Friday, January 29, 2016

I'm not "SLACK"ing off...

So I have found that working 2 jobs, wedding planning, and just trying to keep up with life in general has caused me to drop the ball on a few things.  I just can't keep up with it all.

That being said, I'm OK with that. *statement retraction*

I'm not OK with that.  Funny thing is that my priorities are (maybe) a little off.  What I'm OK with is not working at home.  What I'm not OK with is that I cannot clean my home.  Laundry piles up, mail collects on my table, and let's not even talk about the bathroom that keeps the liter box for Max (the cat).

Now...personal rant over. Back to what I am OK with.

I am OK with not working at home.  One of the reasons I'm OK with that is because when I do get to work the next day, my email isn't stacked miles high.  There are a few emails and I can organize and handle that.


The reason my inbox isn't so overwhelming is because my team is testing out Slack.  Slack is really awesome because it's basically a chat that can hold documents.  You can have team chats and 1:1 chats.

It took me time time to really start using it but now I feel like it's really part of my daily routine.  If you can imagine (think wavy Scooby Doo lines and sound effects):  You send an email with facts and questions to one or multiple people.  Someone emails back (not reply all) with some answers that lead to more questions.  You have to reply all with questions and answers to some people but not everyone.  Then someone else responds with a reply all, but doesn't answer some of the questions.  So then someone else replies, but you don't see it cause it wasn't a reply all, so you don't know those answers and have to send another email to get some information.  And back and forth and back and forth and etc.  Are you overwhelmed yet?  Is your inbox overflowing yet?  And you can't delete any of them because of the various pieces of information in all the different emails.

Or you can use Slack.  All in one place.  No inbox.  Everyone can see everything.  The end.

Friday, January 8, 2016

ISTE 2016

Recently I found out that #collegereadyOH, the program I work on, had four ISTE presentations accepted!  FOUR!!  I'm blown away!  I'm humbled and honored...AND FREAKING OUT!!!

Don't get me wrong, this is definitely a team effort - and I have a beyond AMAZING team - and I am in no way in this alone.  However, it's still a rather daunting task to try and plan for a presentation at ISTE.  We have three poster sessions and a workshop.  Our team and some of our catalyst teachers will be there representing #collegereadyOH at these sessions.

So I guess this post is more looking for some advice.  
  • Have you presented at ISTE?  
  • What did you do to prepare?  
  • How did you know your session went well?  
  • What advice would you give to ISTE newbies? 
OR
  • Have you attended ISTE?
  • What presentations/poster sessions stood out to you?
  • What are you looking for when you pick a session?
  • What keeps your attention when you're checking out a poster?
THANK YOU!!
https://www.flickr.com/photos/cobannon/2766226320