Sometimes the most insightful interactions at events come not from speeches or session panels, but from random conversations in a hotel lobby or at an airport gate. This seems to be the case every time I meet Kari Stubbs. In this conversation, which was pieced together in a Zoom recording this week, we run the gamut — from post-pandemic hybrid event patterns, to the ramifications of the ISTE-ASCD merger, to AI noise, to new ways to better balance industry involvement with educational inspiration. Click below to listen and scroll through some of the edited highlights. You can read and learn more about his ISTE experiences at LinkedIn.
His ISTE highlight:
All of our teams are in need of intensive care right now, kind of a long tail of those emotions that stem from the pandemic. We have continued the resignations of teachers and the resignations of education officials. And then, for our education business partners, we also have an increased need for team care. Our panel looked at female leadership as a potential solution to achieving this. And it was a phenomenal conversation. I don’t know if I’ve ever been on a panel that struck a chord as deeply as this one.
On the ISTE/ASCD merger:
I had the great privilege and honor of serving on the ISTE Board of Directors for six years. So I came to this really curious ASCD fusion event. I was curious how this was going to be conveyed to the crowd. I made sure to go to the main stage opening event and prioritized reconnecting with my fellow board members to peek behind the curtain. The only takeaway for me is that this is a BIG fusion
On ways the event could evolve:
We try to bring new ideas to teachers. We try to incentivize administrators who have purse strings to buy things because the conference can’t happen if exhibitors don’t sell things. It’s a vicious circle. So I left that show thinking it was loud… I know that in the past ISTE has played with and continues to iterate on the model of having smaller, separate, topic-specific events , as a type of content creation event and a leadership event, but they have always been at different times of the year.
I’m curious if in two or three years there will be some sort of mini-events nested within the larger event. They’re all set in the same city, but they’re somewhat concurrent and people can focus on their lane while we’re all going to the same parties. I just think the models are going to have to be more flexible than they have been. I think it still has to change and I think it still has to evolve.
