'Twas the Night Before ISTE

'Twas the night before ISTE, and sitting in Philly,
Butterflies in my gut flapping willy nilly;
The devices were charging up in every plug,
In hopes that wifi is a cheetah, not a slug.

The teachers were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of Google Glass danced in their heads;
My friend's snuggled in bed, I'm on the couch,
Unable to settle, but affecting a slouch.

My little driver, so lively and quick,
Got us straight to Philly, lickety split;
We had time to wander, chow down and rest,
And prepare to begin our learning quest.

When up on the Twitter, there arose such a clatter,
That I clicked on the app to see what was the matter;
Away to my TweetDeck, my fingers did flash,
Looked at the hashtag, it's making a splash.

The online hype about #ISTE2015,
Expressed by educators, lifelong learners so keen;
Makes me feel like I'm in for a really big treat,
Incredible discoveries, but really sore feet.

More rapid than eagles, my PLN starts to arrive,
To meet face to face, push one and other and thrive;
Though there are many with edulebrity fame,
I just can't wait to put faces to name.

From Ottawa last year, I felt FOMO syndrome,
Now I'm happy to be here, not watching from my home;
It's time to be learners, with failures and a-has,
To build ourselves up and erase end of year bla-ahs.

The days will be chock full of events and sessions,
Lucky there's time to make good impressions;
Participating, collaborating, that's the name of the game,
So many great chances, I'll list them by name:

There's meet ups and tweet ups and lounges and playground,
Selfies, Turnies and Groupies, new friends to be found;
Topics to propose on the HackEd session wall,
And lectures and keynotes and vendors for all!

Weird Army, SatChat and others from Twitter,
I can't wait to see you and coat you in glitter;
Mystery Skype partners and Global Read Aloud,
Give a smile and a hug and stand out in the crowd.

Future schools are coming, what are their features?
Wayne and Garth will talk about Weird Teachers,
There are stories to hear, ideas to be challenged,
With sessions and parties, the week will be balanced;

There are some people who live in my phone,
I find them on Voxer, I'm never alone;
Only one sleep 'till I see them for real,
When I watch them talking, it will make me squeal.

On the very last day, I'll share my Ignite,
You'll learn about Disney, if I don't get stage fright;
For those five minutes, I'll talk till my voice gets all croaky,
Well, that's my excuse to not do karaoke.

I know that meeting new people can feel like hard work,
But as long as you be brave, you don't have to lurk;
My goal for the week is to be friendly, aggressively,
So that I make connections and giggle excessively.

Making magical classrooms is the thing that I do,
I am so looking forward to learning from you;
My mind will be blown, my body goose bumped,
As I discover the things that make your kids pumped.

I have sketchnotes to make and people to see,
The butterflies are sleeping and I think so should me;
Now I finally upload this poem to my site,
Happy ISTE to all, and to all a good night!



apologies to Clement Clarke Moore, author of "'Twas the Night Before Christmas"