After a long year filled with hard work and academic achievement, ISTE 2018 is finally upon us. For the uninitiated, the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) is a global collective of educators that focuses its mission on enriching school environments with today’s emerging technologies. Every year, ISTE hosts a massive conference for educators and edtech providers to come together and plan the next steps for this exciting industry. This year’s event will take place from June 24-27 at the McCormick Place West Building in Chicago, IL, and there will be plenty to do both inside and outside the conference. Here are some handy tips to keep in mind in order to maximize your time.
Explore Chicago
Situated on the shores of the beautiful Lake Michigan, Chicago boasts a culture and history bursting with life and there are no shortage of impressive sights to see when you’re not collaborating at ISTE. For starters, dig in to some of Chicago’s classic deep dish pizza or chomp on a Chicago-style hot dog in historic Wrigleyville (or anywhere with a Vienna Beef sign for that matter). Next, you could visit some of Chicago’s notable landmarks such as Cloud Gate (perhaps better known as The Bean) or the Art Institute of Chicago. Finally, for a bit of entertainment, be sure to stop by House of Blues Chicago situated on the iconic Chicago River for EdTech Karaoke, the biggest education party of the year, sponsored in part by ThinkWrite.
Explore the Expo Hall
While the wonders of the host city are great, at some point you have to get down to the nitty gritty and come to the main attraction of the week, the ISTE Expo. With over 600 exhibitors at this year’s event, it could be a bit overwhelming if you walk into the massive expo hall unprepared, so be sure to study this interactive floor map before you go and note which companies you would like to see when you attend. In the expo hall, you’ll be able to view live demonstrations of products, attend on-floor presentations, speak with industry professionals and get your hands on some awesome free giveaways. From our home base at booth #431, we will be doing exclusive giveaways and raffle prizes during the conference, so stay tuned for details on how to capitalize on those through our Twitter and Instagram pages.
Explore Speakers and Workshops
One of the most valuable aspects of the conference is the ability to gather insights from some of the industry’s top professionals. Some of the best insight you can gather will come from the keynote speakers, and this year their ranks include David Eagleman, Nadia Lopez, Andy Weir, Katie Martin and Michael Cohen. Aside from the keynotes, you can enrich your experience through a variety of learning sessions categorized based on their level of participation. One way to get some great hands-on experience would be to attend an all-new extended Bring Your Own Device (BYODex) session, where participants will have a full 90 minutes to explore resources and develop skills, all while using their own devices. Might we also suggest attending the Infuse Creativity into Language Arts and Social Studies interactive lecture that will be going on Sunday through Wednesday. You can search all 1168 sessions and plan your schedule here.
We are getting so excited for #ISTE18 and can’t wait to share everything we’ve been working on with you. See you in Chicago!
ISTE 2017 -- Be on the lookout for our new logo and colors this year!
