Inspiration from #IETA16

My head is still swimming from all the education awesomeness I experienced at my first Idaho Education Technology Association (IETA) Conference. Between the sessions, exhibit hall, and networking, it was one of the best conferences I've attended. Rather than leaving with a mile-long wishlist of technology, I have ideas that I can use in my classroom and share with my colleagues.

I was lucky enough to attend along with my wonderful wife, Sarah Windisch. Since we're both always looking for ways to improve our schools and classrooms, the learning never stopped. We're still talking about all of the things we're inspired to try out.

Monday opened with Darren Hudgins' keynote presentation "The Merchant of Someday." He highlighted just how rapidly access to information and communication is changing the world.

#IETA16 kicks off with @dhudgins's keynote. Interesting stat from last night. pic.twitter.com/jjJfkrKcPD

— Kelly Kermode (@coachk) February 8, 2016

Although the world has changed immensely in the last few years, schools have been much slower to adapt. He challenged us to use our vision of someday to guide us as we sell learning to our students. It definitely set the right tone to kick off a technology conference.

Here are my random thoughts from @dhudgins keynote at #IETA16 The Merchant of Someday! #madewithpaper pic.twitter.com/v7681Xo2RA

— Janet Avery (@averyteach) February 8, 2016

I also got to learn about Hyperdocs from Lisa Highfill on Monday. The basic idea of Hyperdocs is to create an all-in-one digital document that gives students the instructions and resources to explore and learn on their own. Then students can share the basic information with each other online leaving your class discussion time for making meaningful connections and digging deeper. This was my biggest takeaway from the conference. I'm putting this right to work in my classroom for third grade literature circles. I also loved hearing about Lisa's Teachers Give Teachers Twitter account. It's basically a repository for re-tweeted free resources from other teachers. It's a great concept, and I hope it really takes off in Idaho.

The #IDedchat crew got together Monday night. Discovery Education hosted a nice reception for the group and it was fun to spend some time with my usually virtual PLN.

#IDedchat group meeting up at #IETA16 @DiscoveryEd pic.twitter.com/Nofi5PDWOL

— Em Wirth (@EmMurn) February 9, 2016

My favorite Tuesday session was almost another keynote as Rushton Hurley talked about making memorable projects. He encouraged us to get students asking interesting questions.

How many times do we ask students to make their work interesting? Set the bar high. @rushtonh #IETA16

— Penni Aufderheide (@piccolopenni) February 9, 2016

When students are interested, they're willing to produce excellent work. In addition, constructing a memorable project sets the stage for greater student learning.

Ts Reflect on your classroom. How can you make it memorable? #IETA16 pic.twitter.com/fs2GffXj6N

— Heidi Paullus (@heidipaullus) February 9, 2016

The rest of the second day was full of great ideas, too, but the highlight was the IETA Teacher of the Year award. It went to a fourth grade teacher from my district who has done some amazing things with technology in her classroom. I always look forward to learning with her at our district technology meetings. Congratulations, Kelli Ogle!

There were so many things at IETA that I want to bring back to my classroom. It will definitely keep me trying new ideas through the rest of this school year and beyond. And I'll keep you updated as I continue to experiment and refine...

For more #IETA16 learning, check out Janet Avery's Storify of Day 1 and Day 2.