Archive for January, 2008
I have been home from FETC for almost a week now and I have been thinking… What impact did it have on me?
Other than getting sick, (guessing that came from the flight home) what did I bring back from the conference?
I met some people I communicate with on Twitter or read their blogs. Which was very cool!
I went to a couple really great sessions.
1. Chris O’Neal’s Leading the Leaders session really gave me wonderful ideas on how to get technology integration buy in with administrators.
2. The Discovery Education Network is always great. The pre-conference sessions, conference sessions, and evening affairs always wonderful.
3. Loudoun County, VA’s Assistive Technology team brought some great ideas for getting special education teachers to integrate technology. One thing they created was a calendar with daily ideas of how to integrate assistive technology in the classroom.
So I was gone for 5 days, 2 days travel and 3 days for the conference. Was this worth the time, effort, and cost? I think for my personal growth the big corporate conferences are not what I need. If I am in search of fresh ideas for my teachers or district yes, they are fine. BUT for me personally to grow…what do I need and if its what I need is it what we all need?
As I woke up on day three of the conference thinking of this I read a blog post by Dean Shareski, A Simple Change of Conference Format. Someone attending the same conference was having the same thoughts! Dean talks about having an open conference one that allows more discussion and conversation to take place. What a concept? Allowing the attendees to discovery their own learning!
Last month I attended a short 3 hour SMART User’s Group meeting. The time was spent with an opening session and then 2 hours of us sharing in small groups. I was so energized and ready to take on the world when I left and the reason was because of all of the sharing.
So would it be so hard for us as educators to find the time to meet at Starbucks, the public library, or a local park to share or to create our own open conference or un-conference (as I like to call it)? The only way we will leave no child behind is to talk to/share with each other about what is working. Sometimes that means putting the computer away and meeting face-to-face not because we are going to a big conference and spending money to attend but because we can.
Technorati Tags: Dean Shareski, FETC 2008, Twitter, Discovery Education Network, Sansonetti, SMART Users Group, Chris O’Neal, Loudoun County School District
January 31st, 2008
After a long day of travel on Tuesday… running to make connecting flights in Atlanta, FETC began at 8:00 am on Wednesday for DEN members. Julia and I were very excited to hit the ground running. We arrived at the Orange County Convention Center at 7:45 am to meet Lance at the $3.00 soda machine. He apparently needed his caffeine. We found the Discovery Corporate room and met up with DEN STAR members from across the U.S. Even though this is a Florida conference, there were plenty of out of state DEN members.
Our first activity was Speed DENing. Its a little like speed dating but without the look for a match! It was a great way to meet the wonderful people in the room. During this time I got some really great ideas on ePortfolios, online courses for teachers, and web 2.0 tools.
Hall Davidson was our first presenter. Always a treat. He did an overview of the session he is conducting today at FETC;
The Man Behind the Curtain. It was a look at “code” and how easy it is to use. Tech4Learning came by to show us WebBlender. The main attraction for the morning event was us, the STAR members. We spent about an hour sharing ways we use Discovery Streaming. The time was spent with spotlighted educators. It was great. One of the best ideas was called AT (Assistive Technology) a Glance Calender. This was a calender of daily things you can do with technology for those students who need assistive technology. The district created it with PowerPoint and printed the calender for all of the teachers in the district.
Discovery Education also shared some upcoming things on the web page and what is next for the DEN. By this time it was 11:30 and time to travel to lunch. Discovery took us to the Rain Forest Cafe at Downtown Disney. It was a lot of fun. The Florida Leadership Council was lucky enough to eat lunch with Jeff Corwin since he was the Opening Keynote for FETC. Its ok that I didn’t get to eat with Jeff. I really enjoyed talking with Patty and Amy who are actually from Lexington 1 in South 
Carolina… a neighbor of Richland One. Over lunch, Patty and Amy shared ideas on teacher portfolios and using SMART Notebook software as the interface. I can’t wait to see the template.
Julia and I had a little time to shop in Downtown Disney. So of course we had to try on some hats… 
We made it back to the convention center in time to attend the FETC opening session with Jeff Corwin. Being a STAR DEN member Julia and I escorted to the second row. V.I.P. status! LOL Jeff’s keynote was all right. He didn’t really inspire me or get me ready for the conference because he talked little about technology. He did however tell some great stories of how he became a naturalist and a conservationist. He was full of passion when he was talking about animals… things near and dear to his heart but he rambled a bit when he talked about education. Something he knows is important seemed not sure how to make the connection.
After the keynote, we made it to the exhibit hall… just as in NECC … I am so over exhibit halls. I have a few things I need to check off my list but really don’t want to be in there.
My day with Discovery ended with a dinner at Bahama Breeze. It was really great to sit with the Discovery Education folks over a nice meal. Thanks for the day! I had a great time!
Technorati Tags: FETC 2008, Lance Rougeux, Sansonetti, Disney, DEN, Discovery Education, Hall Davidson, Julia Davis, Jeff Corwin,
January 24th, 2008
I hope the airport doesn’t think I am a security risk with all of the electronics I will be carrying with me tomorrow! Its so hard to decide what to take and what to leave… Computer, web cam, mic, external drive, blackberry (yes, I am taking that), camera, rechargeable batteries, power cords… The list goes on and on… I am leaving the iPod at home. I bought a SD card for the Blackberry so I put my music there… One thing I am leaving in South Carolina is my winter jacket. WHAHOO! 75 degree weather, here I come!
Technorati Tags: FETC 2008, Blackberry, iPod, Sansonetti
January 21st, 2008
Take 5 minutes of your time to fill out this survey on blogging to help Dangerously Irrelevant’s Scott McLeod gather information about what is going on in the educational blogosphere. The survey is open until January 26th.
Technorati Tags: administration, administrators, blogging, blogs, education, educationaladministration, educationalleadership, leaders, leadership, McLeod, principals, schools, scottmcleod, superintendents, survey, technology, technologyleadership, sansonetti
January 17th, 2008
FETC is only two weeks away and I found out today I am definitely going! ROCK ON! I am heading to Florida to hang out with the DEN. I haven’t been to FETC in a few years and I am looking forward to heading there.
Of course, I am going with a list of things to find out more information … its not all play time. So my list includes gathering information on 1:1 laptop initiatives, how districts are dealing with Vista, instructional technology growth, and more. I have to take some time over the next week to come up with a game plan.
First on the agenda… teachjeffspanish! Hey, Chris I will do what I can to teach Jeff a word or two, since Jeff Corwin is the Keynote speaker. If you haven’t visited teachjeffspanish do so. Sixth grade students are working very hard to teach Jeff and everyone who visits how to speak spanish.
Looking over the featured speakers some of my Discovery Education favorites will be there: Hall Davidson and Steve Dembo! I am looking forward to their sessions. They are always entertaining and educational.
Technorati Tags: Chris Craft, teachjeffspanish, FETC, FETC 2008, Steve Dembo, Hall Davidson, DEN, Discovery Education
January 10th, 2008
