Snapshots of Technology

NECC 2008…

July 8, 2008

I have to say after wrapping up NECC… I am a little disappointed. I have been to NECC many times before like I have mentioned in previous posts but I don’t know.. it just left me a little hollow. I don’t know why… I guess I was just expecting to take away a big ‘WOW’ or ‘Aha’ moment and it didn’t happen. The biggest disappointment for me was most of the sessions I wanted to attend were full and the NECC guards closed the door. I know in our technology age I can find the session online and I have but it was the point that I wanted to be in the room to hear it first hand.

My first session at NECC was the celebration of the new NETS for teachers. Um, I spent an hour of my life listening to people pat themselves on the back or listen to people who are supposed to be using the new standards but just said they haven’t done anything yet but they will be good.  The standards themselves were only mentioned in about 3-5 minutes of the session. After the session I looked them over on the ISTE site. I have to say I like the new standards (check them out here). They are in direct line with the student NETS that were released last year. It also moves the teacher from skills based to “transformative teaching.”  The aspect of no longer using technology for the sake of using technology.

My final impression of NECC was the keynote at the closing session. I have to say as far as closing session keynotes, I wasn’t excited. I felt that Idit Harel Caperton was spending too much time looking at the past. A woman on the shuttle after the keynote said, “You know I know what happened in the past. I want to know what we should be looking forward to.” Although Dr. Caperton talked about her wishes for the future I think she should have focused more on them. I didn’t like her reading to me either. Her site Globaloria is a great resource but as a keynote to get me excited as I left NECC she fell short.

Of course there were bright moments in the conference too. The brightest moment for me was talking with Chris Lehmann and then attending his session School 2.0: Combining Progressive Pedagogy and 21st Century Tools. What was wonderful about talking with him was 1. I don’t think Chris has ever met a stranger and 2. It is inspiring to see an administrator so passionate about the success of his students and faculty. He is willing to get in the trenches with the teachers for student success. The Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia seems to fully encompass Understanding by Design. I have always been a big fan of Understanding by Design and it great to hear how the entire school lives and breathes it. Thank you Chris for making my conference.

The Blogger’s Cafe was always full. It was an interesting place. Some people willing to talk and share others looking at you like you were an alien from another planet even though they chat with you on twitter. One of the best conversations I had in the Blogger’s Cafe was with an old friend, Jeff Giddens. He recently returned from the Google Teacher Academy and was very excited about the Google-mecca visit and his learning. It was great to catch up with him. Thank you to those who I did meet/see again and talk with (too many to list).

Coolest thing that happened at NECC?
So this really has nothing to do with a session, the exhibit hall, blogger’s cafe, or anything in the conference. I was leaving the convention center on Monday. The bus was full and people were standing. When the bus thinned a little a woman sat next to me and started talking to me. As we talked I thought, hmm… she looks familiar. So I asked her were she was from. Turns out after a few leading questions… she and I went to high school together! Its been at least 21 years since I have seen her! It was really cool to make that connection… I just want to give a shout out to Laurie Vitale. It was great to see you again after ALL of these years.

So what am I taking from NECC?
The human connection is SO very important in our ever growing technology world. It may bring us closer in many ways but we must not forget the human side of all of this and take every opportunity to share.

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Entry Filed under: Conferences. .