"Meet Me In St. Louis"

Thank you to Dr. Seuss for the mentor text, "Oh, the Places You'll Go" that provided inspiration.

I am so excited for the opening of NCTE 17 and it is in a special city with a catchy song. But wait, I need to pack, gather my tech equipment, and create my schedule using the NCTE app. EEKs! Emails and tweets are coming in constantly. Plans are being made for meet-ups. Conference anticipation mounts and I am feeling both elated and nervous about getting ready for the trip in the midst of construction in my house.

So, I will s-l-o-w down,

take a breath, and

systematically plan my next few days.

Why the excitement over NCTE 17?

- The annual event is the Red Carpet gala for literacy educators.

- The convention is filled with literacy luminaries that I have known and followed for years.

- The Exhibit Hall is a bustling area of literacy products, delights, author signings, and enough books to make an educator's heart throb.

- There are colleagues to greet, new educators to meet, publisher reps to chat with, and four days of engaging presentations.

Musts:
-Join the Wonderopolis booth to speak of the wonders of learning.
-Attend Scholastic's annual M.R. Robinson Reception and Dinner and listen to the inspirational message delivered by Dick Robinson.
-Meet up with the Poetry Friday poets.
-Enjoy the conference.

I am excited to chair and present an all-star panel of presenters on Friday, November 17th at 11:00 a.m. in the Convention Hall, room 275.

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I will also present an individual roundtable presentation where I hope to make digital magic with participants who attend.

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Once again, I am excited to be part of the NCTE 17 experience so stay tuned for tweets from the conference floor and a post-conference blog. For now, I am gearing up for the trip and listening to an old tune.

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Today is Slice of Life Tuesday at Two Writing Teachers.

I look forward to meeting up with the slicers at NCTE17.

Celebrating #ILA16

#ILA16 in Boston last weekend was an amazing compilation of #learning, meet-ups, & strong voices celebrating #literacy. It is not often that you can be in a space of learning with committed educators and literacy luminaries who share the same mindsets and vision to impact teaching and learning. I celebrate the #ILA16 experience through visuals.

My family and I arrived in Boston in time for my #edcampliteracy session where I met Twitter friends face-to-face for the first time. There were many hugs and aha moments before I presented, Discovering Wonder and Joy Through Inquiry Via Family Literacy. As Wonderopolis' Wonder Lead Ambassador, I was happy to shed light on various family literacy programs that allow students and parents to notice and wonder about new topics.

There was high energy the morning #ILA16 opened. Keynote presenters, Kwame Alexander and Adora Svitak, wowed the audience.

During the day, I met up with connected educators and authors.

My colleagues, Dr. Michele Haiken and Laura Purdie Salas, presented Transforming Writers' Lives With Digital Tools as Powerful Agents to Impact Literacy Instruction, Authenticate Voice, & Present Positive Perspectives with me to an full house, engaged audience.

After my two presentations, I felt excited to have engaged with many interested educators and ready for additional learning and meet-ups.

The short video I created expresses my interest in impacting digital literacy. You can access it here. You can read my post on a Courageous Conversation led by Cornelius Minor at #ILA16 here.

Since I missed Celebrate This Week last weekend due to my busy weekend at #ILA16, I am recounting the first part of my celebration of the International Literacy Association Conference in Boston with this post. Please visit Ruth Ayres' Celebrate This Week site to read how Ruth celebrates her family this week.