoyed the chance to explore aspects of Keynote I had no idea existed. I can't wait to try them out. And my day was satisfactorily wrapped up with a session on Power Up PD: Top 10 Workshops for 1:1 by Diana Neebe and Jennifer Roberts.

Such a variety of sessions, but patterns emerged that I hope to see continue over the next two days.
1) The quality of presentations has been stellar. They were creative, inspirational, challenging, and fruitful. 
2) The positive energy of my fellow edtech colleagues is palpable and thrilling. I feel so lucky to be a part of this field and a part of this experience.

Looking forward to participating in that palpable energy as a presenter tomorrow! 

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