Some brief observations on my great visit to Middlebury:
The CET setup is very cool, and the whole place has a lot of energy. They are doing some interesting things beyond mere old weblogs that really push the envelope of the new technologies. Sounded and felt like a very neat place to be right now.
I was really impressed by the commitment that the school is making to weblogs. Ten teachers will be using weblogs next year including Eric Davis, who is the Secretary of the College and a real weblog proponent. His weblog/course on September 11 is definitely a “Best Practice”. And Barbara seemed amazed by how the weblogs changed her Writing Across the Arts class. (BTW, I really liked the way she used the home page to reflect on her own experiences in the class.) And Hector shared a lot of his ideas about how to integrate and expand the role of weblogs. They and Sarah (who went above and beyond in arranging and organizing my time there) helped to really confirm what I’ve been thinking about all of this, and in a large way to validate the time and effort I’m spending. (I can’t wait for the day when I have some weblogging colleagues to share my enthusiasm with down here!)
At any rate, it was a great experience, and I think it’s time we start talking seriously about getting a “Blogvention” together somewhere. There is nothing like meeting and talking and sharing ideas (although weblogs come a close second!)
I’ll second the call for Blogvention. I volunteer to serve as the voice for increased participation by your colleagues in urban schools. This seems to be a good opportunity for collaboration between secondary and postsecondary educators who share a common interest. One of the most beneficial aspects of the history workshop I just completed was the collaboration between the high school and college educators involved. I think there was a healthy sharing of expertise and we all understood each other a bit more afterwards – too rare an occurrence in education circles.
Find a beautiful, quiet place with fast access and make the call. If you build it, they will come.