Remembering ISTE 2015: Crowds, fun, hanging out with my #KTIfamily and my friends at the Padcaster, TouchCastEdu,  and Squirrels. Presenting TouchCast as an official TouchCast Ambassador was great and helping in the Digital Playground was awesome. I was happy to have the opportunity to attend the BrainPOP training session and in the fall completed the work to become an official BrainPOP Educator.  Using Reflector from Air Squirrels also motivated me to become an Alpha Squirrel.  If you have never attended ISTE, you definitely need to add it to your TECHNOLOGY Conference Bucket List!  There is so much energy and people are very willing to share.

Check out my TouchCast about the event:http://www.touchcast.com/stlnn/iste2015_copy/?ref=stlnn&p=channel

Meeting people from around the country and the world and learning how they are using technology to enhance learning is an amazing experience and will totally expand your PLN! I will miss ISTE this year, since I will be going to Austin TX for the American Classical League Summer Institute and presenting two separate sessions. (Last year I left the ACL conference early and went to ISTE, but this year, I can’t do that.) I will be one of those #NotAtISTE folks, so please TWEET and share what’s going on to keep us in the loop. This year ISTE is in Denver, CO.  For more information, go to the ISTE website here: https://conference.iste.org/2016/

PETE&C is the Pennsylvania Educational Technology Expo and Conference held in Hershey, PA every year. Teachers, administrators, and vendors gather from across the state and beyond for concurrent sessions, networking opportunities, to hear amazing keynote presenters, and to check out the latest technology available for teachers to enhance their students learning.   I had the opportunity to present my favorite app TouchCast.  I just love sharing this great app for media creation and am always surprised to hear how many people are just learning about it for the first time. TouchCast is interactive media for the web.  It allows students and teachers to become creators of technology and not just the consumers of technology. This is a complete interactive video studio in the form of a FREE app for teachers. You can insert lower thirds, interactive whiteboards, polls, questions, annotate information, insert maps, live twitter feeds, add special video filters, green screen effects, sound effects and more. It is perfect for cross curricular activities and the students love it.

https://touchcast.com/stl_lab/touchcast_pete2016

I also shared information about TouchCast’s Studio in a Box which is a great deal and a good way to start up your classroom media studio.  Check out Studio in a Box. For the next step up, or if you are looking for more professional equipment, check out Padcaster. Padcaster equipment is study, durable, and  gives you the ability to expand your program and make your studio mobile. Another great tool that I used during my presentation was Reflector. Reflector allows you to mirror your iPad without being wired to your device. They have other fantastic apps and tools for teachers.I also served as a PETE&C Lead volunteer again.  Serving as a volunteer is a great way to experience the conference and get a behind the scenes look at what’s happening.You can apply to be a volunteer by going to the PETE&C website each year.

This year the weather was great and visiting Hershey, PA is always a “sweet” experience.