Submit the Contest and Recognize a Colleague Who Should be Recognized for their Leadership with Technology! By Abby Fitzgerald
Do the Scary Thing
Submit the Contest! Nominate a colleague who should be recognized for their leadership with technology!
Doing awesome things with students? Enter the Student Contests category: bit.ly/NETAcontest2026
Never been to NETA? Tell us why you want to be there! bit.ly/NewNETA2026
Know a colleague who should be recognized for their leadership with technology? Nominate them here: bit.ly/NETAleadership2026
Contests close on January 25th at 11:59pm!
I found myself reflecting this winter break about my experiences in education regarding technology. I know many have felt a little barraged by the onslaught of new tech as of late: growing AI capabilities, user friendly tools and interfaces being inserted into well known websites, or even just the expansion of various tech sectors and the pop ups of data centers across our area. But one thing has made this rapid expansion and transition easier: my membership in NETA and being a part of the NETA Board. Collegiality with others in the education sphere has greatly impacted my awareness of ed tech and expanded my learning opportunities immensely.
But, how did I get here? Well, timid Abby in her 3rd year of teaching was approached by our tech director at the time, Jason Schmidt. He had worked with me closely to develop my new flipped classroom for math and said that I should apply to present at NETA – that my ideas were worth sharing. I had been to NETA for two years, but never in a million years did I think I was qualified to share with others. I was a novice teacher who was still learning! But, he was persistent, and I started the application. Was I terrified? Yes. Did I do it anyway? Absolutely. My joint session with another colleague also doing a flipped concept was accepted, and the room was nearly full at the Embassy Suites. It was one of the most terrifying and exhilarating experiences of my early career.
Fast forward to the next school year and I learned about NETA contests, from you guessed it, Jason Schmidt. I told him that it took all I had to be brave enough to present – but to enter a contest? Balderdash. There was no way I was qualified to be able to attend ISTE. Again, he was persistent and reminded me of my penchant for writing parody songs for math class – why don’t I do the same and submit to an ISTE Trek contest? Did I think it was a longshot? Of course. But, was it something that was at the very least “fun?” Also, yes. So – I dusted off my high school show choir vocal chords, and enlisted the help of a few students. “I’m Techy and I Know It” was written, recorded, and submitted. Next thing I knew, I was on a plane to Atlanta for my first ever ISTE conference.
The moral of the story here is that as educators, we all have a little imposter syndrome inside of us. We will always feel that we’re not doing anything that great, or that our ideas and projects aren’t any more special than others’. But, I am here to tell you that you are NOT giving yourself enough credit. We learn best from others and what you are doing ABSOLUTELY has value and SHOULD be shared with others! I know young Abby just needed a little push in the right direction to get the ball rolling. So, to end my post, let me be that same “push” for you. While presentation submissions have closed, there are still a few days to enter the 2026 NETA Contests! Pick the one that fits you and your role best:
Doing awesome things with students? Enter the Student Contests category: bit.ly/NETAcontest2026
Never been to NETA? Tell us why you want to be there! bit.ly/NewNETA2026
Know a colleague who should be recognized for their leadership with technology? Nominate them here: bit.ly/NETAleadership2026
Contests close on January 25th at 11:59pm!
Image by Mohamed Hassan from Pixabay
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