It’s become an almost ceremonial tradition at the International Literacy Association Conference: the opening of the Exhibit Hall doors, followed by the immediate rush of thousands of excited educators through the entrance to check out the aisles upon aisles of literacy resources, merchandise, presentations, author signings, and—of course—swag.
You might think the 10 a.m. opening on Saturday at ILA 2015 in St. Louis was a familiar scene to many, but nearly half of the thousands of professionals in attendance are first-timers and, to them, it was a sight to behold. But even the veteran conference-goers may have felt like newbies all over again upon their first sight of the 120-plus exhibitors and the 160,000 square feet of space.
Tamy Ailey, a middle school math teacher from Cushing, OK, put it in the perspective of her discipline, appropriately.
“I was sitting in [Opening General Session] waiting for Shaq to talk, and I looked at the square footage of the Exhibit Hall. I leaned over [to my colleague] and said ‘Your house will fit in here 40 times!’
“I’ve never been to a conference this big. It’s going to take us a long time to walk through this,” she added, though she was clearly ready to take on the challenge.
The giveaways are always a huge draw in the Exhibit Hall. Anything from raffles to free cake and cookies can be found in nearly any aisle, followed by a seemingly endless array of classroom supplies and the well-known bags from vendors including Scholastic, Fountas & Pinnell, and others that have become souvenirs from year to year.
There are also three Pavilions holding hour-long PD sessions right inside the hall this year, along with individual exhibitors hosting product demonstrations and PD sessions of their own. On Saturday, they ranged from PowerPoint presentations on student performance to cooking demonstrations that explained concepts of balanced literacy and close reading.
But one of the biggest draws is always the free books—often advance copies—along with complimentary PD resources for educators to take back to their districts.
Another top benefit: the opportunity to talk one on one with representatives from the educational resource companies teachers rely on, and to discover new ones.
“I’m looking for ideas to bring back to my school,” Ailey said, adding she was particularly excited about a multi-touch table PC she saw at Kaplan on display to test out. “I’m mostly interested in technology. I’m looking for apps for Chromebooks and websites for games.”
As James Poplau, an elementary school principal from Kansas City, KS, put it, there’s just no comparing shopping online to the chance to open something up, test it out, and know for sure if it’s right for you, your school, and your students.
“I’m really interested in looking for lower level, high-interest reading materials,” he said. “We’re struggling to find that.”
He added, though, that the exhibitors, such as myON, were offering great supplements for what he needed.
“This makes it easier,” he said of the opportunity to read through PD and curriculum materials from dozens of companies in one place—which is especially important to him as a principal who approves purchases. “It’s about specificity. We know what our kids need, and here we’re able to look at it in person. If we see something, want something, we can open it up and I can see every inch of it.”
That’s exactly what Paige Rainey, a former elementary school teacher and current federal programs supervisor for her county school system in Guntersville, AL, said about her favorite Exhibit Hall benefit.
“I manage $4 million in Title I money, so I like to see the products and test the products before I buy them,” she said. “I know what works and what doesn’t work for my district.”
But being able to purchase books from speakers and also meet authors in the Exhibit Hall is a very close second favorite benefit.
Rainey was especially looking forward to seeing Brian Selznick and Pam Muñoz Ryan at the book signings on Sunday.
“The high-profile authors are the best,” she said. “I go to the National Book Festival in Washington, D.C., and the Exhibit Hall authors here always rival the quality of authors they bring.”
Jennifer Garcia, an ELL department head from San Juan, TX—who drove for 17 hours to get to the ILA Conference—was also excited to meet authors, and was surprised to meet a couple while waiting in book lines on Saturday. They were waiting for the same books, she said, adding it’s an important reminder that authors are also lifelong learners. It’s also a good reminder to network while waiting in lines. You never know who you’ll meet.
The Exhibit Hall opens again on Sunday from 10 AM–5 PM, and on Monday from 10 AM–1 PM. Don’t forget there are also Exhibit Hall-only hours on Sunday from 10 AM –11 AM and 2 PM –3 PM, and on Monday from 10 AM –11 AM.
Colleen Patrice Clark is the editor of Literacy Today, ILA’s member magazine.