Top 5 Things Teachers are doing RIGHT NOW … While on Covid Quarantine
Last week, the educational technology world came together in New Orleans to celebrate student achievement through instructional technology at the annual ISTE conference. While the conference itself is still considered an annual event, something different was in the air. (We will get to the obvious a bit later)
Looking Back at #ISTELIVE22
This year, teachers, administrators, educational brands, and even the occasional celebrity content creator (looking at you Zach King) had something new to celebrate. For many, this was the first time in three years that the opportunity came to meet each other face to face in person. There were smiles, there were tears, there were hugs and of course, there was …..
But, before we share some of the activities that happened after #ISTELIVE, there was a celebration. We learned about Augmented and Virtual Reality. We learned about Microsoft Teams and Google Classroom. We even learned how to transform your classroom into a virtual environment using cutting-edge greenscreen technology.
But … Then it Happed
Then it was time to go home. Some left on Wednesday. Some left on Thursday. Some had their flights delayed. I'm fairly sure some are still in the airport.
Then the emails came in. The first one was a shock. How could this happen? We were all safe. Weren't we? We took our pre-tests. We added our medical information to the CLEAR app. We wore our badges. Were we not doing the right thing?
Then the second email, and then the third email came in. Then the group texts started followed by Voxer conversations and of course the rise of the POST-ISTE-COVID Facebook Group(s).
Was I the Only One???
With the bad news building on top of more bad news, and the copy/paste of “how are you doing?” texts started floating around, educators have found themselves trying to keep busy while they navigate through “it”.
After some long and tedious research on the topic, here are 10 things that educators have caught themselves doing now that ISTE is over … and they are locked in their bedrooms.
How To Keep Busy During “IsolationEDU”
Binge Watch
Look, who doesn't want to spend their days hanging out while watching “a bit” of TV? But what is on your favorite streaming services these days? Many educators have shared that they started a full marathon of the Lord of the Rings or even the MCU. One connected educator claims they have already watched the entire Stranger Things show. (You know who you are)
For me, I started researching Once Upon a Time during the conference and have quickly moved into the second season.
No matter if you are navigating your way through a movie marathon or starting to watch The Office, being locked in your room with a good streaming show has been a blessing over the last few days of isolation.
Watch Recorded ISTE Sessions
Catching up on Social Media
During the conference, you might have noticed that the #NotAtISTE and #ISTELive hashtags were revolving constantly, and it was certainly hard to keep up with all the resources, photos, and EDUSpam.
Many educators this week took to their Twitters to check out and download any random photos that might have popped up with their photos. It's like an EDUHoliday when you find a photo you didn't remember existed.
Learning Something New
One of the wonderful things about staying at home, isolated from the world, is that there is an unlimited amount of Edutainment to digest and plenty of new features of your favorite applications.
This past week marked the rebranding of Flipgrad to “Flip,” the launching of several new features in Google Classroom, and new adventures in Educational Podcasting.
Here are some of my favorite YouTube Channels to turn on when I want to keep up with the latest educational technology updates.
Making New Connections
When you attend a mega-conference such as ISTE it's easy to get caught up in the fun of meeting new people. Sadly, the conference usually ends and once you go back into your home routine you forget all about the conversations you had with people you might have just met.
In order to keep the conference alive throughout the summer, many educators have been quickly reconnecting with each other through email and their Social Media channels to build relationships and even plan on submitting future ISTE sessions together for next years conference in Philadelphia.
How Are You Spending Your Post ISTE Week?
While not every educator went home needing to spend time isolated from loved ones, there were unfortunately several who were forced to take a few extra days to themselves. As I am writing this post, I am currently on my third day away from my triplets and have spent much of my time listening to them sing from outside of the bedroom and watching them through my outside cameras.
I hope everyone had a safe and exciting ISTE conference this year no matter if you were in New Orleans or at home participating virtually.
About the author, Jeffrey Bradbury
Jeff Bradbury, creator of TeacherCast, and father of the famous @EduTriplets Thanks for checking out TeacherCast today. Please take a moment to find me on all of my Social Media channels!