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ISTE2010 Conference – F2F or Virtually
by Jim Vanides



I’ve noticed a growing number of conferences hosting parallel virtual (online) instantiations of the face-to-face events. The 2010 conference of the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) is an annual event you won’t want to miss. It’s the largest education technology conference for K12 educators held in the US. Here’s how you can “be there” and benefit, even if you can’t get there in person...
 
TWITTER
 
If you want a “taste” of what’s happening, especially during the conference-wide keynotes, then “tune in” using Twitter. Last year, there were hundreds of twitter users graciously sharing what they were hearing from very interesting keynote presenters – while the presentation was underway. It’s a bit like receiving thoughtful (mostly) headlines in real-time. I call it “semi-synchronous”, because it’s not exactly real-time.
But tweets do “fade” in time, so it’s more fun to be watching them as they get posted.
 
You don’t need to be a Twitter user in order to search and read tweets from the conference. All you need is a browser. You also need to know that tweets from the conference will include the “hasthtag” #ISTE10 (note: some people are also using the unofficial hasthtag #ISTE2010). Then point your browser to either http://search.twitter.com (and hit refresh every so often), or better yet, use a website that refreshes itself like www.tweetgrid.com or www.twitterfall.com.
 
Whichever you choose, ask it to search for #ISTE10, and you’ll begin seeing what everyone is posting in real time. This will be particularly interesting during the opening keynote on Sunday night, around 5:30pm Mountain Time when Jean-François Rischard speaks. If you’d like to follow my tweets, search for my Twitter name, @jgvanides.
 
WEBCASTS and WORKSHOPS
 
You can also participate in some of the virtual sessions being “webcast” from Denver, Colorado during the event. For example, two of the three keynotes will be webcast on www.istevision.org. There are also Virtual Workshops (fee based) that you can attend.
 
BLOGS
 
If “asynchronous” is more what you prefer, you may want to read some of the blogs being written during the conference. The ISTE Blog Roll has a large and growing list of blogs worth checking out.
 
ONLINE COMMUNITY
 
ISTE has created a NING community online for the conference. Just go to www.iste2010.org to read what’s being shared – or join and participate. It’s free and an easy way to connect with other educators who share common interests.
 
ISTE VISION
 
In addition to live video on demand, other videos will also be posted at www.istevision.org (right now you can see recordings from last February’s HP Innovations in Education Worldwide Summit which I organized with ISTE for our grant recipients. While the events were webcast live at the time (more than 6000 views!), you can still watch the recordings and see the online poster session. See www.hpiie.org if you’d like to learn more.
 
…then there is Face to Face
 
Finally, if you will be at ISTE2010 in person in Denver, I would enjoy meeting you! Drop by the HP booth on Monday at 1:30pm or 3:30pm. I’ll be talking about our education grant programs:
 
One way or another, I hope you can attend ISTE2010!

 

Jim Vanides is currently a Program Manager in Philanthropy for Hewlett-Packard, responsible for worldwide higher education grant initiatives (www.hp.com/go/hied-blog). He also teaches an online course offered through Montana State University for elementary teachers on the Science of Sound (www.scienceteacher.org). He holds a BS in Engineering and a MA in Education, both from Stanford University.

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