Cathy Nelson’s Professional Thoughts

Today I did a session at our annual principal’s conference on social networking. Since the vast majority of tools like MySpace, Facebook, and even professional networks like Classroom 2.0 are blocked, I took the stance that we as educators must educate ourselves and our parents, especially in light of how issues stemming directly from student online interaction seems to find its way into our classrooms, guidance offices, right up to the administrators desks. I’ve presented at the conference several years, but usually in the morning. I was taken aback by the “ghost-town” feeling I had for my 2PM afternoon session. I had roughly fifteen participants. One lady assured me that my topic was popular and relevant, but after lunch folks attending this conference seem to find to “other” things to do. Factor in that it is the next to last day, and well, the lure of the beach was calling too. But honestly, when I attend conferences, I go to 90% of the offerings, and many times you can find me near the front row if I can get to a session early enough. Does this make me an uber-geek? Even in my session today, only one participant sat near the front. This was a new experience for me.

Don’t Preach to the Choir

My attendees seemed generally complimentary, and even one of the conference directors greeted me warmly by name when I arrived. But today I was a wee bit disappointed. Our SC State Department of Education library liaison (Martha Alewine) encourages us to get out and speak at different conferences besides our own. She suggests if we are to gain respect in the field, we must stop “preaching to the choir” (presenting to ourselves at our own conference) and branch out and spread our message about information literacy, ICT, and standards-based collaboratively taught engaged learning by presenting at other conferences. What better way to market what you as the teacher librarian have to offer the school and its curriculum? We must help the teacher population see that we can address standards and impact student achievement.

Spread our Message, Support our Colleagues

I generally try to present at our state edtech conference (SCEdTech), the middle school conference (if I remember to do the proposal), and this one. There are not very many “techy” sessions at this conference, as my friend Dennis Richards has noted before, and from his post here, this goes all the way up to the national level. I really like SCASA’s SLI, as I strongly feel administrators are the ones who MOST misunderstand what should be happening in a library, particularly a 21st Century Library. They are also in a position to “from the top down” help us become more of a collaborating and contributing partner for student learning. In years past, I’ve had wonderful reception and positive feedback from my sessions. My session today was later than I’d ever had before, 2PM. I never expected such a low turnout. It was quite frankly a little disheartening.

I Solemnly Promise…

I promise to all future presenters who draw an afternoon or late presentation I will strive to attend if I’m at the conference. Been there, done that. I know what if feels like now to present to an empty room. I’d have liked to have been out on the beach today too. I especially thank the ones who came.

Attribution:

It is funny how summer really brings out the reflective me. My husband and I were having breakfast this morning, talking about qualifications for certain jobs in the education field. The conversation steered towards what makes me qualified for a library job. Now he has a different perspective as a school administrator who is significantly involved in the interviewing and hiring of faculty and staff.

What he said to me shocked me. He said he didn’t really see me as a good candidate for a library job-a media specialist (as they are called in SC.) He said while I am quite progressive and good at what I do, I am too far removed from the traditional look and feel of a school library media specialist. He further explained that while he knows am above average in my position, he said I did not fit the mold of a school librarian, that the things that excite me do not center around books and reading, and that I am prone to get wrapped up in the “what’s new” and the technology side of everything. He said that I would not be considered as the “most qualified” candidate anymore because of how progressive in my thinking I am and ways of doing things.

While I know he was not trying to be mean, it did come as a sucker punch. Since when did being good at technology or being a forward minded thinker become a bad thing? Since when did one have to reel it in, and dumb down the extent of their knowledge to appear “normal” or fit the mold of expectations for one’s job? I do not apologize for my knowledge on any one topic. I do not criticize others for not having the same extent of knowledge I have. As a matter of fact, in the position of a school librarian, i proudly link together those who can compliment the learning. I say this all the time. We all have our gifts and bring different things to the table. And since the role of a “contemporary” LMS is multi-faceted, I celebrate that I can meet many needs in a school setting. I am happy to do it from a library. I will never go back to being a traditional book lover or gate keeper in the library. My paraprofessional in my media center brings that gift to our table.

But I do want to leave this rant, if one can call it that, with this. I do not hold it against any LMS who is more of a traditionalist in their school. In all likelihood, there is another who brings the gift of technology, progressive thinking, and 21st century learning to the table in their schools. Just be good at what you do, that’s all I expect from other LMS’s in the field. I don’t think anyone should be just like me. And I do not hold it against them if they are not.

Just don’t hold it against me, and know that I am willing to work with any and all–because I know we all bring a gift to the table, whatever table it is.

There have been a bevy of posts recently in the blogosphere about PowerPoint (or maybe I should say “PowerPoint-less?”) Honestly I’m tired of reading about bad powerpoints, though I do realize many have much to learn about using this presentation tool effectively. I’m embarrassed to remember many of my own ppts as I recognize now that I too have created MANY that were lousy.

As I have sat through & endured many presentations or meetings that were guided or directed by a PowerPoint, fighting with all my might the glazed look I knew was overcoming me, I’ve realized that a PowerPoint is not the most effective tool to garner support, make a point, demonstrate concept mastery, or even teach.

And while we are trying to find ways to integrate technology into the curriculum, I do not encourage the use of PPT as a way to show that technology is being used in the classroom, either by the leader learner or novice learners. (NOTE: I am removing the “t” word from my vocabulary, or trying to anyway.)

Recently my district was having the finalists for our superintendent tour schools as they were in session. The candidate who was hired was asked right after the tour to share thoughts on what was seen, and this one expressed dismay at the lack of tech integration or visible active engagement in the classrooms, and that a lot of what was seen included students “sitting and getting” (my words). This candidate said all of this BEFORE being hired, mind you. When I heard this I told close friends she would get the job, as that was very brave and daring, and showed she wanted to make things better. She was announced as the candidate awarded the job recently. I say bravo for having the nerve to call a spade a spade, and not sugar coating hard valid evidence just to win favor with our board who would make the final selections. The observation was made as a need that the candidate could and would address if hired.

In reflecting now, I think PowerPoints reinforce that “sit and get” mentality, and I really struggle to bite my tongue when learners ask assistance with their powerpoints they are so proud of. All I can do is envision the glazed looks or worse, the laughing at (not with) final presentations of projects. Middle school learners are very unforgiving with opinions when it comes to their peers. Of course I have tried to talk about the content on their slides, but the particular project I am reflecting on was assigned without collaborating with me.

So I expect many frustrations to be expressed when these presentations are given in class. I also expect evidence of disinterest and boredom, on both sides of the college degree.

What to do? Find a way to enlighten my learners about what an effective visual presentation looks like, and model, model, model. I am asking today for fiftten minutes to share about ‘bad” presentations for our next staff meeting, and b/w now and then seeking informal collaborative moments to have frank conversations with those assigning PowerPoints. I can’t think of anything else to do. (I think it would not go over well t just email links to blogs about it, though some of the posts recently have had good references to videos and other blogs that offer good advice on the do’s and don’ts–an email can be easily taken out of context, or worse, taken offense to.) I hope this works. I’m tired of seeing students like the ones I’ve pictured here. I’m tired of feeling that way myself.

Image: ‘Bored‘
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More and more we are hearing about it, seeing it on the news, and reading about it in blogs, newspapers, and our professional journals. Students, even very young ones, carry cell phones. And the very newest phones are equipped with many tools, particularly video cameras and internet access, which in my mind is a VERY powerful tool in a child’s hands. I hesitate to say it is a good thing or a bad thing, as channeled properly it can lead to greatness.

But when I read material like this, I worry. Anything an educator says taken out of context can be portrayed as something entirely different. Anything a student says taken out of context can be protrayed as something different. And I’m not referring to just moments captured on a cell phone’s video, as this statement can be applied to a written referral that are most teacher’s best ammunition in dealing with discipline issues.

I have always remembered that whatever is written on one of the school referral forms is considered a legal document, and as it is written, it would do the educator well to remember that it might be used as a legal document. When I have used these forms myself, I have always tried to make sure it was written without anger, bias, or emotion, but rather just written as a statement of facts. It is very difficult to write a referral in the heat of the moment and accomplish this.

But now bring video into the mix. This year alone I have seen first hand incidences where students are making videos at school using their phones. But the student handbook clearly states that:

…all phones must be “off” and put away, and if they are out they will be confiscated.

This statement is almost an acceptance on the school’s part that students have phones and to ban them completely is one rule that cannot be enforced. But now I wonder if we will revisit this statement. Should I set up my video camera and external drive somewhere in my teaching context to protect myself? This is a frightening thought indeed.

I am reminded though of a statement I said to students in my first formal class/orientation. In introducing myself to students at the beginning of school (b/c I’m new this year at my school) I brought in my iPod to use in a “get to know me” type activity. I shared with students what you could find, including songs, pictures, podcasts, and audiobooks. Some of my podcasts were video, and this opened a discussion on how to make videos. It was then that I realized many of my students clearly understood they had the ability right in their pocket to make a video and post it online. So I made sure to have this conversation with each class in orientation, stating with a witness (a classroom teacher or my library technical assistant) that I do not give anyone permission to make a video of me and post it without specific written permission from me. Did I cover myself? I don’t know.

Back to my wonder about taping my classes…is that legal? When doing National Board Certification, I had to have written consent forms from parents to make videos of my classes.

Does it matter? The seven videos on the Dangerously Irrelevant site yesterday certainly were not made with any kind of consent, and it is painfully obvious that the damage has been done, whether teachers or students were right or wrong. Scott wants to know–Should students be punished or applauded for filming and posting these?

If I had to say now, I would side with punishing them since I’m pretty sure a lot of the footage stems from a biased or one-sided point of view. The public is not being told the whole story here, which is how I began this post. And as long as school handbooks indicate that cell phones are not to be on and in service in the classroom, then it must stay punishable.

What good will come out of these videos I watched today? Each time I see my students after school with their cell phones snuggly fitted up against their ears, I will do a quick self reflection of my actions that day, and briefly wonder if I’ll be a YouTube one-hit wonder. Yet another filter to think through as I plan, choose my activities for instruction, or talk formally or informally with kids each day. I do realize the phones will not go away, which really makes me WANT to utilize surveillance in my instruction. It scares me to think I may have to justify my actions with video of my own, even if it is not legally gained. Can you say “conspiracy theory”?

Attribution:

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Thursday I am slated to be a “Career Day” presenter at my school. I’m sure many of you have experienced a day where students are scheduled to hear guest speakers, and this week at school we have a bevy of career exploration opportunities for our students to participate in. Today we had a slew of visitors that spoke auditorium-style. They were community leaders that our 8th graders could turn to and that was the gist of the motivational speeches. Tomorrow we have over 100 8th grade students scheduled to shadow or apprentice adults at their jobs. We also have roughly 30 students coming in to “interview” staff members about their job and how or why they chose it as a career. Thursday we are having shorter sessions where students can rotate to 25 minute sessions where more career representatives are coming, and I’ve been asked to give three sessions on the career field of education. I didn’t want to seem like I wasn’t a team player, so of course I graciously said yes. But our kids, well, they already know me. Many of them have already heard “my” story. What’s a girl to do? My fear was that my session would be challenging b/c they would not have any questions for me or worse, would not choose my sessions. So, in 21st century learner style, I have chosen once again to ask my network to rescue me! My plans are to open up my Skype at school, and have guest speakers that my kids will not know speak to their choice of education as a career. Maybe I can even figure out a way to make it possible for students to ask questions too. We’ll see. Bill Gaskins of Carvers Bay Middle in a neighboring district is going to skype me tomorrow for something different, so it will be a perfect opportunity for me to “test” this before the big day.

Oh! You want to know who is virtually coming via skype? Let’s see:

Carolyn Foote, School Library Media Specialist, Austin, TX

Lisa Parisi, Elementary 5th Grade Teacher, Long Island, New York

Alec Couros, Ed. Tech Professor at the Faculty of Education, University of Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada

Dean Shareski, Digital Learning Consultant with the Prairie South School Division in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada.

Marcie Hull, Art teacher/Media Services, Science Leadership Academy, Philadelphia, PA

Zac Chase, High School English Teacher, Science Leadership Academy, Philadelphia, PA

Chrissy Hellyer, Year 7 Teacher, Taradale Intermediate School, Taradale, Napier, New Zealand

Doug Johnson, Director of Media and Technology at the Mankato (MN) public schools

I’m also hoping to snag David Jakes   (though i do not have a commitment as of yet-just a twitter dm beg and an email request.) Here’s to crossing my fingers! [UPDATE Wed PM: David has conflicts in his schedule, but did graciously participate in my trial of using Skype at school from a PC so I could make sure video and audio would be good on both ends. Thanks Dave! I primarily use a MAc w/ Skype, but only have access to a PC at  school.]

Attribution:

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I participated in Karl Fisch’s school project where a set of classes are reading and discussing Dan Pink’s A Whole New Mind. He was using MeBeam to send out the video, and asking participants internationally to join into the backchannel of conversation that would take place as we (the live audience of students and guests and blogger audience) via adding comments to a blog account set up specifically for the project. At the intro the students were shown visitors video feed (and wouldn’t you now I was answering a phone!) and simultaneously I could see the video of the inner circle of students the remainder of the time. For several consecutive weeks students and guests will gather each period of the day there are English classes, and talk about the chapters of the book. My first participation was on the chapter of “games.” I selected this chapter b/c I know in my heart that I learn most and best when I get to “play around” with the topic, be it information, hardware, software, or more. Interacting with it in the sense that it is a game or “play” allows me to take risks without worrying about failure or being rebuked by peers.

I joined this group too b/c gaming is probably at the top of my discomfort zone list, and I just don’t “get” playing video games. I wanted to hear the take of the students on this topic. I had this gut instinct that told me the kids would spend a good amount of time on “gaming” as it relates to video games, and I was not disappointed. What I did find, however, was that the backchannel where I was and the inner circle of participants on the video were surprisingly like-minded. There were those who were opposed to the violence of some games (like me) and felt like games dehumanized the actions–lot’s of talk about killing, blood, and guts. There were also those who supported the industry, saying it helps people, and the examples from the kids were simulations that assist soldiers to prepare for combat. I was astonished at the depth to which the kids defended their point of view, and found my self siding with both at times. Does that make me wishy-washy?

We did finally get back to the point of the game chapter, which did come out in both the inner circle of student discussion and the back channel. Humans learn when it is fun, engaging, and there is an element of pleasure. The kids even talked about classes where they enjoy their time in the room, naming fun, laughter, no fear of failure as reasons the classes are enjoyable.

My next session will be this coming Friday, and the chapter will be “meaning.” I signed up for this one too, as I feel strongly that learning has to be meaningful. The chapter on “play” and “meaning” remind me of the Wow framework I studied a few years ago, that of designing lessons that address qualities to engage students. Read about it here.

So I am really looking forward to Friday’s session, where I will live blog with Vicki Davis (Cool Cat Teacher Blog) and Scott Murphy, the Superintendent of Littlejohn Schools in Colorado–Superintendent of the district that Arapahoe belongs too. We will discuss the chapter on meaning. This chapter reminds me why I stay in the field of education. It is about focusing on your passions, making sure you enjoy and are passionate about what you do. It will be interesting to hear what the students say about this chapter.

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Back in early January my principal, Mary Clark, asked me to help her set up a blog. She wanted to explore this “blogosphere” I speak of so frequently, and she wanted to begin with her own blog first. That has finally happened, and now she is the author of her very own blog, appropriately titled “So Little Time; So Much to Do.” In the next few days I will assist her in setting up a reader, and show her a few blogs to subscribe to in the beginning to get her a solid understanding of a reader and how it helps manage reading from the blogosphere. These will also be ones that will excite her about 2.0 tools, show her that there is a network filled with educators who believe in higher order learning, engagement in the classroom, and authentic use of 21st century tools. If you have a recommendation, please comment.

I am delighted to no end that she is interested in something I am an avid fan of–blogs. I have so many in my reader I’m embarrassed to share (287). How do I manage so many? My bloglines account has my subscriptions organized in folders, and some of the folders are meaningful only to me. Sometimes I mark everything in a folder as “read” if I feel it is material or information I won’t miss, fall too far behind in, or will be able to get some other way. A perfect example is my “News” folder. Most of the time the news is easy to get elsewhere, be it tv, radio, or the talk of the town. And my news folder fills up quick. Marking it “read” knowing I can get it another way removes the guilt of subscribing and not reading. I also hear about some blog posts through Twitter, and so mark them as read right away too. So having that many subscriptions is totally doable if you have a management plan. (But I won’t recommend it for my beginner blogger principal!)

We are only just beginning to set it up, so we selected a simple design to start with.  I want her to see that a blog is a conversation about today’s learner. Now I can say my principal is a 21st century learner too! W00T!

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	technolibrary@cathyjo Hello library school students! You’re entering a great, innovative and growing possession–web 2.0 is the library wave!31 minutes ago from web inreply to cathyjo
	njtechteacher@cathyjo Hello from New Jersey USA near New York City - enjoy your presentation!about 1 hour ago from web in reply to cathyjo
	dmcordell@cathyjo Hi to you and the SLIS 761 students! I spent the day at home today due to icy roads & highwinds in upstate New York.about 1 hour ago from web in reply to cathyjo
	pepteach@cathyjo Hello, U. of So. Carolina! from a sweltering 8 deg in Milwaukee. Still -9 wind chills. about 1 hour ago from web in reply to cathyjo
	fceblog @cathyjo Hi SLIS 761students from cloudy Buenos Aires, Argentina.Hope you enjoy conversation with Cathy. about 1 hour ago from web in reply to cathyjo
	kjarrett@cathyjo Hello SLIS 761 students from Southern New Jersey, USA! about 1 hour ago from web in reply to cathyjo
	kimothymack@Cathyjo Hello from Las Vegas! about 1 hour ago from web in reply to cathyjo
	mrmosesdotorg@cathyjo - Hello from Las Vegas, NV. about 1 hour ago from Snitter in reply to cathyjo
	Deacs84@cathyjo Hello from Hot(currently COLD)Atlanta! about 1 hour ago from Snitter in reply to cathyjo
	nzchrissy@cathyjo Hi SLIS students from Napier, New Zealand about 1 hour ago from twhirl in reply to cathyjo
	chrislehmann@cathyjo Hello from Philadelphia, PA! about 1 hour ago from twitterrific in reply to cathyjo
	LParisi@cathyjo Hello SLIS 761 students. Welcome from Long Island, NY, USA. about 1 hour ago from web in reply to cathyjo
	robinellis@cathyjo hello from PA about 1 hour ago from web in reply to cathyjo
	alicebarr@cathyjo Hello SLIS 761 students! I’m from Maine about 1 hour ago from Snitter in reply to cathyjo
	kwhobbes@cathyjo Hi SLIS 761 students from really cold Saskatchewan where it’s -38C right now. about 1 hour ago from twhirl in reply to cathyjo
	bknittle@cathyjo Hi SLIS 761 students from Cape Cod Mass about 1 hour ago from Spaz in reply to cathyjo
	Riptide_Furse@cathyjo Hello students in South Carolina from Washington, DC about1 hour ago from web in reply to cathyjo

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Thanks to all of you who answered my tweet for a warm hello this afternoon as I talked with a “School of Library and Information Science” (SLIS) class. They were a graduate class from the University of South Carolina that I was meeting virtually as guest presenter/lecturer. It was really cool to be able to have face to face interactions with my former professor/advisor from 11 years ago, and answer questions from a chatroom forum. USC exposed me to many cutting edge tools as I worked towards my degree in the mid to late 90s, and I can see that they are still cutting bloody edge today, and continue to expose future librarians to the newest tools they’ll want for their school library program. They were really impressed with my network of friends and the international flavor they have! I had a student contact me after the class to tell me she remembered me from my very first teaching job. We taught in the same little school in Bowman, South Carolina, where I taught my first five years. 1986 was such a long time ago. But this walk down memory lane brought back fond memories, so thanks Karen! And thanks Donna Shannon, for allowing me to speak to your class.

My youngest son (17yo) objects heatedly when I talk at the table about friends I’ve connected with. He always asks “real” or “virtual,” as he does not agree that the people I network with using 2.0 tools can be anything more than people somewhere else that you really don’t know. Well I beg to differ, ESPECIALLY after this weekend.

Educon 2.0 was everything it promised to be and more. It was really surreal to see the people that I network with from blogs, chatrooms, wikis, podcasts, nings, and Twitter in person. But it was not like how Alex Russo described educators at conferences (my take on his reference was that we are somewhat like “8th graders at a dance”–very unsure of ourselves.)

From the get go, when Liz Davis met me at the airport in Philadelphia, there was an instant connection. We even hugged like long lost sisters. That was true for most of the day as I met in-person for the first time the people I network with. There were many, many spontaneous hugs.

As I continue to try and wrap my head around how special this conference was, I try to find the words to write. What made it so special? There was not one minute where I was not interacting and talking in conversations, and that includes sessions and fun activities, both scheduled and spontaneous (like the Franklin Institute, boxed lunches, a catered Philly cheese steak supper, an impromptu supper at that Asian Cafe that was so good we went back Saturday evening LATE, and they almost had to ask us to leave so they could close!)

Educon 2.0 was like no other conference I’ve ever been to (and that includes EdubloggerCon In Atlanta, which was more of a pre-conference un-conference idea.) There were no powerpoints or slide shows of bullets in sessions, only educators who served as facilitators to lead the discussion on how to make learning more engaging, more authentic, and how to get beyond the obstacles. There was a lot of discussion about NCLB and filtering, and educators who are not up to speed with the students we teach, who design lessons like it’s 1950 and not 2008. But it pleased me immensely to discuss these topics with the most powerful educators I know, and together strive to find a solution to these obstacles.

What struck me as odd?
There were ALL kinds of educators attending (200+), and they included 2.0 teachers, administrators, instructional technology directors, tech integrators, teacher librarians/media specialists, students, college professors, and more, and strangest to me, a broad range of technology and 2.0 skill base in using the tools, including absolute beginners to seasoned veterans. Many had heard of the conference from the tools we use, but others got it simply by word of mouth. It was great mix of our stakeholders. The only missing piece was parents, though many of these are parents too, so perhaps that was covered as well.

Re-occurring theme
“Touch them all.” David Jakes

Favorite Quote
NECC is a showboat compared to this. (Can’t remember who said it.)

Fondest Memories
Supper with the girls (me, Joyce Valenza, Carolyn Foote, Liz Davis, and others). We nixed on two restaurants Friday evening, writing them off due to crowds (after all, Friday is a date night.) We settled for the Asian restaurant, and shockingly enough, befroe we knew it, we had nine at our table. Then right after we ordered two more groups came in, and because the tables were somewhat close, the conversations continued well into the evening–by the end our crowd included close to 75 people. (See my pictured table!)

What I found MOST surreal
My RSS reader was walking around with me, and many were calling me by name. Yes, I do mean Chris Lehmann, Will Richardson, Joyce Valenza, David Jakes, Christian Long, Patrick Higgins, Jennifer Wagner, Woody Delauder, Glenn Moses, Ryan Bretag, and, well, I could just keep going here, but the I would not meet my goal of brevity…

Tons of time to connect!
I will probably blog some more about the conference, but I did want to leave this food for thought. I know it was an immense challenge that Principal Chris Lehmann of the Science Leadership Academy pulled off, but he pulled it off extremely well. But this is the first conference ever that only cost me $50 and included so many well established gurus. There was no exhibit hall, no badges or bags (though I did win a prize, a mug with the Educon Logo), and no frantic schedule of sessions w/ no time to talk between. This was by far the best conference I have ever attended, as each session was designed to be a conversation, with a full 90 minutes that more often than not allowed the participants to really connect, debate, and learn from each other. Many of them had some kind of interactive component (our session had participants draw a traditional library vs. a 21st century library, and then describe them; another session had the participants create a poem or lyric to share about the topic.) Then each session allowed 30 minutes to get to the next discussion, which allowed you to continue the conversation should you choose to. All for $50. WHAT A BARGAIN!!

My Personal Blonde Moment
Sunday morning I was to ride from the hotel with Liz Davis , since she had rental car and our planes left relatively close together. We would ride to the airport form SLA together. But I misunderstood the time, and thought she had left without me (and I was wrong i later found out!) But Will Richardson and Ryan Bretag were riding in Will’s car (a Prius!!) and Will offered to take me and my luggage over. So I hopped in. Will remarked that he really wanted coffee, and I told him if he would take a right there was a Dunkin Donuts and a little convenience store right there. So he drove up to the curb, quickly threw the car in park, and was out of the car I thought before it came to a halt. I swear it rolled about 6 more inches. I about freaked out! I was asking very excitedly to Ryan is the car stopped, is this car in park?? Now mind you I was in the front. Ryan answered yes, but asked to get out (the child door locks were engaged.) At this time I’m still not sure the car is actually in park, so I still a wee bit nervous. I’m trying to unlock his door, while inside panicked about the motion I know I detected. Ryan basically had to say (and as politely as he could muster,) “No Cathy–you have to open my door from the outside–the child locks are engaged.” Talk about a BLOND moment. Oh well, at least I can laugh about it now.

Funniest Memory
The panel discussion, where the panelists all sat at the table each with their laptops (Gary Stager, Will Richardson, Sylvia Martinez, Joyce Valenza, Chris Lehmann, and David Jakes–gosh I hope I didn’t leave anyone out!) Each panelist was using a Mac, all except David Jakes. Jakes began by mumbling “What is this, a Mac commercial?!”

Final thoughts–much of Educon was Ustreamed and so if you want to hear the archived conversations, be sure to visit on channel “EduconTV.” Oh well, back to my original question, are they real or virtual. If I was not sure before Educon 2.0, I know for absolute sure now. These friends are REAL!

Technorati Tags: educon20, ustream

I’m still reeling with the knowledge that my wonderful advisor from the University of South Carolina, Dr. Donna Shannon, is reading my blog. This just blows me away! Look at the bottom of this email she sent me:

W00T! Best of all she wants me to “virtually” join her SLIS 761 class to talk about Web 2.0 Tools with current students and educators working towards school library media specialist certification. Ain’t technology grand! She assures me since I use Skype, it will be fairly simple! I remember my days in library school and having visitors (back then it was not really done virtually other than one tv studio to another–i can’t believe I think that is so old school now!!) The visitors for the most part were highly successful practicing educators in the field. One of my favorites was a class where we had the “standards” folks in charge of testing from our very own state department of education. That was a powerful class. Lots of great discussion about “the test.”

So now I’m slated to be that practicing educator who will visit the class to offer words of wisdom. Oh geesh am qualified? I still feel like I’m such a beginner, learning new things in on-the-job training everyday.

So I ask you, my collective brainpower here in the blogosphere! What 2.0 tools do you think I should share and focus on? Blogs? Readers? RSS? Twitter? Social Networks? Aye-aye-aye where do I begin? Maybe I should regenerate and tweak an old preso? Let’s hear it! What do U think oh-collective-brainpower that I know as MY NETWORK!!

PS–You better believe I did a spell-check and proofed this one folks! I have a reader who can hold me accountable!

Image Attribution:

Image: Doctor Donna Shannon, Ph.D.
www.libsci.sc.edu/fsd/shannon/shannon.jpg

Image: “Donna_NoteJan08.”
http://www.flickr.com/photos/c_nelson/2213786902/