Snapshots of Technology

NECC 2008 … approaching fast

June 21, 2008

This morning was the first time I was able to sit down and look at the conference planner for NECC. Of course there are more workshops I want to go to than I have time for… I will try to figure out how to divide my time … Then the sessions that are going to be available on podcast or video-on-demand, this will keep me busy for the week after I return home from NECC.

Every year, I get very excited about NECC. I have been very fortunate. I have been to 6 NECC’s since 2001 in Chicago, IL (except Seattle in 2003 and San Diego in 2006). Thinking back to ‘those days,’ the conference has evolved. In 2001, there were 357 total sessions. Last year, there were 226 concurrent sessions and 547 other presentations.

My first experience with NECC 2001 was attending with my colleagues to present a workshop on the ‘eSchool Model’ at the school I was teaching. The conference to me, was all about the exhibit hall and the FREE stuff. In 2002, in San Antonio, I spent more time in the exhibit hall than I did in the at the sessions.  Over the next few years, my position changed from in the classroom to training classroom teachers. With that shift, so was the shift of why I was attending NECC. I was no longer attending for me but now attending for my teachers. What did they need? What did I need to attend to learn for them?

Last year, was probably the largest shift that took place for me. Over the years, you begin networking and meeting people who become eFriends for most of the year and NECC is a reunion time to meet up with all of them. But last year, not only did I meet up with friends… it was very exciting for me to see the shift of learning. Learning moved from the sessions to the hallways. The Blogger’s Cafe was overloaded with people throughout the day. Learning and conversations were taking place that could never happen in a workshop. There was a sense of community with people. The conference no longer was a group of strangers gathering to sit and get. It was a place you met up with friends to learn about a common topic/goal.

This year, I can’t wait to meet those whom I have met through Twitter, the blogosphere, Facebook, Classroom 2.0, and all of the other virtual ways I have met people. The conference is almost an annual homecoming for me now. I am looking forward to the learning, conversations, and good times I will have next week. See you all then!

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Entry Filed under: Conferences, Reflections. .