21apples

Raucous First Day at NYSAIS Conference

Posted by arvind s grover Thu, 09 Nov 2006 06:32:05 GMT

The first day was overwhelming to say the least. I showed people the new conference blog site and talked about how to blog, post photos, and share bookmarks. People really latched on to it and are making the site an incredible resource and online meeting place. During the sessions I had the chat room projected up at the front of the room and it was flying by. Really exciting stuff. Catch the podcast of Rob Darrow here and the Will Richardson/Alan November podcast here. First speaker didn’t know it was up there (last minute call), but Will and Alan latched on and were all for it. We are asking speakers from now on.

I just finished sending out my class coverage information for tomorrow. Now it is time for much needed rest before the exciting media literacy workshop I am attending in the morning. See you in person tomorrow or in the chat room at 5:00pm.

My room at this instant:

Technorati Tags: Alan November, blog, del.icio.us, Flickr, Mohonk, NYSAISEdTech2006, podcast, bookmarks, Rob Darrow, Will Richardson

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NY Tech Conference - Be There Remotely or Personally

Posted by arvind s grover Wed, 08 Nov 2006 05:03:39 GMT

The NYSAIS technology conference starts tomorrow and I couldn’t be more excited. I think this is my fifth year attending, but who’s counting? It is great to connect with other technologists from around New York – I am always amazed at how bright, energetic and creative these teachers are. If only we all worked in the same school, now that would be fun. Or really nerdy.

This year there are some snazzy new features (if I do say so myself, read on to see why): for one, Alex, myself and the EdTechTalk.com team are going to be live webcasting the keynote speakers. This means if you are going to miss (or not be attending at all) any session, you can listen live. Check the full schedule. While listen, be sure to join the chat room to ask speakers questions remotely. Talk about expanding your audience.

We also decided to create a collaborative conference blog/website. I was inspired by participating in the K12 Online Conference site, and created 3 homework assignments for people to try out before, during or after the conference: try blogging, photo sharing or bookmark sharing, whatever works for you.

This conference is all about collaboration, and the site lets people experiment with great, free collaborative tools. The site also lets non-attendees participate. So whether or not you will be at the conference, please do join us. As we like to say at NYCIST (who is hosting the site), the knowledge is in the group.

If you need someone to talk you through it, Alex and I did a preconference webcast today, so give a listen.

Technorati Tags: 21st Century Learning Webcast, A Whole New Mind, Alex Ragone, blogging, conference, Daniel Pink, del.icio.us, Drupal, EdTechTalk, education, Flickr, k12online, K12online06, learning, live, NYCIST, NYSAIS, NYSAISEdTech2006, online, Drupal, technology