Entering the Stratosphe

Well, it is official, I am here at ISTE 2012 in sunny San Diego. The official convene slogan is: Expanding Horizons, but that really translates into “mind blowing shit.”

On my first day at the conference I was lucky enough to be invited to the annual Leadership Symposium. In true conference form, my horizons were blown.

The keynote facilitator of the symposium was author and educational leader, Michael Fullan. In his opening remarks, Michael explained to educators from 22 countries his idea and research behind the “stratosphere.” The Stratosphere is a new term that Michael is using to explain the overarching them at ties together three distinct approaches to education: pedagogy, technology, and change knowledge.

As a young educator, I was immediately draw to the story that Michael wove. His presentation covered a wide range of topics, and even coined several new terms (such as simplexity, how to combine simple ideas into a useable process). The crux of his message is that we are living in a unique time!

I will come back and talk more about Michael Fullan and his impact both on me and the field of education in a later post. The next session is calling, see you on the flipped side.

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