Jul. 30, 2015

Contributed by Shaundor Chillingworth

Earlier this summer, five Kamehameha Genius Bar Hawaiʻi student members and their kumu had the opportunity to attend and present at the International Society of Technology in Education (ISTE) conference in Philadelphia.

This is the second year that haumāna from KS Hawai‘i were chosen by the ISTE Conference team to present two poster sessions—#Sociamedia in the classroom and Student Activities With Event Apps—to thousands of ISTE attendees.  

“They represented Pauahi and the Kamehameha Schools Hawaiʻi very well,” said Information Technology Resource Kumu Keali‘i Akina. “They were able to communicate, collaborate and create at their time at ISTE.” 

In addition to their presentation duties, students served as “ask me” booth volunteers and strategically navigated the expo area to search for maker space ideas—community-operated workspace where people with common interests can collaborate. They also sought out to connect with vendors for the Hawai‘i campus’ own Hawai‘i Island technology conference in March.

Students and kumu were active throughout their time at the conference, posting numerous resources, pictures, connections and daily manaʻo to the group’s various social media venues.

Beyond the conference itself, it was also a valuable opportunity for students to grow their global perspective.

“Because of Pauahiʻs support, they were able to visit a rich historic area and learn more about who they are as kanaka by learning about the struggles and triumphs of others,” shared Akina. 

For more information on the Kamehameha Genius Bar Hawai‘i, visit https://sites.google.com/a/ksbe.edu/kgbhi/

The 2015 ISTE Conference took place June 28- July 1. To see additional highlights, visit https://www.isteconference.org/2015/. 

Two videos were created in which students shared and reflected about their experiences, the moments that stood out and what they planned to bring back to campus from this conference:

KS Hawai‘i IT Resource Kumu Keali'i Akina (back) and student members of the Kamehameha Genius Bar Hawai‘i attended and presented at the International Society of Technology in Education conference in Philadelphia. The tech-savvy students are (l-r): Kaluhi Ka‘apana, Kawehi Braun, Moana Peleiholani-Blankenfeld, Keakealani Pacheco, and Kalani Taniguchi.

Kapālama middle school kumu Kamaka Parker shares a pic of a proud moment seeing the crowd of educators gathered to hear from haumāna at the ISTE conference.

The KGBHi team makes an ed tech connection with Brigette Burtt from Long Branch Public Schools in New Jersey. See more in the videos below.