Meeting People at the ISTE Conference

I've been meeting a lot of great people here, and of course spending time with people that I already know. It's interesting, though, to see the differences in "famous" people here at the ISTE conference. Keynote speakers from other conferences, and even authors who's books are being sold here, are often walking around as attendees. I passed Marc Prensky, from the keynote panel, wearing a conference lanyard and walking with a couple of other attendees. I resisted the urge to ask if I could get a picture with him. I also sat and chatted for a few minutes with Dean Shareski, a past keynote speaker at the ATLE conference, and Steve Dembo, an upcoming keynote speaker at the ATLE conference. On the street I passed Scott Kinney, a former ATLE keynote speaker. I've also seen posts on Twitter by David Warlick, who will be the keynote speaker at our division professional development day, and I've also seen Gary Stager around.

On the other hand, Dr. Mayim Bialik (a mainstream celebrity) was much more guarded. Her time was protected and proscribed, and only certain people were able to get a photo taken with her. Don't get me wrong, she came across as very friendly in the keynote panel and during the session she helped present, but I'm sure if she would have been stuck talking to a thousand people if she hadn't been sheltered.


I have been able to talk to a number of great people here, though. Yesterday I ended up sitting beside Brett Kopf, the very enthusiastic Co-founder of remind101, a service that I often recommend for teachers. I also waited in a line and had a good conversation with John Lindsay, the husband of flat classroom author Julie Lindsay. A few people that I've met and interacted with in person and/or on Twitter are Jenn Wagner, Stacci Barganz, and Amanda Pelsor.


I've also appreciated the opportunity to spend some time with people I know in person, such as Todd Kennedy and Treva Emter from the ATLE, and of course people from my own school district:
Faye McConnell, Director of Education Technology and AISI
Donna Griffin, Innovation Facilitator
Aaron Tuckwood, Technology Consultant
Les Sereda, Media Specialist
Tim Knell, Director of Technology Services
Scott McFadyen, Chief Financial Officer
Ali Nazarali, Support Analyist
Shawna Jenkins, Literacy Consultant
Dianne Molzan, Student Support Consultant
Jenn Cowie, Teacher