A Day Of Learning & Connecting At ITEC, Iowa Technology & Education Connection

This week was a very special event in Iowa.  

The ITEC, Iowa Technology and Education Connection Conference was held in Des Moines at the Iowa Event Center.  Hundreds of educators from around the state and country gathered together for three days of connecting, learning, and sharing.  

And a little fun too.  

                           

I was lucky and got to bring my little sidekick, Hagan, with me.  He has come with me to this conference before and we always enjoy the day together.  

                           

To kick off the morning, Hagan and I really enjoyed listening to our friend Adam Bellows keynote entitled Crossroads.  

Next up was my presentation with two amazing friends, Terry Shay and Peter Reynolds.  Our presentation was entitled Connecting The Dots.  

                                       

How exciting to present with these two and tell our story of connecting through Dot Day, authors, and others throughout the world.  

                             

We can't wait to connect for more Dot Days and events in the future too.  

Thank you, friends for being part of this with me.  It was great fun.  

Hagan, being a big fan of Peter's books, loved meeting him in person finally. 

To share all of the connections that we have had over the last few years for Dot Day was inspiring to others to make connections and collaborate.  

 And definitely say WOW!

 Afterward Peter and Hagan "connected the dots" one more time.

 He also gave us these beautiful hand painted hearts which we will treasure always.

My afternoon session was entitled Lessons From Entrepreneurs for Schools, Teachers, and Students. This one was a panel discussion led by Dr. Gordan Dahlby, Adam Bellow, and the Waukee Schools CAP program.

We told our stories of being educators and turning our passion for teaching, helping, and inspiring others into a successful career and future.

It was so great catching up with Adam and his adventure with EduTechr and EduClipper.

Hagan and I also spent time walking through the vendor hall and seeing lots of friends.  

We loved meeting our friends from Vocabulary.com in person.  If you haven't yet, make sure you check out their website...It is amazing and kids love it!  

We also found the series, Internet Do's and Don'ts that I wrote with Rosen Publishing. I always love spotting them...And even more I love hearing the stories of how other librarians and teachers are using them.

 We ended our day with a treat from Smokey Row...

 And a fun fall get together with wonderful friends at The Machine Shed.

I love days like this because of these friendships and connections most of all.  I can't wait for next year.