Back on Track

Okay, so this blog has been a lot more "intermittent" than I had planned! I suppose I shouldn't be surprised at how easily I got sidetracked. Such is life. But even so, I've been learning and learning and learning since last I reflected here.

The National Educational Computing Conference that I spoke of in my last post was wonderful and, as usual, caused me to once again think about things in new ways. The focus was on innovation and creativity, not on technology. That may sound odd for a technology in education conference, but the point is that we need to move our thinking beyond merely what technology we use or don't or how well we use it. Yes, technology allows us to do things in different ways, faster, more easily sometimes, and to share it with the world in a split second. However, what is the content that we are sharing? One of the speakers, Tim Tyson, principal of Mabry Middle School in Marietta, Georgia, said something that really stuck with me. His students participate in an annual film festival, the theme being "Making the World a Better Place." When he is working with students his first question to them is "what is it that you want to say that is so important the whole world should know it?"

As I move forward in a school year that is already so incredibly busy that I can't seem to come even close to catching up, I try to keep reminding myself to reflect on that question.

National Educational Computing Conference

On Saturday I'll be on my way to Atlanta, GA to attend the National Educational Computing Conference (NECC), sponsored by the International Society of Technology in Education (ISTE). This is the 4th year that I've attended this annual conference and it is always a rich experience. It is one of the main sources of personal professional development for me and offers me a chance to learn from and collaborate with experts and novices from all over the world.

I will be posting information from the sessions I attend here on my blog. Along with some of my colleagues from BOCES I will be producing podcasts about our experiences as well (In the NECC of Time 2007). I will also be a volunteer conference correspondent for eSchool News Online. So, there will be many opportunities for me to share with all of you about what I'm learning.

Check back here for posts and links. I'll try hard to keep things updated in a timely fashion.