Pretty amazing that the 40 computers in my open source session at 8:30 were claimed by 7:45 and that a good 150 people (if not more) crammed into the room by the start time. (The photo was taken at about 8:15.) And even more amazing that the Internet connection basically went dead but I think the presentation went pretty well anyway. I’d guess about 40% of the people raised hands when I asked how many were bloggers or used blogs. And some really good questions saved me from tap dancing too much.
But what was really amazing was that totally unannounced, the superintendent at my own kids’ school up in New Jersey showed up. (And Laura, if you’re reading this, it was great of you to come.)
The Blogger’s Cafe has been the place to hang this morning, and yes, it’s official…”we” have “arrived.” At least on the surface. Maybe David has already done it but I wonder how many Read/Write Web sessions there are going this year. Must be close to if not over 100. And “2.0” is everywhere on the exhibit floor, where I did my annual 30-minute walk just to see all the stuff I wouldn’t buy. (A couple of exceptions, but once again, if you totaled up all the money being spent on displays and schwag and the carbon footprint for getting it all here, you could easily buy a laptop for every kid in the country who needs one. And I’m sorry, but from the “let’s see how much junk we can give away that will end up in a landfill” category, Best Buy needs to be outlawed next year. This sound eerily familiar to a post I wrote last year, I think.)
Not to be cynical, (just can’t shake it) I’ve been wondering (and having great discussion with Cafe-ers) about just what station we have “arrived” at, however. It’s feeling like “I Can Blogville” which I guess is somewhere on the route to “I Can Help My Students Build Their Own Learning Communitiesville” or something like that. At the Google booth, I watched a line 10 deep snake up to take a turn at trying out Blogger. One after another, the Google guide showed people how to post. One after another, you could see the “Gosh, that was easy!” reaction. It was pretty cool just lurking, watching it. But again, I wonder to what extent that will somehow lead to an understanding of what changes in a network, where the real power is.
It’s not in the publishing. But I guess we have to get there first.
At any rate, if anyone from the session is reading, thanks so much for coming…would love to hear what your reactions are, and welcome to the blogosphere.
You’re halfway there.
Technorati Tags: necc07, necc2007, blogging, education, learning
I was one of those standing this morning because I had stopped at Starbucks this morning (silly me). It was fun to be in the back and watch what was going on, particularly on the screens. I saw a lot of people checking out the various links you pointed them towards. The questions the audience asked were terrific, and I really appreciated hearing your response to “How is a wiki different than a blog?” Collection vs. Conversation…hmm. I also heard you say again (I was at TIE last week) that collaboration is not cooperative learning. Some of my colleagues have a hard time understanding this statement, but it is so true!
I really am wondering whether Web 2.0 and other innovations like small learning communiities or ?? (take your pick), all good ideas to light up the kids eyes, will ever amount to anything in “school”. I have the feeling that we (educators, public, parents) are running away from a real truth: the structure we have, the protocols we practice, the laws governing us, and a whole lot more, make broad, deep, lasting innovation impossible. I really enjoyed your session and like you, haven’t quite been the same since I found RSS, blogging, flickr, etc. Thanks for your session and your book.
I enjoyed your session as well. It was a great first session to get me excited about everything happening here. I especially related to your comment that we need to make sure that blogging doesn’t just replicate what we are doing on paper. The power is really in the networking. This is a conversation that we need to spread to all of our schools and districts. We need to talk about the learning and the implications of the learning before we just start writing. It is frustrating to feel like we perpetually wallow in the Awareness phase of change, but I do fell a swell of Desire approaching and that means people are getting ready for a big change. I disagree with Skip’s assertion that schools can not change. It may be painstakingly slow and often misdirected, but change is taking place and good things are happening. Thanks for waking my brain up this morning and getting this conference off on the right foot.
We have arrived, yes. And, judging from spending the day in the SL playground, SL is beginning to arrive. ISTE now has a beautiful presence in SL and a lot of people working really hard to make it genuinely useful. Good stuff here in Atlanta, but crowded, network issues, etc!
Tim
Will, I am following the conversation at NECC via the blogs and just wanted to drop you a note to say, “Keep spreading the word!”
A colleague gave me your book about a year ago and as Skip commented above “my life hasn’t been the same”. We did a “Google Unleashed” training at a school here in Texas today and had much the same response described by those who tried out Blogger at the Google booth, “That was easy!”
We continue to teach teachers how to use these powerful, disruptive tools of Web 2.0 to enhance their personal learning. I believe that once someone uses these tools to change their personal learning, THEN they can begin to change how they TEACH.
As we say here, “You as a LEARNER, you as a TEACHER, and then you as a LEADER!”
Thanks for sharing,
Roxanne
hi Will, I have just stumbled across your blog and have ordered your book!! Have to agree with you Roxanne on chnging learning and in turn changing teaching!!
Will,
It was a great session. I’ve read your blog for almost a year now but it was great to hear the ideas live and in person. I really liked that you emphasized that teachers must become bloggers first before they ask their students to blog. They must really understand what it is to take part in the conversation.
Great job! I was planning to blog about all my sessions, but I use edublogs and it has really been on the fritz this week. I was able to get a post up about your session, though! 🙂
This is my first NECC although not my first conference. The exhibit floor looks daunting…havent braved it yet. Very daunting…..the oversized best buy bags frighten me……
Glad NECC is a winner for you. I find conferences daunting. Too much energy. And when you spoke about how people are graduating from “I Can Blog” to I can help students create their own communities it certainly made me think. Teaching is not about what we do, it is about what they do, whoever ‘they’ are. Chris Corrigan addresses this so well in his recent post at Parking Lot (http://chriscorrigan.com/parkinglot/?p=1198):
“In both the worlds of online collaboration and face to face collaboration I think the most important role of the facilitator is to be fluent in a vast variety of tools and to only use what is essential to the task.”
As the son of tradesfolk and as tradesman myself in a previous life, I find this ‘toolbox’ mentality to be a good match.
You are right, Will, it isn’t about the tool it is about how the tool empowers some deeply held need within us to create and understand and know. And to have power over ourselves. That is why your other post about the student who has published a novel makes you feel good. You did right and you did well. That is where I always want to be–creating the conditions for that to happen. Teachers are working in 4-D just as surely as any playwright except the whole production is improvised.
Thanks for being our surrogate at NECC and remember you are still a teacher for yourself, your students, and for all of us.
I definitely agree with you about all the free stuff available, and it is incredibly wasteful. I was woefully shocked at the size of the Best Buy bags and the number of people carrying them like badges of honor. But at some point, people have to start saying “no thanks”. I was really proud of myself this year, instead of taking everything and then dumping it in the hotel trash can before packing my bags to fit on the plane, I only took what picked my interest.I agree with you about the use of blogging in our schools. But I can’t help but think that in order for us to incite change we need to get our school and district administrators on board. We need to get them to NECC and get them to start blogging to see the power. Just some thoughts as I set in my hotel room about to pack the very few things I got at the show.
I read this morning in the daily NECC news a list of interesting numbers. With the amount of money the vendors spent on giveaways alone (one vendor said they had brought 1600 t shirts and were out yesterday), what kind of technology could that give to schools? Why not spend that money and offer grants to schools? They would still get the coverage but it would be a whole lot more meaningful! Hmmm…a suitcase full of pens and tshirts or $1000 to spend in a school…
I read this morning in the daily NECC news a list of interesting numbers. I would love to have a spending by vendors amount on the list. With the amount of money the vendors spent on giveaways alone (one vendor said they had brought 1600 t shirts and were out yesterday), what kind of technology could that give to schools? Why not spend that money and offer grants to schools? They would still get the coverage but it would be a whole lot more meaningful! Hmmm…a suitcase full of pens and tshirts or $1000 to spend in a school…
Oh, do you hit the nail on the head with your comments about the “stuff.” I, too, only spent an hour on the vendor floor and wondered how much money they were spending on those cocktail parties and dinners. Yes, I attended a lovely dinner, and afterwards, felt pretty crummy about it. This is why I like the cheap little conference I help run in Wappingers Falls, NY. Teachers can afford to attend; it’s not glitzy; it’s not designed for the tech directors; it’s meant to be practical and simple and is geared toward those who don’t have the luxury or the funds to attend NECC and other such conferences. But these people very much want to learn, grow and share. I am so glad that you were a part of it a couple years ago. Hope we can afford to bring you back!