ADE Institute North America - Austin Texas 2013

I’ve spent the past week at the most incredible professional development of my career.  You see, a few months ago I found out that I was chosen to be a part of the Apple Distinguished Educator Class of 2013 (ADE Class of 2013).  To be a part of this special program I had to go through a rigorous application process which included four essay questions, and the creation of a two minute video.  There were only 50 spots available in Canada and I know many equally deserving people had applied.  So when I found out that I was chosen the significance of it’s importance was not lost on me.  It is a true honour to have been chosen.

Landing in Austin 

Fast forward a few months, to this past week at the ADE Institute North America in Austin, Texas.  Wow! There isn’t much more than I can say.  In true Apple style I was blown away by both the calibre of people and the quality educational opportunities that were presented to me. Having never experienced anything like this before there really is something special about ADEs. 

Each day was jam packed with  sessions.  In terms of Apple software I learned more about iBook Author, iTunes U , Keynote, Final Cut Pro X, and Motion. Much of what I learned was way over my head, but the ADE family and the actual software creators were extremely patient with me.  We had keynote sessions from  Nancy Duarte, Rebecca Stockley, Sarah Herrlinger, and Bill Franks and Laura Heald. I was also able to meet several of my favourite app developers during the Meet the Developers session.

In addition each day I was able to attend "creative agency" sessions which were small group drop in sessions.  Here I learned more about photography, iBook Author, Final Cut Pro, and Motion.

Keynote Speaker Nancy Duarte and her Story Visual

Meeting Book Creator Dan

Meeting Reshan Richards of Explain Everything

The brain exploding learning was only one of the highlights of the week. If you know me at all I am all about the people and the relationships that I build.  The ADE Institute amplified this for me over and over again.  First off  I was extremely happy when I found out that not one but three of my friends from #1stchat were chosen to be ADEs too.  The institute allowed us to meet face to face for the very first time.  Being able to sit and learn with them for five days straight was a dream come true.  And it went way beyond learning.  We supported each other when we were totally over whelmed, laughed tons, and shared personal stories.  I still smile when I think about our time together and how lucky we were to be together so much.

Kathy and Kristen meeting F2F for the first time.

 #1schat gang Kristin, Kristen, me, and Kathy 

I also had the opportunity to connect and collaborate with many other inspiring educators as well.  My official ADE personal learning network included my incredible #1stchat crew along with Maury, Elaine, Robyn, Liz, Rich, Myrella, and Katie.  These people listened when I had questions, and encouraged me when I needed it.  They are the people who are providing me feedback on my One Best Thing chapter. They are all incredible educators too and I am so thankful to be learning with them as well.

Gillian, Kathy and I 

I also loved all the other ADEs and Apple staff that I met while in Austin.  The generous sharing of knowledge was beyond anything I have seen before.  And what really stuck for me was how incredibly generous and supportive everyone was.  Unlike at other conferences where I felt that there was a bit of a class system of the “cool kids” and the “less cool kids” I had no feeling of that at the Institute.  Every single person I met was genuine and supportive of me and what I’m doing with my students.  Every single person!  I can’t stress that enough.  It was like I had finally met the people who really got me.  It was over 300 people that really got me.  And I understood them too.  I was surrounded by incredible brilliance, yet everyone was humble and supportive. There was no ego, just knowledge, support, and sharing.

Kathy, Kristin, Kristen, and Robyn - some of the amazing rockstars in my ADE PLN.

Although our time was very full I still managed to sneak away to see the bats fly out from under the Congress Avenue Bridge, snuck in a mini run around the University of Texas, and walked around Austin.

The bats flying our from under the bridge.

Texas State Capital Building

University of Texas Clock Tower
(aka view from my hotel room)

Now that I'm home it's time for me to get started on the one project that I am required to submit to Apple - my One Best Thing.  Over the next few weeks I will be working on a chapter in iBook Author which focusses on starting with choice in a primary classroom.  My chapter will focus on the why, and how of providing choice.  My hope is that my chapter will help support those who would like to offer their students more choice but just aren't sure where or how to start.  In addition I hope that it will shed light on new and innovative ways to provide choice as well.   I have many ideas zipping through my head, including some incredible video footage of inspiring educators who are providing more and more choice in their classrooms. It will be a labour of love.

Now, I can't end this post without thanking the incredible team from Apple.  They went above and beyond in so many ways.  I am extremely grateful for the opportunity that I was just given. THANK YOU!