How crazy and excited are these 300 people? They for lack of better words have "drank the Kool-Aid and are running around screaming "OH - YEEAAAA!"" while interacting with each other and having a good time.
This year I had several sessions I wanted to attend as well as the Pre-Con (day before conference where a makerspace was going on).
The Makerspace Day at Pre-Con was all about creating, being creative, and how to bring out creativeness in students. I chose to upgrade an old laptop from my district. I also checkerboarded the keys making it both black and white. I've labeled the MacBook as my "FrankenMAC".
Day two of PodStock is the actual start of the conference. Beginning after the opening keynote delivered by Ginger Lewman, I attended the "Wearables" session by Paul Shircliff. Learning about basic circuitry, I was able to create LED lighting for a device or wearable. I chose to go a different route instead and attached LED lights to my Pinewood Derby car! (Thanks Paul haha!)
The second session I attended was the "Coding 101" by Kelley McCall. The session was PACKED! So many educators wanting to learn about coding and how easy it is to use. The session was informative and Kelley McCall showed everyone how easy it was to pick up and learn coding as well as several informative websites to begin using coding with.
I wandered through vendor exhibits and also socialized during the third session on Thursday. One of the awesome things about PodStock is how easy it is to connect and develop a network at the conference.
Finishing up the conference on Thursday, session four I attended Brad Buscher's "Building a Basic iPad App". Brad slowly walked the group through how to enter lines of code into a program that would execute and run, thus allowing the creation and execution of an application. While tricky, everyone was able to run and execute "Hello World" in an application.
Thursday night led into the vendor reception and dance. Also included in the night's activities are the annual Pinewood Derby. I entered a car into the derby this year and was going for most creative with LED lighting and hopefully fastest car. Neither one happened but I had a great time experimenting with my car and socializing!
One of the best things about PodStock for me entering my second year attending has been the WONDERFUL opportunity to relax, share ideas, and enjoy casual conversation with others in attendance. Last year, I met Paul Shircliff and over the course of a year we have Tweeted at each other and shared ideas via Twitter. This year, we both enjoyed several nights of casual conversation with others such as Diane Cordell and Kevin Honeycutt and Michelle Honeycutt. So many ideas were shared in a relaxed atmosphere where we all swap ideas on creative subjects. I agree with Paul 100% that the best part of PodStock is the IMMENSE networking opportunities with everyone!
Day 2 of PodStock kicked off and it was back into breakout sessions. The first one I attended on Friday was Vanessa Perez's "Ok I Have A Dream, Now How Do I Fund It?". The session covered grant writing and ways to find grants to help cover expenses of trying to equip a classroom with educational materials and other supplies. This session was really helpful for me as our district doesn't have anyone who writes grants so I have a feeling I'll be in contact with Vanessa quite a bit!
During session two on Friday, I found myself in the hotel lobby conversing with Justin Bell about iBooks author with several other people. I also used this time to recharge my devices and gear up for the finish of PodStock.
The last session I attended was presented by Kailey Lohrman. Her session was "Bullying Exposed 2: Back in Time". The message delivered was POWERFUL and MOVING. Her message tied right into the group at PodStock. PodStock(ers) have always said we are like family and Kailey's closing remark was "Friendships last for now, but family lasts forever".
There was a closing keynote and then it was the conclusion of the conference. PodStock 2015 was in the books. Or so I thought. Again that night, I found myself chatting with other attendees in the hotel lobby and connecting with them. I've found out that my business cards have been a great and easy way to share connecting information.
Finishing up my PodStock 2015 experience was a WONDERFUL dinner with Paul Shircliff, Diane Cordell, Kevin Honeycutt, and Michelle Honeycutt. We shared stories and interacted with each other over dinner and drinks. The nights after the conference are some of the best times that I enjoyed with the PodStock experience.
To Paul, Kevin, Diane, Vanessa, Brad, Kelley, Michelle, Kailey, and anyone else I'm leaving out, "Thank you" for a wonderful experience at PodStock. Your information and guidance has been awesome and it only makes me want to bring that excitement to my district!
To Paul: Thanks for helping me accomplish my goal of getting a drone for our district to use!
