Comments on: ISTE 2010: Easy…Not Free

By: Nancy White

Nancy White — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 18:11:25 +0000

“We will know that true change has taken place when ISTE becomes a must-attend EDUCATION conference, and not an edtech conference.” >>Amen to that!

I heard some suggestions last year for re-naming ISTE, using the same initials. How about “Innovation Society for Teaching and Education”?

By: Maggie Jensen

Maggie Jensen — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 20:42:55 +0000

Will, Never be afraid to be a vendor! Just think, you can lead the vendors in providing the really valuable help for teachers as you know how to integrate the technology better than most!
Great seeing you and Sheryl in Denver. I hope you can get back to Cattaraugus-Allegany sometime soon. maggie jensen

By: Todd Conaway

Todd Conaway — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 21:48:29 +0000

You will see it. You are doing it!

All the time, for all people? Not yet, and maybe never. Automobiles have been around a long time and not everyone has one, and the ones who do vary widely in their ability to use them “well.”

And it is people like you, and those at ISTE, who write, publish in whatever form, talk at gatherings however great or small, and continue to ponder the potential of stuff/ideas that will get us there. Or closer.

What I hope we do see in our time, is that the distinction between “technology” and “learning” disappears and that, as you note, “education” becomes more aligned with learning rather than “teaching.”

By: Heidi Ragsdale

Heidi Ragsdale — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 18:50:57 +0000

Here, here. I am home now wondering what to do with my gobs of swag, not sure even to put it in the landfill yet. Perhaps as guinea pig bedding fluff first?

Thanks for your great presentation that first day at ISTE, Will!

By: John Peters

John Peters — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 14:19:05 +0000

I’m sorry I missed you in Denver Will. After reading your post, I can see why.

I was thinking about the expansiveness of the Exhibit floor as well at ISTE 2010. There seems to have been quite a few blog posts lately from folks who question the sanity of it all!

Although I realize its necessary, beneficial and profitable for the vendors themselves, does there need to be 15, or so, different interactive whiteboard vendors in attendance? I know that fees generated make it possible for ISTE to provide much good in the conference I think that the Exhibit floor can be overwhelming.

In all fairness, I did meet some good folks. Califone, which specializes in headphones and audo/visual equipment took my wife and I out to a wonderful dinner. Faronics, a software company that we use several of their products in our school, had a drawing where I won an Amazon Kindle. Qwizdom Student Response Systems, I have one of their products and they were just as nice as they could be.

I have to be truthful however, I do like the Edu-swag that you can pick up by cruising the Exhibit floor for a while. On our drive home from Denver, my wife and I had an enjoyable time looking through the bags and the assorting “things” we had collected. I probably have enough new T-Shirts to last until ISTE 2011, maybe have enough new pens to last me until Christmas and have enough hand sanitizer to last at least until November.

By: Carl Anderson

Carl Anderson — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 08:23:40 +0000

I think I spent a grand total of 15 minutes in the exhibit hall at ISTE10 before I had to leave. Indeed it was nauseating, gave me the willies. However, though it was up in the attic the place was jam packed when I was there. I worry about those <50% who spent too much time there. I also worry about those who might mistake a “session” by a vendor on the exhibit floor (yes, there were plenty of areas set up for vendor-PD) as being the same as a session given as part of the official ISTE session schedule.

I was also surprised to see how vendors used scanners to enter you in their “drawings” instead of using the conference-provided pull-tabs I have seen at other regional conferences. This was smart on their part because it meant you actually had to engage with a vendor before dropping your name in for that free iPod or classroom set of clickers. Couldn’t just drop and run like I usually do. I also didn’t see anything, or hear anyone talk about anything, that was particularly new, fascinating, or ground-breaking there this year. Wish I had though. I do worry about the future of exhibit halls at our conferences. It seems like a miserable place to try to hawk goods. Its a necessary evil and the more we see vendors dwindle the more it will cost us to attend these conferences.

By: The Gaping M Shaped Void for DIY Education - CogDogBlog

The Gaping M Shaped Void for DIY Education - CogDogBlog — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 16:06:27 +0000

[...] the same time, all of the new magic gadgets (I agree with Will that it’s not easy), all of the new offerings from “eduprenuers” (I too share a disgust for that term), [...]

By: Harlan howe

Harlan howe — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 18:33:55 +0000

I have to admit, I do like looking at the shiny stuff. I like to go see what surprises me. Perhaps I get a bit of an ego boost when the answer is “not much.” I agree, everybody wanted to sell me an IWB – it is interesting to see how many different ways there are to make it work – pens, fingers, microdots, IR, Bluetooth, GPS, disturbances in my chi….
I saw the guy with the small dry erase boards, too. I look at it as a reminder that technology is an amazing tool, but we can’t rely on it alone to do the teaching. Even the best tools lose their edge if they are used day-in-and-day-out. (overheard from a student last year: “if Mr. _____ uses that ____ board again tomorrow, I’m gonna scream.”) So I don’t know whether that vendor will be able to make it again, but I do see value in his presence, albeit likely different from the value he sees in it.
I guess where I am going with this is that every teacher needs a repertoire, a toolbox, if you will. Assembling that toolbox takes time, expertise, and perhaps money. Knowing how to use it is not easy. But some tools in the box (e.g., a circular saw) might do some things more easily than others (e.g, a hand saw). Nevertheless, you can’t build anything with just one tool.

By: Weekly Roundup: EdTech News for the Week of 27 June, 2010 | Hack Education

Weekly Roundup: EdTech News for the Week of 27 June, 2010 | Hack Education — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 17:44:56 +0000

[...] held its conference this past week in Denver. While I’ve seen lots of great blog posts from attendees and exhibitors, I found it very interesting that the event was not mentioned by a [...]

By: Will Richardson

Will Richardson — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 12:49:56 +0000

Great points, Dave. That shift to the seamless marriage of tech and learning is surely glacial. Doubt I will see it.

By: Glenn Hervieux

Glenn Hervieux — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 23:27:36 +0000

Hi Will. I’ve been following your blog for awhile and thought I would finally leave you a comment. I appreciate being able to learn and reflect from your writing and the other educators I’ve discovered this year in the blogosphere. I live in rural N. CA (by Mt. Shasta) and work for several one-school-school districts as an IT, ed. tech teacher, and provide prof. development. I can’t afford conferences anymore, but I did get to go to a CUE conference a few years ago in CA, presenting on handheld computer use in the classroom. The exhibit hall was a cool experience because I got to have some hands-on time with tools I’d been looking at online and was interested in. But the thing that is changing my life as an educator isn’t possessing the latest gadget, but the great interaction with educators I’ve found online and in the schools I work at.

I guess if I did get to go to a conference, I’d major on building my PLN and spend as little time as possible in an exhibit hall. The truth is, Will, being a good educator isn’t easy, and no gadget is going to revolutionize anyone’s teaching. Can they make a difference? Sure. I’ve talked the small schools I work with in equipping teachers laptops, document cameras, and LCD projectors. We’ve learned to use the tools well. But the teachers I work with are not good teachers because of the tools. That’s not what make them good at what they do. And there are no ten “easy” steps to being a good educator. It takes a strong commitment to continuing to learn and grow in their pedagogy and love for teaching. Thanks again.

By: Tiffany Whitehead

Tiffany Whitehead — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 21:49:25 +0000

I’m still in a post-ISTE information overload frame of mind, although I know I need to spend a lot of time next week digesting what I heard and learned (including that from your great session).

My admins pulled me into the exhibit hall and I may have lasted 20 minutes before I fled and wanted to curl up in a ball under a chair in the Bloggers Cafe. I can’t see ever subjecting myself to that type of experience again!

By: Diane Cordell

Diane Cordell — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 17:32:03 +0000

After a traumatic introduction to the vendor area at NECC 08 (where companies showed little or no interest in a K-12 teacher/librarian from a small rural school…with limited money to spend), I have avoided such venues religiously.

EduCon is my standard of excellence, with its continuous innovative, inclusive conversations.

Once that’s on my calendar, I fit other conferences in when I’m able.

By: Weblogg-ed » ISTE 2010: Easy…Not Free #edu #iste #education « Parents 4 democratic Schools

Sat, 03 Jul 2010 16:18:40 +0000

[...] leave a comment » Weblogg-ed » ISTE 2010: Easy…Not Free. [...]

By: Cathy Nelson’s Professional Thoughts » Blog Archive » Conferences cause “ADDOSS”

Sat, 03 Jul 2010 15:42:57 +0000

[...] Bullington’s, Diane Cordell’s, Buffy Hamilton’s, Joyce Valenza’s, and Will Richardson’s. Since this year I opted for ALA instead of ISTE, I was vicariously attending other conferences [...]