Every year we attend ISTE, we are inspired by the passionate and innovative educators who we meet, and this year was no exception.
We partnered with Cisco Systems, a global leader in education technology solutions, to create the most immersive experience we have ever been a part of, and ISTE attendees were the perfect audience to engage with. Anyone can put up a booth and give away some branded office supplies or fun sized candy, but we wanted to facilitate a professional learning journey over the course of the conference that would role model the 4 C's, connect attendees with each other, and exemplify technology in education.
So, we created the Global Problem Solver Experience composed of 13 different stations across the convention center and throughout the duration of the 3-day conference, including a Mars classroom simulator that challenged educators to solve a series of problems as a team within a half hour to see if they had what it takes to teach on Mars.
Check out the full breakdown of the experience at: iSchoolinitiative.com/iste19
Watch the recap video at: https://vimeo.com/359557560
From secret meetups that turned into flash mobs of attendees completing random acts of kindness, to challenging strangers to lightsaber battles and chasing down mascots in an attempt to get a selfie, each challenge was built into an incentive system so that attendees earned tickets which they could spend on shirts, mugs, and raffle tickets for drones, VR sets, etc.
Every component of the Global Problem Solver experience related back to pedagogical best practices (yes, even the imaginary lightsaber battles), and, with the support of our strategic partners for the conference - Cisco, Facilitron, Z-Space, and Curriculum Associates - we showcased practical ways to incorporate technology into the learning environment.
On average, attendees stayed at our Cisco booth completing challenges and earning tickets for an hour, and we had so much fun the time flew by. We are already planning next year's experience and hope to see you at ISTE 2020 in LA!
To learn more about the conference experiences we create:
