ASCD in Chicago

I had the wonderful opportunity to attend the ASCD 68th Annual Conference & Exhibit Show March 16-18, 2013 in Chicago, Ill. 

This was my first opportunity to attend a national conference, and now...I'm completely hooked!  I learned so much during my time in Chicago, presented with some phenomenal people, and met some leaders in the education field...I will share more about what I learned in the weeks to come!  For now, here are some highlights from my amazing trip! Chicago is such a neat city!

I had the best view on the plane!

Although this is not a picture of Lake Michigan...there are a couple things I'd like to share about the lake!

#1

Lake Michigan is HUGE...and by HUGE, I mean enormous, gigantic, humongous, immense, jumbo, magnificent, mammoth, massive, monumental, mountainous...yeah, it's pretty big for a small town girl from the bayou!

#2

Lake Michigan is beautiful!  The color is remarkable and breathtaking!  I've been all over the country and have never seen water like this.  It is a surprising steely blue-green color...almost silver at times!  Simply gorgeous! 

The energy in the city was pretty amazing!  I stayed in the heart of the Magnificent Mile, walking distance from the best of everything!  It was so nice to stroll down Michigan Avenue and see the sights!

The heart of Chicago reminded me of a cross between New Orleans and what I imagine New York to be like.

St. Patrick's Day is a pretty big deal in Chicago!  The festivities begin when they dye the Chicago River GREEN!

FLEXCAT...Hear What Your Students Are Thinking!!!

FLEXCAT is a brand new product that was launched at the ASCD conference by Lightspeed Technologies.  I have been very fortunate to be part of the pilot study for this product that allows me to have flexible audio for differentiated group instruction!  The FLEXCAT has changed the way I teach and what I am able to learn from my students...now, I can actually HEAR what my students are thinking!  I will be doing a feature post regarding this amazing product in the coming weeks to give you better insight as to how it has changed my classroom! 

Lastly, I was told that I couldn't go to Chicago and NOT have deep dish pizza...I'm not much of a pizza fan, but WOWZA, this was the best pizza I've ever had!  They sure know how to make it right!

I can't wait to visit Chicago again!  Not only did I learn a lot at the conference, but I was able to explore an amazing city!  I will be forever grateful for this wonderful learning opportunity!