ISTEunplugged Update - Nexus 7 Giveaways, Hashtag, and Making a Business Pitch at the ISTE Edtech PitchFest

Just a quick reminder about the fun "fringe festival" events we run at the annual ISTE conference, which is in San Antonio, TX, this year. We start with the free all-day unconference "Hack Education" on Saturday, June 22nd. All information at http://www.ISTEunplugged.com.

Some quick updates:

• Our Saturday night party is being sponsored by StudyBlue and Follett. Both sponsors have been terrific about supporting our low-pitch model for sponsors, so please pay them back by seeing if what they do is of interest to you. There is no RSVP for the party, but come early! http://www.isteunplugged.com/sat-night-622-party.html
• StudyBlue is giving away two Nexus 7 tablets (to celebrate the release of their new Android app), one at the Saturday night party, and one to those who participate in an "Online Learning in the Classroom" survey which is at https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dGRHTU5sb3hzcTJwYXFwWU9PWkMyU2c6MA. If you participate in the online survey, you are also registered to win one of 20 $25 Amazon gift cards. Entries must be completed by Thursday, June 20th. Do it now, it's fast (I own a Nexus 7 and absolutely LOVE it).
• Follett is unveiling a new educator community: "The Follett Community is a place for PreK-12 educators to grow, collaborate, share, learn, and communicate. Evolve with the changing world of education in this one of a kind education focused, online community. Follett Community will offer professional development and support, plus integration with Follett products and services. Sign up for a First Look at the Follett Community today and help make this the professional learning community you've been asking for. http://register.follettcommunity.com"
• The hashtag for ISTEunplugged: #isteunplugged
• The hashtag for Hack Education Saturday unconference: #hacked13
• Many of you will remember the totally fun "pitchfest" that we did with Khalid Smith and Startup Weekend EDU last year at ISTE. This year edmix is hosting an ISTE EdTech PitchFest in collaboration with EdSurge, and they've asked me to be a judge. Now, knowing how strongly I feel about educational startups 1) really getting to know how to help students and educators, and 2) not falling into the data-testing-behaviorist mindset, I'm telling them I would love to participate! Come join the fun--more information and the schedule at http://www.edmix.com/competitions/2. There is also still time to submit an idea and get into the running if you can get your application in by Monday, June 17th, at 5pm (they don't say what time zone, so maybe play it safe and assume 5pm Eastern).

Wednesday Interview - Teaching for Self-Driven Learning with Larry Ferlazzo

Join me today, Wednesday, June 12th, for a live and interactive FutureofEducation.com conversation with returning guest Larry Ferlazzo. Larry will talk about his newest book, Self-Driven Learning: Teaching Strategies for Student Motivation.

From the publisher: "In this lively, research-based book, award-winning educator Larry Ferlazzo tackles everyday classroom challenges with creative instructional techniques to help middle- and high-school teachers develop self-motivated and high-achieving students. The practical tips, online resources, and mini-lessons in this book encourage students to take charge of their own learning, boosting their success in and outside of the classroom. Detailed lesson plans in every chapter align with the Common Core English Language Arts Standards and cover a variety of valuable skills, including personal responsibility and perseverance, social and emotional learning, standardized test-taking strategies, and much more!"

"I appreciate Ferlazzo's practical, well-organized, and research-based approach to this book. Reading it felt like a friendly tour through a toolbox of techniques teachers (and educators of all sorts) can apply and experiment with. I am left with practical suggestions I can put to use today to encourage intrinsic motivation in students of all ages." —Winifred Kehl, Blogger, Getting Smart

"Ferlazzo's book offers many valuable strategies to guide teachers to help students feel more positive about the learning process. Larry's book is filled with lesson plans that are so easy to adapt and personalize to one's teaching situation. It is a book that I highly recommend for all teachers. It should be a must read for all teachers in inclusion classrooms." —Elizabeth Stein, Teacher and New-Teacher Mentor, Smithtown Central School District 

Date: Wednesday, June 12th, 2013
Time: 5pm Pacific / 8pm Eastern (international times here)
Duration: 1 hour
Location: In Blackboard Collaborate (formerly Elluminate). Log in at http://www.futureofed.info. The Blackboard Collaborate room will be open up to 30 minutes before the event if you want to come in early. To make sure that your computer is configured for Blackboard Collaborate, please visit the support and configuration page.
Recording:  A full Blackboard Collaborate recording is at https://sas.elluminate.com/p.jnlp?psid=2013-06-12.1708.M.9E9FE58134BE68C3B413F24B3586CF.vcr&sid=2008350 and an audio mp3 recording is at http://audio.edtechlive.com/foe/selfdriven.mp3 and at http://www.futureofeducation.com.

Larry Ferlazzo teaches English and Social Studies at Luther Burbank High School in Sacramento, California. He has written three previous books, Helping Students Motivate Themselves, Building Parent Engagement In Schools (with co-author Lorie Hammond) and English Language Learners: Teaching Strategies That Work.

He writes a popular education blog at http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org, and has won numerous awards, including the Leadership For A Changing World Award from the Ford Foundation. He also was the Grand Prize Winner of the International Reading Association Award for Technology and Reading and was given The Education Partnership Award by the College of Education at California State University, Sacramento.

His articles on education issues appear regularly in the Washington Post, Teacher Magazine and The Huffington Post. In addition, his work has appeared in The New York Times, Educational Leadership, Social Policy, and Language Magazine.

Larry was a community organizer for nineteen years prior to becoming a public school teacher. He is married and has three children and two grandchildren.

Related FutureofEducation.com Interviews:

Jun 14, 2011: Larry Ferlazzo on Helping Students Motivate Themselves
Apr 21, 2010: Larry Ferlazzo on English Language Learners: Teaching Strategies that Work
Feb 21, 2012: Maurice Gibbons on Self-Directed Learning