#NETA14InstaWalk: This Mission IS Possible!

All righty #NETA14 attendees: We have a mission for you–a mission of possibility–if you will. Welcome to the #NETA14InstaWalk. We are your task masters and hosts, Jodie Morgenson (AKA morgetron)

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AND Eliu Paopao (AKA paopao)

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and we will be guiding you through this most arduous, but rewarding experience.

We don’t want to flood Instagram with such intrepid volumes of awesome that it implodes or anything, though this will be difficult, because face it, teachers who spend time improving themselves for the sake of their students and attend events like #NETA14 are undeniably radical. That being said, we don’t want to overshadow the existing awesomeness that is already happening in the inner workings and cogs of the #NETA14 machine, but we do want to HIGHLIGHT it! Make it shine! Therefore, we are going to ask you to to do some reconnaissance–for the betterment of #NETA14 networking–and of yourselves.

<DRAMATIC PAUSE>

Your mission, dear #NETA14 attendees, should you choose to accept it, is to use your spyglass, (in the form of a camera, or a phone, or an iPad) to seize the very awesome to which we earlier referred and share it with the world via the Instagram hashtag #NETA14InstaWalk. Capture the awesome on camera and share it with the world (or at least with us). Let’s make a tiny ripple in the social media realm and force the Instaworld and the Tweetosphere and the Faceplace raise their styli in the air, mid-swipe and declare, “Something is going on in La Vista Nebraska, and we want to know what it is.”

For simply participating, you can earn this esteemed badge:

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That’s right: You heard me. For simply posting a single piece of insider intelligence–just one little picture on Instagram with this hashtag: #NETA14InstaWalk–you will earn this shiny spyglass inspired badge. We chose this spyglass to represent YOU, giving THE WORLD the insider’s view of the convention from the ultimate infiltration level–that of an attendee.

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Next up? The Felicity Badge. What brings you joy? What inspires you? Who makes education a better place? Capture this in the form of these four TASKS to earn this badge. Make sure to include the word “FELICITY” in your post and hashtag it with #NETA14InstaWalk.

TASKS 1-4–>Post photos portraying …

  • something at #NETA14 that makes you happy

  • a poster sesh that taught you something new

  • a breakout session inspiration

  • someone who makes education a better place

(Why the Starfish? If you’ve never had a chance to read “The Star Thrower” by Loren Eiseley, you should. It is a beautiful story of inspiration, kindness, and felicity. This is why we chose this as our symbol.)

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You know you look good. (Just admit it.) And so do your friends. Gone are the days of the stuffy polyester pants-wearing curmudgeonly teacher. Teachers are fashionable. Teachers have got it goin’ on. Make sure to include the word “FASHION” in your post and hashtag it with #NETA14InstaWalk.

TASKS 5-8–> To earn The Fashionista Badge take photos of …

  • hat you wore on Thursday of #NETA14.

  • what you wore on Friday of #NETA14.

  • good lookin’ groups of educators

  • ANY noteworthy #edufashion that you spy  (a la Kristina Peters–@Mrskmpeters)

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Everybody’s gotta eat, so let’s share in the yummy. Make sure to include the word “FOODIE” in your post and hashtag it with #NETA14InstaWalk.

TASKS 9-12–> To earn The Foodie Badge spy on your own plate, and share photos of …

  • beautiful breakfast

  • the savory and the sweet (snack-time)

  • hydration station (leaded or unleaded–your choice)

  • let’s do lunch

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NETA is truly the ultimate networking event for teachers seeking to improve their practice and share in expertise. It’s natural that our friends show up to this event because we like to surround ourselves with people who love to learn. Celebrate these friendships–old and new. Make sure to include the word “FRIENDZY” in your post and hashtag it with #NETA14InstaWalk.

TASKS 13-16–> To earn The Friendzy Badge take photos of …

  • reunions–friends you haven’t seen for a while

  • new friends–people you just met!

  • session selfies–> (Think Craig Badura-@mrbadura-at #edcampomaha)

  • digi-friends (friends you’ve only met digitally prior to today)

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Complete ALL of the aforementioned missions to earn THE HIGHEST AWARD available during the #NETA14InstaWalk–The Camera Totin’ Educator Badge–as inspired by Laura Gilchrist (@LauraGilchrist4).

Mainly we just want you to have fun and enjoy the conference. If you get a chance to snap some photos, don’t forget to include the hashtag. We may regram some of your posts. All of the posts will show up on NETA’s Facebook page and Twitter feed though. The hashtag will be the only way PaoPao and Morgetron will be able to find your pics, so it’s super important!

Above all, keep on being the awesome educator that you are, and if you have a chance to share your insider’s view of NETA, we hope you do it through the #NETA14InstaWalk!

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LOOKING for…?

…INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO INSTAWALK? –> CLICK ON THIS –> How do you InstaWalk?

…BADGES AND TASKS? –> CLICK ON THIS –> Take me to the badges!

… A WAY TO ASK A QUESTION? –> (Remove the asterisks) and EMAIL ME HERE –> *morgetron*@*gmail.com*.

… THE NETA INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT? CLICK ON THIS: @NEBEDTECH

#NETA14InstaWalk … or InstaParty?

If you’re looking for THE #NETA14InstaWalk Tasks & Badges, CLICK HERE–> This Mission Is Possible!
You are cordially invited to our party, our #NETA14InstaWalk party, that is.

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Later this week, educators from all over the region will be flocking to the the La Vista Convention Center for the premier Midwestern educational technology convention–> #NETA14 and this year, Eliu PaoPao and I will be hosting the first ever InstaWalk. We want YOU to join us.

What is an InstaWalk? you might be asking. An Instawalk is a photo scavenger hunt of sorts designed to infuse #NETA14 with an element of fun and whimsy, whilst offering yet another brilliant opportunity for attendees to network. Also, we’ve decided to gamify it by offering badges to those of you who carry out the given tasks.

To participate, follow these steps.

1. If you don’t have the Instagram app on your mobile device, download it from the app store and establish an account.

2. We will post the scavenger tasks in a couple of places: here on my blog, on Paopao’s blog and on NETA’s Instagram. Either check back here, or follow the NETA Instagram to see the prompts.

3. Fulfill the scavenger tasks throughout your NETA14 experience. Snap; share; search; interact.

4. Make sure to add #NETA14InstaWalk to all of your photo captions. This will send your photo to an Instagram backchannel that will allow everyone to see our photos in one place. Some of these photos will be regrammed on the NETA Instagram account. (Please note that if you have a PRIVATE Instagram account, you photos will not show up in the backchannel for everyone to see. They will only appear to those users who follow you. There are pros and cons to private accounts.)

5. This is for fun, so don’t let it stress you out! If you can’t fulfill one of the prompts, NBD. It’s not a contest; it’s strictly to make our conference experience more fun, so we hope you enjoy it! Everyone who plays is a winner, and even those who don’t play can enjoy the fruits of our labor.

6. If you’re more of a lurker, you can also watch the fun unfold by searching for the #NETA14 hashtag on Instagram (via the EXPLORE function) or clicking on the tag when it appears in the caption of a photo. However, I want to encourage you to pop your comfy lurking bubble and at least try one of the tasks. This will be a very supportive environment to test the waters of social media, if you haven’t done so before.

In addition to posting your photos, we also encourage you to comment on and “LIKE” others’ photos as well. Interaction is the goal here! You can also share your photos via Twitter or Facebook. Josh Allen has set up an IFTTT recipe to share these photos via the NETA Facebook page and Twitter and Elui and I will share some of them via our personal Twitter feeds also (@epaopao & @morgetron).

Paopao and I will be keeping our eyes on the #NETA14InstaWalk backchannel, and we will be delivering badges to everyone who earns them via shared Google Drive Folder! If you earn a badge, we will tag you on the badge post on Instagram and then, eventually contact you to download your very own copy of the badge to display wherever you want to display it. Remember EVERYONE who plays, wins.

#NETA14InstaWalk: Another Dynamite Opportunity to Network at This Year’s Conference

The NETA convention always presents plenty of opportunities for educators from all over Nebraska and nearby states to connect on a personal level, from Tweet ups to a Twitter hashtag (#NETA14 this year!) to surrounding oneself with like-minded learners and educational movers and  shakers–in the flesh. Recently, NETA Board Member, soon-to-be President-Elect and Bald and Bearded Wonder, Josh Allen  approached me about hosting NETA’s first ever InstaWalk. Of course, being the social media-obsessed lady that I am, I totally geeked out about the prospect and so here we are.

We’ll be modeling ourselves after the ASCD Instawalk, but we will be putting our own Midwestern twist on it.

Essentially, the NETA14 InstaWalk will be a photo scavenger hunt for all conference attendees. We will share our photos via Instagram, using the #NETA14 hashtag and then we will regram some of the tagged photos on NETA’s very own (and very new) Instagram account (@nebedtech). I will also share some here on my blog. Naturally, I will be participating too because I do love me some Instagram. I have three accounts–> one personal one (@morgetron), one for my classroom (@mizmorgetron) and one for a special project that my Contemporary Literature students undertook this semester (@dollyfamilyrules). This will be yet another way to network with other attendees (and presenters), but will serve also as a virtual tour for anyone who can’t make it to the event this year.

To participate, follow these steps.

1. If you don’t have the Instagram app on your mobile device, download it from the app store and establish an account.

2.  On both Thursday and Friday of the conference, we will post the daily scavenger hunts in a couple of places … here on my blog and on NETA’s Instagram. Either check back here, or follow the NETA Instagram to see the prompts.

3. Fulfill the scavenger tasks throughout your NETA14 experience. Snap, share, search, interact.

4. Make sure to add #NETA14InstaWalk to all of your photo captions. This will send your photo to an Instagram backchannel that will allow everyone to see our photos in one place. Some of these photos will be regrammed on the NETA Instagram account. (Please note that if you have a PRIVATE Instagram account, you photos will not show up in the backchannel for everyone. They will only appear to those users who follow you. There are pros and cons to private accounts.)

5. This is for fun, so don’t let it stress you out! If you can’t fulfill one of the prompts, NBD. It’s not a contest; it’s strictly to make our conference experience more fun, so we hope you enjoy it!

6. If you’re more of a lurker, you can also watch the fun unfold by searching for the #NETA14 hashtag on Instagram (via the EXPLORE function) or clicking on the tag when it appears in the caption of a photo. However, I want to encourage you to pop your comfy lurking bubble and at least try one of the tasks. This will be a very supportive environment to test the waters of social media, if you haven’t done so before.

Krissy Venosdale hosted ASCD’s InstaWalk this year, and, thanks to Twitter, I will be picking her brain for pro-tips! Josh also suggested I reach out to Eliu Uati Paopao as a co-host and we will be putting our heads together this Wednesday for a brainstorming session via Google Hangout.

In addition to posting your photos, we also encourage you to comment on and “LIKE” others’ photos as well. Interaction is the goal here! You can also share your photos via Twitter or Facebook. Josh will be helping me to set up an IFTTT recipe to share these photos via the NETA Facebook page and Elui and I will share some of them via our personal Twitter feeds also (@epaopao & @morgetron).

We’ll be offering a Scavenger Hunt Preview sometime soon, so stay tuned for updates and make sure to follow us on Instagram –>

@nebedtech!

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