ISTE June 28th Recap

Now I understand what everyone means when they say that a big international conference like this can be overwhelming. Wow! This conference is insanely huge, and insanely crowded. I’m really glad that I had three spare hours on Saturday morning to just explore and get my bearings.

I got dropped off at the conference center at 9:00, and my first workshop wasn’t until 12:30. Rather than just sit around, I explored. I found the room that my first workshop would be in. I checked out the blogger’s cafe and the various lounges. I found lots of little quiet nooks for me to sit in and process information.

I’m finding that I like to have a blend of very social experiences and solo experiences at my first ISTE. I had a lot of fun at the Communities Networking Fair getting to meet my SIGLIB heroes, but I’ve also been enjoying sitting in the many quiet nooks scattered throughout, reading through my notes, writing blog posts, etc.

My first workshop was on Grant Writing, and I got lots of great ideas for amping up my grant writing game at my school (I’ll write up more on what I’m learning at the workshops and sessions later). The Community Networking Fair was super fun, and I got to meet a lot of new people. I was too exhausted (and the line was WAY too long) to go to the first keynote, so I went back to my hotel and crashed.

It’s a great conference, but I’m definitely glad to find moments to get away from all the chaos.