Educators, experts, and companies from every corner of the country and the world gathered at the International Society for Technology in Education’s ISTE 2019 conference in Philadelphia to share best practices and get a glimpse at the latest and greatest innovations in education technology.
In case you weren’t able to make it to this year’s conference, we rounded-up some highlights, below.
On day one, Danielle Feinberg, Pixar director of photography for lighting; Mike Walsh, author and CEO of Tomorrow; and Cheyenne E. Batista, founder and CEO of Firefly Worldwide Inc. kicked things off. Batista’s message to educators and student? “You have a voice, it will be heard.” Throughout the week of activities, sessions and keynotes, several themes rose to the top in addition to amplifying student voice—equity in education, the future of artificial intelligence, growth mindset, and digital citizenship.
At the Scholastic booth on the expo floor, in addition to hosting giveaways and PD presentations, we shared our full suite of award-winning, research-based digital solutions. Visitors to the booth checked out programs including Scholastic F.I.R.S.T.™ and Scholastic W.O.R.D., which represent key shifts in instruction by helping students build foundational reading skills starting with letter sounds and morphological word families.
To wrap up the conference, three outstanding educators were honored with the ISTE Making IT Happen Award for demonstrating “extraordinary commitment, leadership, courage and persistence in improving digital learning opportunities for students.” Congratulations to Rachelle Dene Poth, Nicol Howard, and Doug Casey! Lastly, 2018 National Teacher of the Year Mandy Manning spoke on the mainstage. She said to the audience, “We as educators give students the tools and the skills and ultimately the belief in themselves.”
On Twitter, attendees shared their favorite quotes, snapshots, and moments from #ISTE19. We followed along and pulled some of our favorites:
Who does Danielle Feinberg thank for success at @Pixar...? Teachers. Incredible speech. Awe-inspiring experiences that resonate with so many kids that just “don’t fit in” who are destined for greatness with a little help from a teacher #ISTE19 #bethatteacher pic.twitter.com/ddpPdJCSKS
— Anna V. Blake (@annavblake) June 23, 2019
Loving the ISTE Keynote, Mike Walsh—futurist—explaining the algorithmic age we’ve entered! @KSUBCOE @ksuiteach pic.twitter.com/4Tf0rNKZQR
— Kennesaw State ITEC (@KSUITEC) June 23, 2019
@cheysays showed us how great parents can impact students...and how great teachers can do the same. #bethechange #teachersmakeadifference #ISTE19 #HSEatISTE19 pic.twitter.com/LhB6YmtC42
— Katie Thurston (@ThurstyTeach) June 24, 2019
#DigitalCitizenship is about human connections online — it needs to more than an add on class or all school assembly. Let's change 'don't' statements to 'I will' statements @mbfxc @digcitkids #digcit #digcitkids pic.twitter.com/wxo0FltgbN
— ISTE (@iste) June 24, 2019
We had some special visitors at our #ISTE19 booth all the way from Mexico City! Stop by our booth 2528 for some free samples pic.twitter.com/PhYx4Wre6s
— Scholastic Teachers (@ScholasticTeach) June 24, 2019
“We’re moving toward this personalized world, and we need to think of that in terms of education.” @manoushz #ISTE19 pic.twitter.com/bw9sIUTpDO
— ISTE (@iste) June 24, 2019
Phil Hansen @iste keynote embodies a large theme in education: over coming setbacks, either real or perceived. It is astounding to see his art and hear how it came out of the drive to create and build. #iste19 #notatiste19 pic.twitter.com/ggvMwxPxVW
— Matthew Winters (@TeacherWinters) June 25, 2019
"Leadership is action, not a position. " @selmekki
— Heather Eskridge (@elem_counselor) June 25, 2019
Sharif El-Mekki shared a powerful message of equity for ALL students and future innovators. @iste #ISTE19 pic.twitter.com/y3AQ8eqvve
Current session made me think of our job coaches. Sady has cerebral palsy and Mark Coppin works with her. Mark says “* It’s more than accessibility, it’s accessing ability.”#ISTE19 #cinematography #careers @FullSail pic.twitter.com/p4wU0tPk4O
— Dr. McLean (@NBMiddleAg) June 26, 2019
Maybe the wall is the problem. How do we year down the wall? #ISTE19 @iste #michaelbronner pic.twitter.com/Q8qs19BKVi
— Kim Roberson (@KimRobersonEDU) June 26, 2019
We're working with human beings, not robots. If you do not build a relationship with the students and understand their needs, the technology doesn't matter @MichaelBonner_ #ISTE19 pic.twitter.com/mznbEsfbvU
— ISTE (@iste) June 26, 2019
The changing demographics of disability, homelessness, or access can alter wholly the lives of students...you can’t be effective without considering the reality of your students. #iste19 pic.twitter.com/bPa0CgqTPn
— Sean M. Arnold (@seanmarnold) June 26, 2019
We need to be change agents as teachers, and we need to help students become global citizens! @MandyRheaWrites Mandy Manning (2018 Teacher of the Year) #ISTE19 #ISTEturns40 @iste pic.twitter.com/MLN0sPCmXf
— Dr. Jessica D. Redcay (@RedcayResources) June 26, 2019
Discussing failure authentically is especially important for students, says @aliciaduell during her general session talk at #ISTE19. #EdTech pic.twitter.com/iB0zlzumNu
— SmartBrief Education (@SBEducation) June 26, 2019
