The Start of ISTE (weeks later)

The first official day of ISTE was mostly focused on the awards’ ceremony. Luckily my husband and I wandered out onto the wonderful terrace at the convention center and ran into Lisa Parisi, Brian Crosby, and David Jakes.

Jakes was working on his Ignite presentation for the next day. Somehow this led us to a discussion of the flipped classroom. I have shared my thoughts on this topic previously but Jakes, ever the positive one, suggested that this is a topic around which there is a lot of interest and conversation.  His theory is that we should be using that level of engagement as an entry point rather than simply brushing it off.

He asked us to consider the positives of the flipped classroom. Parisi quickly responded that the engaged lessons happening during classroom time is the one positive. Jakes’ argument is that those of us with issues about flipping classrooms should grab those positives we see as a way to push forward. A new way for me to think about this.

This led to a brief conversation about the idea of ‘yeah, but…’ One argument is that responding to a new idea with ‘yeah, but’ not only shuts down that conversation but makes it less likely that people will come forward with other new ideas. Jakes writes often about how words matter and I completely agree with that. Thinking about how an idea or response is phrased does matter and is something I need to remember. (Especially as I read Choice Words.)

This brief conversation, with so much food for thought, was just proof of the idea that the best parts of ISTE are often the unplanned meetings and discussions.

I hope I haven't misstated anyone's ideas or thoughts here.