This is Suzy ... or as many of may know her by, 'Canvas for Littles' Suzy from YouTube! I met Suzy several years ago in Denver, Colorado. We were part of the Microsoft Innovative Educator (MIE) Expert program and attending a US MIE Expert forum a few days prior to ISTE 2016. We had both been active in our program's virtual communication channels, but found a quick friendship once we met face-to-face. Over the course of our virtual communication, and through our face-to-face meet-up, Suzy and I quickly realized that we were both proponents of student choice and personalized learning. I was beginning to think about creating a personalized learning gamified curriculum (gamification is also another love of Suzy's) and Suzy was a great help as I processed what that might look like. I invited Suzy to come present at the Lafayette Regional Edtech Conference a few years ago. She readily agreed and traveled to Indiana. It was at that first time Suzy and I had the opportunity to informally team up (as our sessions were at different times). While we knew we had always had a wonderfully camaraderie as friends, it was then that we found out just how well we vibed in a professional presentation. So, when Suzy asked if I would be interested in presenting together at ISTE 2020 I could not resist! We created a proposal for ISTE 2020, our proposal was accepted, and we planned! Enter COVID. We quickly realized that ISTE 2020 might not happen as planned, but I'm not sure anyone realized the extent to which life would change in 2020. ISTE 2020 changed to a fully virtual format, and to be quite honest, Suzy and I were at a loss. While we knew that we could utilize a virtual format to share our professional stories and thoughts, we were sad that we would not be physically 'together' for our presentation.
Long story short, our ISTE 2020 'Virtual' presentation happened and was AWESOME! We had great engagement and feedback from our attendees. BUT, I still felt let down. While I am deep in the edTech world and fully knowledgeable and capable of being completely remote/virtual, I would not choose it. I miss in-person connection. I thrive on it. I don't need it all the time, but I need it sometimes. Please, this can't be our forever new 'normal'.
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AuthorDigital Instructional Coach/Math Teacher, #MIEExpert, Microsoft Innovative Educator (MIE) Trainer, Surface Master Trainer, Microsoft Certified Educator, Trainer, #OneNote & #MicrosoftEDU FAN! Statements are my own. Archives
December 2020
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