Got a chance to do some “recruiting” last night with a presentation at NJ Techspo, the annual gathering of school administrators, tech types and teachers in Atlantic City. I presented with Kevin Jarrett who is a K-8 tech facilitator who has been using Weblogs in his school with some success. We had about 50 people in the room, and I seriously only saw a handful nodding off from time to time. Most attendees seemed pretty interested in the concept and I could see some wheels really turning in some people’s minds. It was a lot of fun, and I left feeling like we’d “made the sale” so to speak. (If you’re interested in our presentation, you can see it here.)
But the other thought I had as I was driving home was not as optimistic. Weblogs are a lot like those really cool looking model airplane kits I used to buy as a kid. In the store, the picture on the box always seemed so awesome…the P-51 Mustang swooping down through the enemy sky with guns blazing. But when I got it home and opened up the box, my, there were a lot of pieces. I probably finished one for every five models I bought (or my mother bought, much to her chagrin.) I saw that look on a lot of people’s faces last night. “What a cool toy! I want one.” But I wonder how many will actually have the time and patience to learn what a lot of us have spent months and years figuring out. And it seems like we still have such a long way to go…
Anyway…on! On!
Will,
I was one of the educators at TECHSPO. Your presentation certainly made me stop and think. I have read about blogs for the past few years, but I always thought “How would I use this in a classroom?” and “Is it worth the time?”. After your presentation, I did see how Blogs could be used in the classroom, and I know think it is certainly worth the time.
Now I have the task of introducing Blogs to our faculty. I’m going to schedule a few workshops and see how much interest I can generate. Do you have any tips besides what was in your presentation?
Thanks,
Daniel Cazes
Staff Technology Developer