Attending sessions and engaging with others is where you can find the magic that exists between us all.

I attended the #Unconference, hosted by Participate, which lasted all day. In the second part of the day, we had a wonderful discussion about what #hacked (hack education) can and should be. 

I also was able to connect with two educators: Anthony was on a webinar, hosted by ISTE's Global Collaborations Professional Learning Network (PLN). April is a teacher from Guam, and she and I were part of a breakout session about parental involvement. Again, meeting other educators who are doing great things is energizing. 

Part of the #hacked18 session was also sharing resources for other educators. There were several that were shared, and Steve Hargadon, whose work with global education and bringing a revolution to education, was masterful in his skill to help us all curate these different resources. I had not heard of IFTTT, which allows you to have apps better communicate with each other. You can have your Alexa use your calendar, or you can have your photos (and not links) posted to your Twitter feed, Instagram feed, and any other social media accounts you use. Working with my students' EdCorps, The Upstander Brand (funded through Real World Scholars--check them out if you don't know about them!), I immediately saw the potential IFTT to help the students better communicate their message of the Upstander.

After the #unconference, as we were waiting for friends, we saw Kemi, someone with whom we chat with on Twitter. It was so great to connect in person, and I cannot wait to attend her session at ISTE.

All of this, of course, has been captured by #passthescopeEDU, and that community has been a rich resource for me and others. If you do not know about them, you should follow the leaders who share the stories around the world. 

Finally, we went to the Participate event, and met Manda, who is an educator in North Carolina working in global education. She has a lot of great ideas and uses coding to really continue to build global competencies in students.

Throughout the day I was reminded of the power of coalitions, and how important it is to continue to build networks of individuals who help create a difference in the world.

Gina Charlet (LA), Chad Lee (TN), Caleb Bagby (TN), Wayne Fullam (TN), Margret Atkinson (LA)

It is humbling to be able to share my experiences from #ISTE18 with a larger audience, and it was within minutes of beginning the conference that everything I believe about serendipity was affirmed. 

I believe that at conferences (and indeed, life in general), you have to keep yourself open to others.

I believe that true connections come when you talk and share with each other.

I believe that there is no better experience than to shake someone's hand, introduce yourself, and ask about their story.

All of that happened during lunch, as my teacher-friend, Gina, and I were waiting to go to Hack Education: the Unconference (Participate is the event sponsor).

Seating was tight at the cafe' in McCormick Place West, and so Gina and I shared our space with others. And as we five all started talking, we realized what a small world it is.

We realized that Caleb, Wayne, and Chad all work at The McCallie School in Chattanooga, TN; one of my dearest teacher-friends, Grant Knowles, works at a VWeLab school in Chattanooga. We exchanged quick stories and they shared their first session at ISTE, the "Intro to Sewable Circuits: Teaching Electronics through Arts and Crafts." 

The McCallie School is a private, all boys boarding school, grades 6-12. Caleb is the director of tech and education, Wayne is in charge of computer science, and Chad teaches chemistry and physics. In essence, they manage the innovation lab and maker space. At first, I wondered why they were so enthusiastic about sewing and arts.

Truth be told, I don't know as much about innovation labs and maker spaces as I should.

But I was taken by their thoughts: "We are going to have the boys sewing. It’s a life skill.”

We chatted for a few minutes about the power of maker spaces, the arts, and larger life skills. I was also able to share about ISTE's Professional Learning Networks (PLNs), and we shared ideas about sessions for Sunday.

​Then we all went our separate ways.

How fabulous is it that they are able to see the potential between the old and the new? How wonderful is it that they are taking actionable steps to make sure that their students are as exposed to as many things as possible? How great is it that we met each other, and can continue to all learn together?

To think, all of this came from simply sharing and talking to each other. 

​Keep yourself open to others and their stories.