The #Trifecta - Blogging, Sketchnoting, and ISTE

"Setting goals is the first step in turning the 
invisible into the visible." ~ Tony Robbins

Last year was the first year I had the opportunity and privilege of attending the mother of edtech (or I even venture to say educational) conferences, #ISTE2015. Walking into the Philadelphia Convention Center as a brand, spankin' newbie left me speechless with excitement and feelings of sheer overwhelmedness. What to do? Where to look? What sessions to attend? Will my Fitbit explode from the number of steps in a day? 

The conference exceeded any expectations I could have had. I left a changed person. Even though pre-ISTE, one of my passions is educational technology, I found an even greater appreciation and love and looked to share the awesomeness with anyone who would/will listen. I left a person who connected with a vast amount of people from across the US and the world. I left invigorated, yet mentally and physically exhausted, while thirsty for more.

An added bonus which made my heart happy was watching my fellow Neosho School District colleagues transform their thinking and their classrooms. @librarystar puts it perfectly, "ISTE is a life-changing experience." I can't agree more! 

Following my arrival back home, a goal of mine was to write a blog post. While scanning through my Twitter timeline, I saw a request for guest bloggers. I gathered up some courage and soon posted my first blog which can be found here...

... and then life and work happened. The mantra soon became..."I'll blog tomorrow." "I don't have time for the extras like blogging." Sadly, my goal of  "a blog post" became my reality.... "A" blogpost. That was it...nothing more, nothing less.

Fast forward a year, I was fortunate to experience #ISTE2016 in Denver, Colorado. Year two was no chump either!  From the opening IGNITE sessions to the closing sessions, to say I found my tribe is an understatement. Connections made all over the US and world.

When 20,000 educators from all 50 states and 70 countries come together, mind-blowing awesomeness occurs. From selfies with #eduheroes

@alicekeeler

@ronclarkacademy

@kathyschrock

@sylviaduckworth

@coolcatteacher

to combatting my nerves and presenting a poster session, I laughed, I cried (more than one should in a 50 minute session, thanks @gcouros), I shared, I collaborated, I connected, I bonded with others on a like mission...and that is the greatness of ISTE.

BUT, wait! There's more...now for the trifecta...

• attended #ISTE2016 - check
• created a blog and posted - check (by the time you read this)
• created my first #sketchnote - check

One of the last sessions I attended was a phenom panel of @coolcatteacher, @sylviaduckworth, @kathyschrock and @heckawesome (whom I didn't score a pic with...bummer!) on sketchnoting.
I've been admiring from the sidelines and wanting to attend a session to learn more. This was one of the best sessions I attended. I left inspired, pumped, and eager to try my hand (pun intended) at sketchnoting. Upon returning from our roadtrip, I hopped off the sidelines and headed to gather supplies from the wonderfulness that is +Hobby Lobby  to create the old-school way before venturing into digital sketchnoting. I decided to take key ideas (I ran out of room on my page or there would be more!) from each day to create a visual representation. Without further ado....here's my 1st sketchnote...

Thank you to the panel and guest speakers for the encouragement. I'm excited for this sketchnoting journey, as well as, my intentional goal of sharing ideas, thoughts, and reflections through this blog.
The old mantras are being replaced by a new mantra stems from @gcouros session. "Make the positives so loud, the negatives are impossible to hear." One goal heading into #ISTE2017 is to look back and say, "Wowzers! I went from a single guest blog post to ihaveahashtagforthat.blogspot.com becoming a go-to forum of mine for sharing the goodness around me." That, my friends, will be #ISTEMagic