The following post was submitted by CMLE scholarship recipient Angie Kalthoff, Technology Integrationist at St. Cloud Area School District.

Powerful Connections

Edurockstars. Attending ISTE 2015 was a great experience. I was able to connect with many people in my Personal Learning Network (PLN) in person, I refer to these people as Edurockstars. I greatly value the relationship I have formed with other teachers in similar positions. I often reach out via Twitter and Google+, when I need to bounce ideas off of others or have questions. Now, after attending ISTE, I have the personal connection that was made at the conference. An added bonus, was meeting the companies and sometimes person, yes singular, who create the wonderful tools I use on a daily basis. One day of the conference, while walking down the hall I saw the creators of Padlet, Kaizena and EDusight. I pointed out their shirts to my friend and they heard me say their names, they stopped and asked if we use the tools and told us they created them. So neat! This was one of many experiences I had talking with companies and creators. It a great experience because I was able to tell them about the features I love to use, and things I would like to see added or changed. I guess I will have to wait and see if anything comes of it.

I also had the privilege of presenting at ISTE. This was my first large national conference presentation. It was an interesting experience for me to present in front of people from all of the world. My birds-of-a-feather session turned into a lecture at the last minute and the ignite I participated in was held in the vendor hall on a stage. Both were in settings I have never presented in before and I feel went well. I look forward to more opportunities for presenting.