11 Mistakes I Made At #ISTE11

Ok, so I know that I usually strive to share upbeat, inspiring, positive posts, but I think it's also valuable to share those moments when I goof up.  I model this important, "learning from mistakes" business for students all the time, so why not model it for adults I collaborate with.  Although I had a fabulous time at #ISTE11, learning so much and meeting so many wonderful people, I made quite a few mistakes, some of which I will share here!

1. Too polite! Really? Can someone really be "too polite?" Well, there were so many times that I was right by people I wanted to meet and share my gratitude for all the work they do with kids and share with their PLN ( Professional Learning Network) but I didn't talk to them. Why? Well, on several occasions, they were already talking to someone else. Check out how silly I felt this morning when the gracious Sylvia Martinez and the hilarious Steve Dembo set me straight!

These tweets tell the story! I will not be reluctant again! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 2. Miss the events prior to the conference, like Edubloggercon.  Since I was a newbie to #ISTE11, I did not realize that this event precedes the conference every year. A free conference, open to all who arrive just one day earlier..ugh..a no-brainer! How did I miss out? I was in the midst of the school year when all of the arrangements were made, and I was writing up a grant proposal so that I would get to attend. Anyway, this is a mistake that I will NOT make again. I heard some awesome reports on Edubloggercon so I will definitely be watching any recordings and catching up soon!

3. Didn't make specific plans. Although I read several posts with great advice about what to do and not to do at #ISTE11, I did not make specific, "let's do lunch" or coffee plans with times/dates.  I did make connections with people, texting and meeting at Bloggers Cafe, but I then got caught up in a flurry meeting others and didn't have time to really talk in depth. In case you are someone I happened to be with and perhaps walked away from, I apologize. I was highly distracted by the excitement of meeting so many people. I am also a shy kid at heart so my anxiety perhaps also kept me not as attentive as I could have been.

4. Sight-seeing: There I was, in historic Philadelphia, and I only took a couple of hours Sunday afternoon to see Independence Hall with the gracious Ronnie Burt escorting a group of folks to a tour. Thanks Ronnie and Edublogs! There were many sights I wanted to see, but didn't want to miss any of the conference.  I did manage to do something right and got a few photos!

So lucky to be with my buddy, Nancy, a wonderful 3rd grade teacher I get to work with every day!

Inside the Visitor's center

Thinking of all who sat here! Wow

George Washington really sat here?

George's Sunrise Chair

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5. Taking adequate time to choose ticketed sessions carefully : I had a tight deadline at my school and had to choose my ticketed sessions way too quickly. My fault for not taking the time for me!  Next time, I will anticipate the early bird registration timeline and read the options more carefully. 2 out of 3 of my ticketed sessions were fabulous, but one really let me down, as it was selling a platform and I didn't really note that as I signed up.

6. Taking "outside" breaks! For two days, I suffered with a sinus/migraine headache that may have been related to so many factors, one being recycled air!  Next time, I will invite people I want to talk to on a walk somewhere, out of the unventilated inside air.

7. Eating right: I know what you're thinking. She ate too many Philly cheesesteaks! Actually, I honestly forgot to eat, which only happens when I am deep in learning or creating. When I did remember to eat, I ate very healthy foods, but there were times that I literally forgot to eat. Thanks to my roomie, Nancy, we picked restaurants with yummy healthy food for dinner.

8. Pictures: I did take several pictures of people as I met them, but there were times I was a bit shy about it. Next time, look out! 

9. Losing track of ideas inspired by conversation: Some of my conversations generated creative bursts in my head; new apps I want to develop or ways to use a tool. I did take notes and record sessions in an app on my ipad, but I should have just done a quick voice recording each time an idea hit me.

10. Sharing my own work: I never want to be one of those people who pushes their "stuff",  but I really should have passed out more of my cool business cards that I made just for the event. I am sure that my publisher would have appreciated a few mentions.  Oh well..so I stink at self-promotion! 

11. Getting my feelings hurt:  Yes, I am one of those people who has been told, "You need to develop thicker skin." Don't worry.. I know this and work on not taking things personally quite often. Anyway, to the point...
There are people I regularly converse with on Twitter, and in the months preceding the conference, I imagined how fun it would be to hang out and talk live with them. Most everyone I met was so gracious and warm, and the experience of that glimmer of mutual recognition upon sharing our Twitter names, followed by a huge hug, was incredible! Unfortunately, when I finally did meet one of these people I thought I "knew", I was not met with a warm welcome. I was taken aback and a bit hurt.  I realize that this person's behavior could have been related to so many factors and even tried again later to connect. Once again, I was dismissed.  I was sad, but realized that this is one of those parts of social media that we don't talk that much about. People are not always who they "project themselves" to be. I then thought of how kids feel when not one of the, "cool kids."
I also had the experience of introducing myself and telling someone I follow on Twitter how I appreciated what she shared there. She gave me a half-smile, half-blank look and turned away. Wow, I looked at her profile later and saw that she hardly followed anyone, was presenting at ISTE11, but perhaps was too important to talk to someone like me. That's life, I guess. Next time, I will be prepared for that response. 

I will definitely be sharing more about what I learned at ISTE11. What mistakes did you learn from at #ISTE11?

I Promised..

I promised myself and my friends out there who are not here at #ISTE11 that I would blog, tweet, and keep them in the loop with the events, learning, connecting happening at lightning speed here. This is one attempt, as I have been here since Saturday night and have barely had time to capture a coherent thought, never mind convert it to the written word!

Here are a few highlights so far, and I am sure many more posts will enter my conscious mind when I jump on that plane to come home tomorrow night. ( which, now at the time of this edit, is actually tonight.)

First, I've heard others say, "I've learned more in conversations with my PLN than I have in official conference sessions." For the most part, I must say, that's been true for me as well. Although I have attended a few sessions with "new learning," much of the resources I have already become acquainted with through my amazing PLN. Here's a picture of just one example of collaboration happening in the Blogger's Cafe, which is a big open space where people are connecting and sharing.

Kevin Honeycutt leading a great jam session!

My most favorite part of the conference has been meeting people that I have learned with, collaborated with, shared deep conversations with through Twitter, blogging, online conferences and Skype sessions. Here are a few photos of meeting these wonderful folks!

So thrilled to meet Jana @Mollybmom and Jennifer @Saskateach from Canada. They are wonderful ladies who share so much!

The wonderful Karen McMillan or McTeach, as I know her on Twitter, meeting up for the 2nd time ever! 

The fun and dynamic, Nick Provenzano, or @thenerdyteacher as I know him on Twitter!

The fabulous Paula Naugle, @plnaugle who is a gift to all of us in our PLN.

 The dynamic Angela Maiers, @angelamaiers with George Couros @gcouros and Dean Shareski @shareski

The talented John Spencer, @johntspencer who is such a great guy and fabulous writer!

The very kind and inspiring Ken Shelton, k_shelton, also from California!

So great to meet Cory Plough @mrplough07!

The warm and bubbly Shelly Terrell or @ShellTerrell who inspired me to use Twitter and blog more regularly!

Meeting these friends, and I do consider them real friends, has felt like coming home. After almost 2 years on Twitter, I have come to know people better than I know some of my every day, face to face colleagues.  There are so many wonderful folks I have met, and I know I will forget some in this list so forgive me in advance: Karen Janowski, Kyle Pace, Deven Black, Jerylene Nemanich, Paula White, Becky Fisher, Marybeth Hertz, Gerald Aungst, Ann Leaness, Katie Hellerman, Angela Watson, Amanda Dykes, Beth Still, Michelle Baldwin, Shannon Miller, Mike Ritzius, Ken Royal, Shawn Ram, Tom Whitby, Jeremy MacDonald, Jason Schrage, Susie Toso, Ronnie Burt, Kristina Peters, Colette Cassinelli, Jackie Gerstein, JoAnn Jacobs, Kevin Honeycutt, and the fabulous Elana Leoni and Betty Ray from Edutopia.

I was absolutely thrilled to chat with the fabulous administrators and leaders I have connected with on Twitter: Pam Moran, Lyn Hilt, Patrick Larkin, Dave Meister, George Couros, and others I may be forgetting at the moment!

George Couros @gcouros and Patrick Larkin @bhsprincipal

It is difficult to put into words how I feel today after sharing and learning with all of these people from around the world. Energized, inspired, and grateful are the feelings that pop to mind. How about you?