How to Prepare for ISTELive 22

For anyone attending the ISTELive 22 conference next week, this post is for you! The 15^th annual conference is being held from June 26th through 29th in New Orleans! We’re here to help you figure out what you can expect next week not just at the conference but also to provide you with fun things you can do around the area! As a Louisiana-based company, we feel it is our obligation to give you the inside scoop.

What is ISTELive?

ISTELive is an ed-tech conference that is recognized as one of the world’s most influential education events. At the conference, educators and education leaders get together to participate in hands-on learning, share best practices with each other, and hear from some inspiring individuals from the world of education and beyond.

After having to go virtual for the last few years because of the pandemic, the conference is taking place in person for the first time since 2019. They've adopted a hybrid approach that will feature powerful voices and offer valuable and exclusive content and resources for attendees in New Orleans and those attending virtually around the world. There are so many amazing speakers lined up for this event that will be presenting on all different topics. It's normal to feel like you are getting an overload of information and to feel overwhelmed. We want to help you navigate the conference, so you can get the most out of it! 

Speakers: 

 You’ll hear not only from some great educators and leaders in education but people from a wide range of industries and expertise. You'll experience inspiring stories and learn valuable lessons and tips from people in a range of professions from musicians to content creators to CEOs, authors, teachers, and many more. Here are only a few of the people who will be presenting next week. 

Zack King: Zack is a filmmaker and illusionist known for his clever magic tricks and digital sleight of hand. He is one of social media’s most prominent content creators. If you have never seen one of Zack's videos, I highly suggest looking him up after you're done reading this post! 

Kermit Ruffins: Kermit is a jazz trumpeter, singer and composer, and actor, from New Orleans whose success bolstered the rejuvenation of the NOLA second-line culture that now flourishes. 

Rachelle Dene Poth: Rachelle is a STEAM and Spanish teacher at Riverview Junior-Senior High School in Oakmont, Pennsylvania.  

Amanda Jones: Amanda is a teacher-librarian from Watson, LA. She was named one of EdTech Magazine's Top 30 K-12 IT Influencers to Follow in 2022.

Juliana Urtubey- Julianna was named the 2021 National Teacher of the Year. She is a National Board Certified Teacher and is known as “Ms. Earth” for her efforts to beautify schools and unify the community through murals and gardens. 

Alyssa Carson: Alyssa is a college student and the youngest astronaut candidate. She aspires to train and participate in the human spaceflight to Mars.   

Annelise Cassar Tedesco:  Annelise is the 2022 National Teacher of the year. She teaches music and art electives to grades 9 through 12 at Chalmette High School in the New Orleans region.

Mateo De Obeso: Mateo is a 7th-grade student and a member of the winning team of the Huskies Robotics Challenge 2021 contest. 

Just to name a few! For a list of all of the speakers, click here.

Topics:

ISTELive will be offering over 800 program sessions next week. Of course, that’s too many for one person to take in just a couple of days. Luckily some of the sessions will be recorded and you may be able to watch back depending on the package you purchased. We recommend going through the full schedule before it starts and picking out the sessions that interest you the most. If you plan out your schedule for each day prior to it starting, you won’t have to stress about what you should do next. Most importantly, remember to be flexible and open to what you are learning. Having options to choose from is great because you can tailor your experience to make it unique for you and learn what most interests you. Don't forget to engage with the other attendees because they’re there for the same reasons as you! 

Here are a few of the program sessions you can expect to see this weekend:

• Go Forth and Be Bold: Educating for the Future: You can expect to look at the strategies and practices used in the past in order to discover how to push for future-focused schools. 
• There are many different opportunities available to take tours and trips to experience NOLA. You can choose to take a tour of the New Orleans Museum of Art or you can join the Photo Walk of New Orleans. They are both great opportunities to experience the amazing city while getting to network with other educators.
• Creating Digital Escape Rooms (With Google Apps): In this session, you will learn how to combine Google Slides, Google Forms, and Google Sites into an engaging and creative digital escape room. 
• Inspiring today’s educators: A leadership panel: Join Apple Education and a panel of inspirational education leaders who will be sharing their tactics for inspiring teachers to create dynamic learning environments for all their students. 
• Learning Loss to Unfinished Learning: Mixed-Methods Research Identifying Accelerated Learning Strategies: A mixed-methods study designed to understand learner growth during the COVID-19 pandemic will be discussed.
• Pathways to Well-Being: Finding Balance in a Connected World: Learn tips and activities you can implement immediately to build resilience and personal well-being. 
• Advocating for Innovative Technology Use in Higher Education: Learn from faculty leaders who have successfully implemented changes in their programs in preparing future teachers for digital learning, competency-based curriculum, and innovation opportunities for student teachers.

Take a look at all of the different programs and when they take place here. Remember to make it unique to you and stay focused during each session to get the most out of this experience! 

What to do around NOLA:

If you’re attending ISTELive in person you’ll get the amazing opportunity to visit New Orleans. It's one of the best cities to visit, known for its live music, cuisine, and round-the-clock good times! Since our headquarters are based in Louisiana, we wanted to take the time and provide you with a couple of places to check out while you're there. We know you will be busy learning and meeting new people at the conference, but if you have the time, you should definitely check out some of these places.  

1. Visit the Original Cafe du Monde (800 Decatur) for beignets and cafe au lait. It was established in 1862 and is open 24 hours a day!  While you are there, take a stroll around Jackson Square and the French Market. The French Market is open 10 am-5 pm daily and has been around for over 200 years. It includes a Flea Market with daily vendors and a Farmer's Market with eateries with café-style seating. 

2. Want to experience a unique and fun way to see the city? Hop onto the St. Charles Streetcar line which takes you through some beautiful areas. It’s a great way to experience places in New Orleans you might not otherwise get to see! 

3. If you're an art lover or maybe just want a break from being outside in the heat, visit the New Orleans Museum of Art.

ISTELive, whether you’ll be attending in person or virtually, is a great place to expand your knowledge and meet people in the same boat as you. You’ll get to engage with people who share your same passions and challenges. You’ll discover great ideas to bring back and implement in your classroom. We hope you have a great time learning at the conference and exploring NOLA. 

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