Live Periscope Broadcasts from ISTE 2015

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UPDATE: Check out my The Scoop on Periscope infographic.

I’m in Philadelphia Sunday through Wednesday this week at the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) 2015 conference. It's the largest event of its kind--there are nearly 18,000 educators who attend. I'm presenting a couple sessions and attending many more.

There are loads of tweets that come out of ISTE on the hashtags #ISTE15 and #ISTE2015, so even if you're not in Philadelphia, you can get a good sense of the conference. Like the last few years, there's the #NotAtISTE15 hashtag, where people who aren't physically at the conference can gather together online.

Another way that you can experience ISTE is through Periscope. It's a new Twitter app that makes its simple to stream live video from a mobile device. The person streaming can see messages from the viewers, which means it's great for taking questions during interviews. That's just what I plan to do. I’ll have my iRig Microphone HD, iPhone, and battery pack with me at all times at ISTE. I won't be streaming during sessions I'm attending or presenting, but I will broadcast from hallways, poster sessions, and exhibitors.

If you’d like to view my live video streams, download the Periscope app for iOS and Android and follow me from inside the Periscope app (my username is tonyvincent). With notifications turned on, you get messages when my live broadcasts begin. Don't worry if you can’t tune in live, you can view a recording for up to 24 hours within the Periscope app.

@tonyvincent

Another way to watch my broadcasts is to view my page on Quick Scope. It archives of all my broadcasts. You can watch right in your browser with Quick Scope. You can rewind and fast forward replays. You can also scroll through (some of) the comments made by the live viewers! Unfortunately you can't see the pretty hearts when viewing on Quick Scope.

Others are also using Periscope to broadcast from ISTE. One way to find live broadcasts from the conference is to open the Periscope app and click the globe icon at the bottom of the screen. Scroll and zoom to the Philadelphia area. Red dots show live broadcasts. Click on any dots near the Pennsylvania Convention Center. You can tell by the titles of broadcasts if they are related to ISTE or not.

 
 

Another way to find Periscope broadcasts is to search Twitter. Try this search: Live on #Periscope: #ISTE15. If the broadcaster has used the #ISTE15 hashtag in his or her broadcast title and shared the broadcast on Twitter through the app, you should find it using this search. Or, just check out the search I've embedded below.

You can search for the exact phrase “Live on #Periscope” and other hashtags or usernames. For example, the Twitter search box at the top of this post displays the broadcasts I’ve tweeted by searching for Live on #Periscope: @tonyvincent.

Even if you don’t have the Periscope app, you can still view the broadcasts, but you cannot enter comments or questions into the broadcast. If you're on Mac, Windows, or Chrome, you can view Periscope broadcasts in your web browser by clicking on a link to a broadcast.

A few more things about Periscope...

  • Periscope is designed to broadcast vertical videos. This drives me crazy because I’ve spent a lot of  time teaching people to take horizontal videos. Have you seen this public service announcement?
  • According to the Periscope website, "Hearts are a way for you to share the Periscope love! If you like what you're seeing, just tap the screen to give the broadcaster a heart!"
  • There is no fast forward or rewind capabilities, even if you’re watching a broadcast that is no longer live.
  • Broadcasting video takes bandwidth. Sometimes the WiFi at ISTE is unreliable  and some spaces in the conference center have terrible 4G reception (like ISTE 2015's Exhibitor Hall). This has stopped me from broadcasting at times.
  • Replays are only available for 24 hours after the live broadcast. After that, the video is no longer available for playback through Periscope.
  • I’ve set my Periscope app to automatically save broadcasts to my Camera Roll. This way I can  upload it to YouTube, where it can be available for years instead of 24 hours. Unfortunately, any Periscope comments, questions, and hearts do you not show up in the saved recordings.
  • Periscope is a new app and service from Twitter. There are definitely areas for improvement, but I am looking forward to having fun with Periscope at ISTE.
  • Periscope broadcasts tend to be quick and dirty videos. If you want to watch scripted and polished videos, check out what I’ve produced lately.
  • Want to learn more about broadcasting with Periscope? Check out this infographic.

I have uploaded most of my broadcasts from ISTE 2015 to YouTube. Unfortunately the version that Periscope saves to the Camera Roll does not display live viewer comments and hearts. View the videos below or click through to the YouTube playlist.