Planning for ISTE - Saturday

Looking at the Saturday schedule, most of the day is fee-based workshops.  I'm sure there are many excellent options there, but I didn't include this in my Fund for Teachers grant.  I wish the vendors were going to be available that day.  It would be an excellent time to explore the giant Expo Hall, but it's still going to be a great day.  Here's my plan:

Morning - Register and spend some time reviewing the program.  I hope to also meet up with some of the PBS LearningMedia Digital Innovators who are also attending ISTE.

2:00 - 3:15 p.m. - ISTE Ignite Session (Round 1) There will be 12 presenters who have 5 minutes and 20 slides to share a strategy, resource, or teaching belief/philosophy that excites them.  

3:00 - 5:00 p.m. - Communities Networking Fair  My registration includes a one year ISTE membership.  I definitely want to join communities and become involved.

5:45 -7:00 p.m. - Opening Keynote with America Ferrera

7:00 - 8:30 p.m. - Poster Sessions If these work like the other poster sessions, there should be plenty of time to visit several.  These caught my attention right away:

• EduSlam:  The Best Innovating Teaching Practices from Around the World (http://eduslam.me)  This is the first time I have seen this site.  It looks like a great resource to explore on my own and at the conference.
• Combat Summer Slide:  Create and Sustain STEM Opportunities!  (http://www.steminstitutes.org). This is geared for middle school, but we are getting 6th grade back next year. Plus, our kids are coders and makers already.  I think they can handle it!
• Primary Kids Can!  Let's Tweet, Blog, or Skype to Connect  (bit.ly/iste2014) - there's nothing on the Google Docs yet, but I'm eager to learn about using these tools with our primary students.  We already do virtual conferencing and have explored KidBlog. Getting perspectives from others to make this even better will be great.
• Building Learning Adventures from Scratch (http://abcict.wikispaces.com/Scratch+Learning+Game+Project) - We've been using Multimedia Fusion for Video Game Club, but Scratch is a robust and widely used program.  If I decide to visit this booth, I'm going to work through the lesson posted on the wikispace first, so that I can ask good questions.
• Ed Tech in Japan:  The Latest Trends, Solutions, and Opportunities  This is a can't miss.  It includes not only the opportunity to learn about ed tech in Japan, but also opportunities to connect with students and teachers in Japan.  Our students would really benefit from a global collaboration.

Naturally, there are plenty of other poster sessions that I would like to attend listed in the 7:00-8:30 p.m. time slot.  The good news is that even though I cannot divide myself into a dozen clones, I know that I will get some great information on this day.  My excitement is building, and I still have over 2 months to wait!  Thank you Fund for Teachers!