I am so thankful to the MIEE Travel Program for the opportunity to participate in this year's ISTE Live Conference! I presented two sessions and attended many others that taught me a lot that I will take back to school with me next year!
The first session was "A Whole New World with Minecraft." Over the last few years, I have learned a lot about Minecraft: Education Edition through trainings offered in my district and courses on the Microsoft Educator Center. I use Minecraft regularly with my students and was excited to share my lessons with other educators. Click here to access the presentation I used during this session.
I started this session with information about which devices support Minecraft, the benefits of using Minecraft, and game basics such as modes of play. Then I shared ways I have used Minecraft with my students, including the Georgia Performance Standards reinforced by the lessons and examples of students' creations.
The second session I presented was "We Love Our Library: Using Your Learning Management System to Promote Student Engagement." Click here to access the presentation I used during this session. Throughout the past year, our learning management system has been invaluable in helping me stay connected to students and parents. During this session, I shared how i use my media center learning management system courses to communicate media center news and events. The session also contained information about the badging system I developed for my fourth and fifth graders. I created 44 modules and a badge for each. Students are rewarded with a digital badge for completing activities such as monthly reading challenges and monthly makerspace challenges. Other badges are awarded for using Microsoft tools such as Sway, PowerPoint, Forms, and OneNote. I also use our learning management system to share Minecraft worlds with students.
During the conference, I also attended many very engaging sessions. I loved each of the main stage events, with inspiring speakers such as Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona and Priscilla Chan of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. Esports and animation were popular topics in the sessions I attended. I also learned about many Microsoft product updates, including Reading Progress in Teams, PowerPoint Live, and Teams breakout rooms enhancements. I look forward to incorporating my new knowledge into my plans for the 2021-2022 school year!
