We are fortunate to live in an age where more than ever before physical proximity isn’t a prerequisite for active, synchronous participation and contribution to an event! Let me explain…..
Last year’s National Educational Computing Conference in Atlanta provided a wealth of opportunities for collaboration and acquiring information and inspiration in all things ed tech. That was my first trip to NECC, and I was looking forward to more of the same this year. Being unable to attend NECC 08 (as I had planned ) in San Antonio earlier this week, I searched for alternate ways to connect with all that NECC offers.
Enter emerging connective technologies and citizen journalists. Thanks to them a myriad of opportunities were available to me and other conference non-goers. Most or all of the archives are still available.
Ning (http://www.ning.com ) is an online program for creating your own social network.
NECC 08 hosted a Ning, http://necc2008.ning.com/ This was my jumping-off spot, but only a jumping off spot. From the NECC Ning, I quickly bookmarked links to a few NECC-related sites, including NECCLive .
Sidenote: Do you have a use for Ning? Ning networks exist for almost every interest or hobby. Another of my favorite Ning networks is located here http://www.classroom20.com/
My NECC-from-afar highlights…..
Sunday 6/29:
I attended about an hour of the Opening Reception in SecondLife (http://www.secondlife.com) and enjoyed a live stream of the band One Horse Shy while talking with other ISTE SecondLifers…some of whom were in San Antonio, and others, like me, who were there only in SL. Amazing! Stream real life video into a virtual world!
Sidenote: ISTE Island is a great place for educators to get a SecondLife (SL) start; it is a safe area and filled with helpful people. See ISTE SecondLife for further reading.
Monday 6/30:
I participated in a live Ustream of Will Richardson’s and David Jakes’ Creating Live Web TV for the Classroom for Global Audiences. One “A-ha” moment for me was when Will Richardson said, “Teachers need to provide the model for the important use of these technologies.” (As of this writing, the archived video of this event is located at the link above; it is 2nd from left on the top row under Video Clips.)
Sidenote: Ustream (http://www.ustream.tv/ ) allows for live streaming and also the capturing of video for archive and on-demand broadcasts. People who are logged in for viewing can synchronously chat via text, potentially enhancing viewer participation and collaboration. Ustreams can be made public or password protected to limit viewing. To understand Ustream, think YouTube, except that the video can be “live.” Anyone with a computer, a webcam, and a broadband internet connection can establish a Ustream channel. Anyone with a computer and a broadband internet connection can connect to a broadcasting channel.
Tuesday 7/1:
· I was asked to participate via SL in a real-life (RL) NECC session, SecondLife for Administrators….Learning and Leading with SecondLife. The session included demonstration and discussion and provided collaboration between RL and SL participants utilizing both voice and text chat. The goals of the session were to compare SL opportunities with other online meeting spaces and video conferences and to identify how SL can be used, integrated, and aligned with ISTE’s administrator NETS. GREAT conversation and ideas!
· Video On Demand of James Surowiecki’s “The Wisdom of Crowds”
“In an age when collaborative tools and media are readily available . . . hear how skilled application of diversity, independence, decentralization, and aggregation can be leveraged in education settings . . . .” (NECC Program). On Tuesday I also watched the video of the Sunday night Opening Keynote. This was time VERY well spent!
Sidenote: Spotlight sessions, all three keynote sessions, and more are available to you on demand http://center.uoregon.edu/ISTE/NECC2008/program/video_on_demand.php
Wednesday 7/2:
A live video of closing Keynote Speaker, Idit Caperton, was streamed into the ISTE Auditorium in SecondLife. I sat my virtual self in a virtual seat in a virtual world auditorium listening to and watching the real life Dr. Caperton as she talked about The Transformational Power of Social Media Technology in Learning.
Very cool!
Enriching Wednesday’s experience for me even more: 1- I was simultaneously involved in a content-related text chat with other SecondLifers in the SL ISTE Auditorium. 2- David Warlick (a leader in educational technology) was present at the closing keynote in San Antonio and was using CoverIt Live to “live blog” his thoughts during the keynote. I had his blog, 2¢ Worth, (http://davidwarlick.com/2cents/) open in a window on my laptop and could switch over for his thoughts as I chose. 3- Another ed tech leader, Wesley Fryer, (http://www.speedofcreativity.org/) was present for the closing keynote in real life and was Twittering (http://www.twitter.com) his thoughts. I “follow” Wesley Fryer, and for the conference duration had chosen to receive twitters via text on my cell phone; therefore, I had the benefit of his real-time thoughts during the keynote. (“Follow” is a Twitter term.)
Thanks to Web 2.0 applications and citizen journalists I was able to participate in NECC 2008 in San Antonio even though I never left Mississippi! Limited participation was far better than no participation, and I wasn’t merely a passive recipient of information. I was able to receive content, make contact, contribute, and collaboratively construct in meaningful ways.
I encourage you to explore! What can Web 2.0, the Read/Write Web, do for you? What can it do for your students? How can you model important uses of the Read/Write Web and other technologies for your students?