5 Quick-Hit Observations (and a Bonus Thought) from ISTE-ASCD 2025
I recently had the opportunity to attend ISTE in person for the first time since the pandemic began.
ISTE has always been a little overwhelming for me. The scale of the event, with tens of thousands of educators, vendors, thought leaders, and edtech evangelists packed into a single convention center, is both its strength and its challenge. It’s energizing, but also easy to feel lost in the shuffle. Even with dozens of friends and colleagues at the event, I had to pre-schedule meetings to cross paths with people I know well!
This year added a new layer. The conference was co-hosted with ASCD, marking the first full-scale public collaboration between the two organizations since their merger. It wasn’t just ISTE with a new logo. It felt like something different. Something potentially more cohesive.
Here are five quick-hit observations from my time in San Antonio, along with a bonus reflection for those of us watching from the virtual school space.
1. The Half-Hour Hustle Worked (Mostly)
I’m not sure when ISTE started holding sessions on the half-hour, but it was new to me this year. When I was building my schedule in the app, I worried it would mean missing out: overlapping sessions, awkward transitions, and a lot of running around.
In practice, it mostly worked. I ducked out early from a few sessions or slipped in a little late once or twice, but the real win was this: no lines. I didn’t have to stand in the hallway waiting for a room to empty. I could show up a few minutes early, grab a seat, and breathe for a second before the next thing started. That felt like a meaningful quality-of-life upgrade.
2. Curriculum Sessions Changed the Vibe—in a Good Way
ASCD’s presence showed up in the session content, and that was a welcome shift. I attended about a half-dozen curriculum-focused sessions, which offered a thoughtful counterbalance to the more tool-driven sessions typical of ISTE.
Even better, some sessions blended both worlds. It wasn’t just “here’s a cool platform” or “here’s a standards framework.” It was both, in conversation. You could feel the influence of a more curriculum-first mindset across the conference, even in sessions that weren’t explicitly ASCD-branded. That made the whole event feel more grounded and, frankly, more useful.
3. The Vendor Floor Was Still a Tractor Show (But Improved)
[My notes are sketchy, but…] I’m reasonably sure it was ISTE-ASCD CEO Richard Culatta who opened the conference by encouraging vendors to focus more on education than sales. That message stuck with me as I walked the vendor floor twice (honestly, I’m not sure I could’ve handled a third lap).
Yes, the edu-commerce machine is alive and well. But the energy felt different this year. I noticed more vendor sessions that taught something useful and fewer booths that felt like tech carnival barkers. It’s still a sales floor, but the tone seemed to tilt a little closer to teacher-centered. That’s not nothing.
4. Google and Microsoft Still Cast Big Shadows
Both tech giants made major announcements during the conference, and the ripple effects were immediate. It was hard to walk five feet without hearing someone mention a new AI feature or integration. Their presence is so significant that it can unintentionally overshadow the smaller, more innovative tools trying to gain attention.
This year, both companies introduced features that have the potential to “sherlock” some of the more niche edtech startups (as in Sherlock Holmes—borrowing their best ideas and building them into native tools). It’s not necessarily bad, but it does raise questions about how smaller players remain relevant when the platforms they rely on become their competitors.
5. I Left with Questions, Not Just Swag
Some of the most interesting sessions didn’t wrap up with clear answers. Instead, they surfaced more profound questions—questions that stuck with me on the flight home. How do we define effective teaching in hybrid spaces? What does authentic student voice look like when so much of it is mediated through tools and platforms? Where’s the line between supporting learning and automating it?
That kind of tension is valuable. It reminded me that good professional learning doesn’t just inspire or inform; it also fosters growth. It makes you uncomfortable in the right ways.
Bonus: Virtual Schools Are Still on the Side Stage
As someone working in and advocating for virtual schools, I couldn’t help but notice how few sessions focused directly on our space. Online learning wasn’t absent, but it often felt like an afterthought rather than an integral part of the main program.
That’s not a criticism. It’s an opportunity. Virtual schools offer valuable experience with many of the challenges that others are just now encountering. We’ve been working through issues such as scaling access, supporting diverse learners remotely, navigating tech fatigue, and making AI useful rather than just shiny. Those perspectives deserve more space at conferences like ISTE-ASCD.
If this merger is about aligning curriculum, technology, and leadership, virtual schools should be part of that core conversation, not just adjacent to it.
Ultimately
All in all, the new ISTE-ASCD format felt like a step in the right direction. The mix of sessions, the tone from leadership, and even the little things, such as scheduling, showed signs of thoughtful evolution. It wasn’t perfect (and still represents a significant investment to attend), but it was encouraging. If this is what the merger looks like in practice, I’m interested in seeing where it goes next—and how we, especially in the virtual learning space, can help shape its future.