ISTE Conference Part 1

Attending one of the largest Education Conferences in the world requires some navigation, flexibility and an open mind. The ISTE 2015 Conference in Philadelphia asks you for just that. There is so much on offer, so much to see and experience and so many people with whom to connect. It would be impossible to blog everything so I will only mention some highlights.
So what is ISTE? 

The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE®) is the premier nonprofit organization serving educators and education leaders committed to empowering connected learners in a connected world. ISTE serves more than 100,000 education stakeholders throughout the world. – ISTE website

The conference is home to over 20 000 like-minded educators and promotors of technology in Education. Held in the Pennsylvania Convention Center in the heart of the city, it’s really an interesting and inspiring environment. The Center itself has transformed into a mini-city, though from the air it would probably more resemble an ant colony. Nevertheless, everyone here has a common cause and whenever you get 20 000 people together for a common cause, a certain atmosphere is created;  think of a home-town sporting crowd, a political rally or concert audience. Okay, it’s not quite that parochial. In fact, there are refreshingly different viewpoints on a wide range of issues, but there is a commonality of ‘big-picture’ about the place.

Entry point to the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia

As with any major conference, a keynote speaker officially opens proceedings, although there have been a couple of sessions held prior. For the ISTE 2015 Conference, the opening  keynote speaker was Soledad O’Brien, American journalist, producer and philanthropist. And it was her philanthropic hat she was had firmly planted on her head during the address. Born to an  Australian father and Cuban mother, this created her fair share of issues growing up in America. She also had, according to her, the added burden of both her parents being teachers,  one of which taught at her High School.

With her strong beliefs in equality for all, she has used her profile and her influence in the media to “bring about opportunity to those who need it most.” Soledad sees education as the next big civil right. And she sees technology as a key to this. Through technology, she hopes to allow students to see what is possible in life. She has established a foundation where she offers scholarships for girls, particularly in the area of STEM.

Soledad O’Brien and Brad Raymond’s Starfish Foundation:

http://starfishscholars.org

The foundation wants all students to be aware of the opportunities available to them after high school.

“Education is the next big civil right” 

One area in which Soledad demonstrated the use of technology to assist vocational guidance to economically disadvantaged students was an amazing virtual reality app for a smartphone. Through this app and the use of a simple cardboard extension viewer, (Google Cardboard – see link below) students are able to experience a range of occupations, and see and hear first hand, people in virtual 3D while on the job. The cardboard hardware is only $10 and the content in online. There are other virtual reality headsets out there for educators, like Samsung’s Gera VR but Google Cardboard is very cheap in comparison and can use any brand of smartphone. The specific example demonstrated was a veterinary clinic.  

Audience participation: Google Cardboard at the opening keynote address

“If you don’t have exposure to things you may not know what is possible.”

See what Google Cardboard virtual reality is all about:

http://youtu.be/SxAj2lyX4oU


Teachers are largely philanthropic and have an innate sense of wanting to help others, I guess that’s part of the calling. It’s reassuring to see this theme throughout the conference and for it to be respected enough to be the focus of the opening keynote address.