#KySTE15

I don't care what product and/or event is being promoted; if it involves even a remote reference to BTTF, I am game.  Therefore, when I saw the promotional JPEG that was being used to get the word out about the Kentucky Society for Technology in Education (KySTE) 2015 conference, I immediately filled out my Request to Leave the District form and submitted it promptly to my principal and BOE.  When my request was granted, I was more pumped than George McFly when Lorraine kissed him at the Enchantment Under the Sea Dance.  I felt like grabbing my guitar and duck-walking across my classroom to "Johnny B. Goode." 

Alas, March approached and so did Winter Storm Thor, slamming central Kentucky with a hammer of frozen precipitation.  However, the conference was slated to continue on.  Although I (most unfortunately) do not own a souped-up DMC Delorean, I hopped in my Nissan Altima and made the trip up to Louisville a day early to avoid the Norse God of winter activity.  Unlike Doc Brown and Marty, where I was going needed roads and I thankfully made the right decision, considering Interstate 65 looked like this on Wednesday and Thursday of the conference:


Yikes.

Thankfully, the only affect this storm had on me throughout the conference is that it slightly altered my all-important eating plans and caused me a brief slip in front of the Smash Burger on 4th Street.

I am going to post my notes from the conference in relation to individual sessions, mainly because of the bulk of content I am wanting to share.  But I wanted to complete this introductory post by giving a shout-out to some things/people that you will want to check out on your own:

1. The title of this post, #KySTE15, was the hashtag employed throughout the conference to upload thoughts, opinions, links, and information related to what was presented throughout the week.  It may take you quite some time to navigate through all of all of the tweets related to this subject matter, but I am CERTAIN you will find multiple things that will be beneficial to you and your students.  Furthermore, what I am going to share is only what I was able to see.  For every session I attended, there were at least 15-20 that I didn't get to be a part of.  This hashtag was used by EVERYONE at the conference.
2. Speaking of Twitter, two things:
1. If you are not on Twitter, GET. ON. TWITTER.
2. When you do join the Force, be sure to follow other amazing educators that you can collaborate with, learn from, and share with along this educational journey.  Here are some examples from people I have learned from in the past couple of days:
• @mrpiercEy
• @lesliefisher
• @BWhitlowEdTech
• @watsonedtech
• @mikepaul
• @TLJamesA
• @wkingbg
• @AllenRayMartin
• @ChrisWalshKY
• @martypark

Now, let's get this thing up to 88mph and head to the first session recap: "Video Capturing and Editing on iPads" by Leslie Fisher.

~Mr. D

Doogie

I saw you the other night.

On TV, that is.

Singing.

Dancing.

Gyrating.

Hosting.

But mainly mocking.

Yeah, that's right: I am well aware of the fact that you have no idea who I am or that I even exist.  Regardless, there you were, mocking me nonetheless.

No, I am not some Hollywood starlet whom you joked about in a semi-sexual, semi-inappropriate manner.  Nor am I an aging actor or director that you subversively quipped about being "out of touch."

I am not Lady GaGa, Common, or, thankfully, Kanye West.

So no, you didn't see me at the Academy Awards.

I am a teacher.

A middle school ELA teacher, to be more specific.  I have been such for eleven years.  And in that eleven years, I have taken pride in my deft use of technology in the classroom.  My students appreciated it, at least they told me so; when it came to Kentucky Program Reviews, my admins appreciated it; and apparently, my district took notice because they named me as the middle school Digital Native representative for a statewide, federal grant program called kid-FRIENDLy.

Furthermore, I have been using a blog in my classroom for years (http://mrjasondavidson.blogspot.com).  For the past four years, I have had my students online and blogging.  However, everything we produced was based on the classroom.  To quote Seinfeld, "not that there's anything wrong with that."  Nothing I produced was about my educational philosophy, pedagogy, or anything professional in nature.  There wasn't anywhere I could go to reflect on my practice.  I just simply thought my students wouldn't care about that sort of thing.  And, just to be clear, they wouldn't.

But this wouldn't be for them.  This would be for me; my own place to be cathartic, reflective, and perhaps even a bit pretentious.  I wanted to start it, but never did: I have two small children, a myriad of responsibilities, and a limited time frame.

And so there you were: mocking me.  Saying, "come on, just add some thoughts during planning time or, like I did, at the end of the day."

Therefore, I am giving in.

This one goes out to you, Doogie: the original blogger.

~Mr. D