A life update #ISTE2019 #EdTech

Is this serious?

My last blog post was in January 2019 and I was talking about how I'm trying to control my emotions? Wow. Where did the time go?

I've done a bunch of things over the past months, I'm probably going to just create a separate blog post about that to summarise

February - went to Cebu for a speaking engagement
March - went to Boracay island for a short vacation
March - sponsored the Singles Encounter 27 Retreat (this kept me busy for the month of Feb)
April - attended the TED 2019 Conference Live Stream at Marriott Manila.
May - registered to ISTE 2019 Conference which will be held in Philadelphia, PA USA.

At the moment - planning my trip to USA & Canada!

Basically I just wanted to make a blog post to update my non-existent readers that:

"Hey world, I'm attending ISTE2019!" 

By invitation special event for international participants.

Monitoring twitter ISTE19 activities and I got to grab a free Philly Cheesesteak!

Excited for the Global Scavenger hunt! 

Received the hard copies of the newsletters

A taste of Philly food tour experience!

I AM SO EXCITED ON SO MANY LEVELS.

1) International Conference
2) Philadelphia
3) Travelling
4) Potential new friends

God keep me safe in my travels!

I've Got Mail! #RoadToISTE2019

I just received this from the International Society for Technology in Education!

I love receiving mail from overseas and I am so excited to be part of this year's international conference in Philadelphia! Woohoo!!!!!!!!

Who's super excited to take things to an international level? 

Me!

On attending conferences...

I haven't been posting in a while, probably because I'm just lazy to post every interesting update that's happening lately... or maybe there's not much interesting going on?

My "professional" blog has turned much into a personal one and I gotta kept back on track so I can keep my focus on thoughts related to my career advancement and field.

After the last PEMEA international conference, I realized I haven't attended any other conferences this year. My company didn't join this year's CEAP convention and I haven't been active in PEMEA as of late. I did renew my professional psychometrician license after paying fees that are probably a waste of money and therefore I have charged as "donation". I processed my certificates only to shell out more money for processing them. ::Rolling Eyes::

Made me think if all these conferences were actually worth it or was I wasting most of my time?

I joined and become active in conference primarily because I had an initial goal of building a network and making contacts. But really, in the end, I don't think the network I built or the contacts I have had any contribution to any of the goals I wanted to achieve in life. I was thinking, man did I waste a lot of time and money...

But recently, I got my eye on attending a conference that made me realize I actually miss these activities. They may sound boring or not really conducive for learning but I miss the activities, the happening and the socializing. I actually miss attending conferences. But maybe I should carefully choose the events this time.

I have plans to attend my first international conference that is actually on international grounds. ISTE2019. I am so excited for this! A specific conference for Education Technology enthusiasts like me.

ISTE is the International Society for Technology in Education and they will be having their annual conference next year in Philadelphia.

That's the only update I have for now. It's still far down the calendar but I am stoked!

University Teaching

I have been in the education industry since the beginning of my college life. But for some reason or another, I have not committed to any classroom teaching, although I have had a lot of experiences in handling students.

Lately, I have been reading Joyce Meyer's "I DARE YOU" and it talked about pursuing your dreams and chasing bigger dreams. It ended up daring me the one thing that I have been constantly avoiding and been secretly afraid of: the commitment to classroom teaching.

I want to teach (in a classroom) one day, and I haven't completely figured out what has been stopping me. The commitment that I can't spontaneously travel once I begin a school year or a school term? The fear of embarrassing myself? The fear of failure? The fear of rejection?

There is a new program in my university and it's Masters in Educational Technology.

This proposal has been announced since 2016 and I remember telling the college dean how I wish the program existed when I was starting with my masters. Educational Technology was my thing that I actually had a crazy idea of wanting to "enroll" in graduate school again and get another master's degree which was crazy because back then I was already finishing my current masters program.

The college dean planted an idea that why not teach in the program instead???

The question is: Why didn't I actually frame this in my bedroom to serve as a reminder that I want to teach EdTech students???

So that was 2 years ago and the graduate program just started recently and now I regret not taking the invite to teach the program, seriously. I want to. I would love to.

I guess it's not yet too late to express interest, am I right? I know I can do it, even the former OIC-president of the university encouraged me that I can teach in the program.

What encouragement do I still seek?

Or more importantly, who's validation am I trying to seek approval of?

I'm making this blog post because I'm trying to figure out where this fear is coming from. I want to know the source of this constant seeking of validation. WHOSE validation am I waiting for?

I have been delaying and delaying and delaying to become an actual fully pledged "teacher" and have a "class" I can call my own. I'm scared but deep inside I want it.

I'm starting to believe these are just devil's lies. The devil telling me that I am not good enough or that I don't deserve it or that I am not yet "ready". This is the devil trying to stop me to fulfill what God's purpose for my life is.

May this blogpost remind me of this day that I promise not to let rejection and failure stop me from keeping on chasing bigger things. It's been a year since I sank down in depression mourning for the simultaneous loss of my grandparents, a year of pacifying myself for the multiple rejections I've had trying to look for a bigger break, a year dealing with my pre-30 and post-30 crisis and eventually giving up on my ultimate desire for international experiences.

But a year is enough to waste on being stuck in a dead end. I must not settle. I must not allow myself to remain comfortable. I must constantly push myself of accomplishing bigger things, one after the other, despite multiple failures and rejection.

Because I'm only 30...

As my cousin said, we are still very young.

We just have to keep trying despite the many times we've been rejected.

God's denial doesn't always mean "NEVER".. it could also mean "NOT YET".

I will not be afraid because I know that the Lord is always with me.

Davao ITCUP

My cousin and I arrived in Davao yesterday, February 26, 2018 and we realized that we booked our AirBnB a month later (March 26-28, 2018). What a surprising adventure!

All is well that ends well. Congratulations to our Davao Team for a successful event!

Congratulations Davao Team!

Congratulations to the Winners! 

Visited the President's House 

Salamat Kaayo Davao! 

Until we meet again!

IT CUP FOR PARANAQUE DIVISION.

What a very successful event.

We still have 2 more events to go.

Congratulations Team!

Awarding of Winners

Very happy students!

Congratulations!

Thoughts on Integrating Technology

Important aspects to remember on Technology Integration: 

Does the activity engage the student on the learning goal or the manipulation of the device?

Is the activity something that cannot be achieved without the enhancement of the technology? 

Does the technology provide an extension of the classroom by connecting it to the outside world? 

Simply Powerful #BBTourAPAC #MoodleRooms

EDUTECH2017

I'm planning to attend this expo. 

Turns out that my network from different connections are participating in this too. 

Well, of course they are. We all are in the same industry. 

Hopefully attending this expo or being part of this will bring me back to my old life. I still have a huge hangover from my holiday vacation and USA tour. 

Graduation Gift

I'm just going to make a short a quick post of the graduation gift I gave myself. I was on vacation for a while and it disconnected me from blogging about academic things. I'm about to go back to talking about my career and profession, just after sharing some of my favorite photos of my trip.

Phoenix, Arizona

Los Angeles, California

Portland, Oregon

San Antonio, Texas

San Francisco, California

Bellingham, Washington

Seattle, Washington

I had a great time during my trip. Sometimes I can't believe that I was able to travel on my own. Of course I always had somebody else with me when I went out. But I think I have to give myself some credit for riding airplanes on my own. I love meeting new people. I love traveling. I love going to new places I've never been before.

Learning isn't limited to formal education. There are so many things you learn from stepping out of the comfort zone. There are so many things you learn from talking to people outside your culture.

I'm patting myself on the back for the experiences I've experienced. There's so much more to learn.

For now, we go back to the grind. We go back to work.

There are upcoming events that's keeping me busy as of the moment.

1) The IT Cup event hosted by my work. January 21, 2017 / February 18, 2017
2) EduTech 2017 Conference February 20-22, 2017
3) Edtech Manila Meet-up for people with Edtech Start-up companies

I'm thinking if I'm giving up my role on developing standards for online assessments. I'm still thinking about it. It seems too idealistic but there is lack of commitment from people, especially this is a volunteer task. I feel like there are more things that I can invest my time on.

Meanwhile, I've already finished Beginner Course 3 of my Spanish Lessons.

E-LEARNING & E-ASSESSMENT

Of all the days I leave my calling card at home...

*NOTE TO SELF* 

Always bring a few calling cards in your wallet.

I'm so excited about my university offering a masters in educational technology program. Glad we are finally adapting to the trend.. (Finally) ...