My favorites list for classroom making and makerspaces at ISTE 2014

The International Society of Technology in Education (ISTE) conference is right around the corner – June 28 – July 1, 2014 in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s the biggest US-based event for K-12 educational technology, and people from around the world will be there to see the latest stuff and to hear the newest ideas for technology and computers in education.

This year there is a big focus on “making” in the classroom – which I’m glad to be a part of! Last year it felt pretty lonely to be one of the only speakers talking about it. But this year, there are numerous events and sessions about making, maker education, and many hands-on and PBL sessions as well.

I’ve created a “favorite list” of some of the conference sessions and Maker “Playgrounds” happening at ISTE. Unfortunately, I can’t figure out a way to share it from their site, but here they are with just an old fashioned copy/paste! Even then, the links don’t work and even if I was ambitious enough (I’m not) to try to relink them, the sessions are in popup boxes so they don’t have unique links. A missed opportunity, I think, ISTE. As Oprah knows, favorites are meant to be shared! Here is a link to the ISTE program search for you do-it-yourselfers.

Friday, June 27

Hack Education (I’ll be here!)
Friday, June 27, 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
GWCC B303/304

Mobile Mega Share (I’ll be here!)
Friday, June 27, 2:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
GWCC A411

Saturday, June 28

DON’T MISS! –> Invent To Learn@ISTE 2014 workshop – robots, programming, electronic papercraft and sewing, 3D printing, and much more (plus lunch), lead by Sylvia Martinez and Gary Stager. Don’t miss out, registration is limited (not an ISTE sponsored event).

Sunday, June 29

Technology transforms pedagogy: Combining the tools and the vision
Sunday, June 29, 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
GWCC B303/304

Student tech leaders to support digital transformation
Sunday, June 29, 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
GWCC Murphy Ballroom Galleria, Table 5

Genius hour 20% time: Best practices inspire creativity not chaos (I’ll be on this panel)
Sunday, June 29, 12:45 p.m. – 1:45 p.m.
GWCC Sidney Marcus Auditorium

Designing your makerspace
Sunday, June 29, 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
GWCC Murphy Ballroom Galleria, Table 9

Digital Harbor Foundation Tech Center: Inner-City Baltimore Youth Makerspace
Sunday, June 29, 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
GWCC Murphy Ballroom Galleria, Table 41

The Maker Movement: Interactive electronics without programming
Sunday, June 29, 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
GWCC Murphy Ballroom Galleria, Table 2

Invent to learn: Making, tinkering and engineering in the classroom (Gary Stager)
Sunday, June 29, 2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
GWCC B312

STEM in K-5: Beebots to WeDo!
Sunday, June 29, 2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
GWCC B309

Monday, June 30

Build your world: Mobile makerspace at the Mobile Learning Playground (I’ll be here – speaking towards the end)
Monday, June 30, 9:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
GWCC Building B, Level 3 (near Room B313)

School 2.0: Where are we headed
Monday, June 30, 10:45 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.
GWCC B309

Student engagement: Best practices for inquiry-driven, project-based strategies
Monday, June 30, 12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
GWCC B406

Making sense of maker education
Monday, June 30, 1:15 p.m. – 3:15 p.m.
GWCC Murphy Ballroom Galleria, Table 38

STEAM (science-tinkering-aesthetics-engineering-math): Creating a maker culture
Monday, June 30, 1:15 p.m. – 3:15 p.m.
GWCC Murphy Ballroom Galleria, Table 9

Creating a makerspace: Makey Makey and Scratch
Monday, June 30, 12:30 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
GWCC A408

Design your school’s R&D
Monday, June 30, 4:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
GWCC A303

Merging mobile, makers, and science education
Monday, June 30, 5:15 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
GWCC B405

Exploring earth and space science: Hands-on littleBits STEAM activities
Monday, June 30, 5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
GWCC A311/312

Tuesday, July 1

Maker’s Playground and agile learning environments
Tuesday, July 1, 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
GWCC Building A, Level 3 (near Room A313)

Top 10 classroom tools of the maker movement (Sylvia Martinez)
Tuesday, July 1, 10:15 a.m. – 11:15 a.m.
GWCC Murphy Ballroom 3/4

Enriching elementary geometry curriculum with 3D printing
Tuesday, July 1, 11:45 a.m. – 12:45 p.m.
GWCC B308

ISTE Mobile Learning Network: Merging mobile with the maker movement
Tuesday, July 1, 11:45 a.m. – 12:45 p.m.
GWCC Murphy Ballroom 1/2

Educational technology and makerspaces
Tuesday, July 1, 1:15 p.m. – 2:15 p.m.
GWCC B207

Learn How to Use a 3D Printer – Right Now!
Tuesday, July 1, 1:15 p.m. – 2:15 p.m.
GWCC Tech Infrastructure Pavilion (booth 2448)