I was fortunate enough to attend and present at the Educators Rising Pre-Service Teachers Conference at Thomas College on April 1st. It was cool to see peers from another school set up this conference for us, and to get to contribute my own learning to it. My practicum class was given a slot to present our assessment prototypes, all of which utilized technology in a significant way. I feel like I got more out of presenting than those who I was able to present to. I presented to two current teachers, one of which was a former Maine Teacher of the Year, and both were able to give me feedback on my prototypes. It was nice to get feedback from in-service teachers while also getting to expand their toolbox as well. I think if I had the chance to do it again, I would have spent more time encouraging my peers from other schools that I met at the conference to come and see our presentations. Unfortunately, we just didn’t get a lot of visitors to the room we were assigned. I got to attend two other presentations, one on getting a job as a teacher and the other on micro-credentials. Both had a similar message: good educators are a needed commodity, and I should take the time to explore several different schools before finally accepting a job offer. It was interesting to hear the hiring process from the perspective of a Principal (Zach Longyear of Skowhegan Area Middle School), and I feel like having that perspective will better prepare me for job hunting. I know now that being hired by a school system is an investment into me as a teacher, and that it is the school’s goal to keep that investment for life. This is why picking my school and taking the time to research my options will be essential. Hearing from Mike Muir on micro-credentials was informative, though I had some background knowledge on the subject before from my International Global Studies course, where I earned a few microcredentials in global studies and climate issues. I didn’t know there were so many for educators though, and it is something I’m definitely going to look into. It’s interesting to think that these microcredentials may soon be more common and important than some college degrees, so being on the cutting edge of this burgeoning new option is going to pay off. Plus, having knowledge of it will better allow me to advise my future students in their post-secondary education options.