As an ISTE affiliate, the MassCUE board members arrive a day early to meet with affiliates from all over the world.  This year the schedule included a round table and an Edcamp session both in the morning and afternoon. Some of the topics included Marketing, Strategies and Tools, Building Diversity & Access in Your Organization, Sponsorships and Developing Non-Conference Revenue.  It is always nice to renew friendships with people from other states and counties each year.   

I always like to do at least one touristy thing while at the conference and on Sunday we went to the Museum of the American Revolution which was amazing. Of course I also had to see the Liberty Bell!

Monday, the first full day of the conference, was a whirlwind. As a library media specialist in a PreK-3 school one of my favorite playgrounds is the Early Learning Playground. The theme was Discuss, Learn and Play. There is the opportunity to learn about a variety of technologies and explore how they support student learning and growth. Monday afternoon was the Librarian’s Network Playground where I presented about the coding app Scratch Jr. and PBS Scratch Jr. and met with my library colleagues.  I was up early Tuesday morning to attend Kasey Bell’s CoffeeEDU and met three friends there to have breakfast and chat. Tuesday’s highlights were the Ditch That Panel. Listening to a variety of perspectives, it is inspiring to hear their practical discussions around lesson ideas and promoting classroom change. 

Three of my library friends presented STEM and the School Library: A Marriage that Makes Sense! on Tuesday afternoon.  They spoke about incorporating STEM and encouraged teachers with innovative ideas and assisting administrators with STEM initiatives.  

One of the best things about ISTE is that the learning continues all year long through interactive communities. 

Kim Keith serves on the MassCUE Board and is the chair of the Awards & Recognition Committee, as well as an active member on the Elections and Fall Conference Committees for MassCUE. Kim is a Library/Media Specialist at the M. E. Small Elementary School in West Yarmouth.