Today was the official kick-off of the Upstate Technology Conference in Greenville, SC. Chris Craft was the keynote speaker for the conference. I was so excited for Chris to get the keynote. Chris has been a friend for a few years and I have seen him grow in to an amazing presenter.

The keynote entitled, Superpowers for Everyday Heros was a exciting journey in to the life and classroom of Chris Craft. He shared many stories of how to get students engaged in his class. In class 326, he incorporates technology in all aspects of learning from settling the class with his gcast of what is happening in the class and the daily riddle to the opportunity for students to create video to show others how to speak spanish, specifically Jeff Corwin. Chris also shared his newest venture is SpanTube, a YouTube for teaching foreign languages. This was an idea that spawned from a class discussion with his sixth grade students.

Chris creatively incorporated his computer’s alter ego, Maria, and video of students to help him through the presentation. It was evident that the man standing on the stage was full of life and passion for kids. We need more Chris Crafts in education.

I enjoyed the Twitter dialogue throughout the day. Besure to search Twitter #UTC2009 and #UTC2009craft to catch up on the conversation. It was great to see the social side of technology so alive in a South Carolina conference. It shows a change is a comin’ to educators in the state. People are starting to connect across the state and world.

The coolest part of the day is I was able to meet up with about 20 tweeps from South Carolina at the Wild WIngs Cafe. The opportunity to sit and talk over a meal allowed for so much sharing and learning. As the conversations flowed across the table it was as if the Twitter feed was speaking outloud. Changes in topics, movement to listen more carefully to what was being said, and laughter. It was great to meet so many of the Twitter folks in person and I hope these relationships continue to develop a collaborative tight network in the state. We need to unite and move forward with technology integration!

Well, I am excited to see what tomorrow holds… Can you believe it TWO blog posts in TWO days?!? WhaHoo! Being around people who are as excited about technology education as I am inspires me to share. I wish every day were like today.

But the evening started with a little socializing with people from my Twitter Personal Learning Network. I met up with @crafty184 – Chris Craft, @cathyjo – Cathy Nelson, @Shirley8153 – Shirley Smith, @jmccotgcs – Jeff McCoy and met a new PLN member @sraweltz – Stephanie Weltz. I must say this is the best thing about attending conferences. The opportunity to talk and share with people who know your struggles and successes is refreshing.

One of the topics we discussed tonight was blogging. I haven’t blogged in months. Not because I haven’t had ideas but because I just haven’t had the time or should I say made it a priority. Being around these folks makes me want to make it a priority. Funny thing is… I have been carrying around hand written notes (who does that anymore) of a blog post on transparency that I have not written yet. So take this as my word, I will write the post… soon.

More than anything… I am in need of serious face-to-face  Personal Learning Network. My PLN helps me through the tough times and I am so lucky to have them physically around me for the next two days.  This is where I will find my inspiration and I thank them all for being that inspiration when I need it the most.

SC EdTech fill me up because I am almost on empty!

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.

Technorati Tags: NECC08 jeff giddens chris lehmann science leadership academy google teacher academy understanding by design

UTC ended up being a snapshot of what I am preparing for at NECC. It was the first time I was able to be meet people from my personal learning network face-to-face on this scale. What I mean is .. on Wednesday at lunch I was at the same table with Ewan McInstosh, David Jakes, Chris Craft, Julia Davis, Cathy Nelson, Heather Loy, and Pat Hensley. I have met some of them prior to this conference but the power of this lunch table had me in awe. I can’t wait for who all I will meet at NECC.

The conference was definitely an Adventure in Technology. What I was impressed with the most was the forward thinking of the folks in Greenville County Schools to bring keynote speakers like Ewan McIntosh and David Jakes. This is a hugh step for the upstate and the state of South Carolina. I think SC is on the verge of a instructional technology shift and beginning to see its value or at least I hope that is the case!

Though Ewan’s and David’s keynotes were very different… there was a common thread: the idea of building community. Ewan called it Shared Awareness. Being able to utilize the spaces our student use…
Secret spaces – Mobile, SMS
Group spaces – facebook
Publishing spaces – blog sites
Performing spaces  - second life
Participation spaces – meetings , markets, events
Building community starting with your classroom and then expanding outward…

David Jakes poised the question: “Is today’s cheating tomorrow’s collaboration?” Again focusing on the aspect of texting, social networks, etc. to build a collaborative learning network. We as educators really need to look at ways to meet the needs of our students by using tools that they know. Do you have to be an expert with the tool? NO, but allow them to explore learning in their way. I think this will help bring meaning and ownership to our students as the learn.

Ewan live blogged during David’s keynote and does a much better job of expressing meaning of the presentation.

As I continue to reflect on what I learn and prepare for NECC, I just want to tell my PLN, it was great to finally meet a number of you face-to-face.

Technorati Tags: upstatetechnologyconference utc2008

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!

Technorati Tags: NECC2008 twitter facebook classroom2.0 professionaldevelopment 21stcenturylearning

I received word on Friday of the times I will be presenting at the Upstate Technology Conference in Greenville. I will be presenting my iPodabilities in the Classroom 2.0 workshop. I have presented this session many times but it is updated. If you came to a this workshop in at SCASL or SC EdTech 2007, it has been updated changed and I am more pumped about all the things I have to share. Of course I wouldn’t have 1/2 the ideas I do to share if it weren’t for Tony Vincent. The work he has done on iPods in the classroom has helped all of us reap the benefits.

Anyway, back to the Upstate Technology Conference. I have to say I am more excited about going there than I am about SC EdTech. I am presenting June 25 at 2:15 and June 26 at 8:00 am. Why am I excited? Not because I am presenting… I am very excited to see David Jakes and Ewan McIntosh. Its funny in educational technology, we all have our ideas of celebrity and I have to say the two of them are celebrities to me. I haven’t met either of them but I do follow them on Twitter and read their blogs. I am looking forward to the opportunity to talk face-to-face with both of them.

Have you registered for the conference? If you are in or near Greenville, SC at that time register for this conference. Did I tell you it is FREE. Yes, FREE! You can’t pass this opportunity by.

Technorati Tags: upstatetechnologyconference UTC TonyVincent ewanmcinstosh davidjakes professionaldevelopment

Hello. I wanted to thank you for joining us in Columbia, SC to at the South Carolina Association of School Librarians conference. I am not a Library Media Specialist. I am a technology education specialist and I work daily with educators to help with the implementation of technology in the classroom. I wanted to thank you for challenging the state library media specialists to “water the flowers before the rocks.” Your ideas were refreshing. Your willingness to open the “virtual door” in your library was enlightening. The shift in information and how it is gathered has changed librarian’s/media specialists jobs and you are truly making that shift with your students and teachers. Your collaboration with teachers and students seems so natural. I think my absolute favorite thing you shared was your wiki on Hamlet. A close second was the iGoogle pages for every student. I would love for our students to have access to to ALL Google has to offer.

I know your time was limited in the keynote and the hour sessions throughout the day just weren’t enough to fully express how to make the shift in the media center but I think you gave our state media specialists something to think about. You may have called it brow beating but I am going to call it an awakening. THANK YOU for sharing with South Carolina.

My only hope is that with this awakening will come a shift and a new way of thinking about media centers.

Thank you, again, for your time and effort.
MaryAnn Sansonetti

For those of you who want more ideas, visit Joyce Valenza’s wiki

Technorati Tags: joycevalenza valenza sansonetti iGoogle wiki SCASL SCASL2008

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

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,