ISTE Proposal Reviews

This past weekend I handed off our little bundle of joy to my husband for almost FOUR HOURS! To do what, you ask? I sequestered myself to a quiet room and read proposals for ISTE. I was on two reviewing committees: PLNs and Professional Development. It was fascinating to see the other side of this process and thinking of all the great sessions I’ve attended at the two national ISTE conferences I’ve attended (Denver, 2010 and San Diego, 2012).

A couple things I learned:

1. More is better. I felt like the best proposals were those that explained each point and made it clear how it related to the goal. Some people only wrote one word for their outlines, like “Introduction.”
2. Take trendy topics to a new level. One session I’m really looking forward to (if I go to San Antonio this year) is “Twitter 201.” There were probably 10 proposals on how to use twitter in your PLN, but only one talked about what to do now that everyone is on twitter. Getting on Twitter was relevant in 2010. It’s almost 2013.
3. Don’t link. I’m reading 45 proposals. No, I’m not going to your website to read more.

In related news, I’m excited that I had my first proposal accepted! I’m going to be presenting at NCCE (Northwest Council for Computer Education) in March here in Portland. My topic is Gaming for Learning: Using Simcity in a Middle School Science Classroom. It was accepted early and will be highlighted in the advance program. Wow! I’m already getting nervous…