K12 Online Conference

A little more than a year ago, I started down this road...or perhaps down this rabbit hole...into the world of networking, collaboration, and high speed learning. One of the first people I met on my journey was Lisa Durff. Durff, as I came to know her, is welcoming, encouraging, and inspirational. She is also a person of vast knowledge of the goings-on online. It was she who steered me in the direction of the K12 Online Conference in 2007.

When I came into the conference last year, I was confused about the workings. Luckily, there were so many people to help out. I quickly learned two important things: 1. It was free and 2. All of the presentations were online as videos or podcasts. That meant the learning happened on my time.

The first video I watched: Lisa Durff's, of course. I then moved on to presentations by people I had never heard of before. Why did I choose them? Sometimes the title of the presentation grabbed me. Sometimes it was because they were being talked about in twitter or in the live Elluminate sessions during the conference. One that stood out for me was Dean Shareski's. I had never heard of him before (I was, afterall, a true noob) but learned a great deal. And later, when I decided to try what he was discussing, I (gulp) contacted him for some help. And, guess what?! He gave me some of his time. Now that's true professional development.

So here I am one year later. As you know, much has changed for me. I have a larger network and know most of the people presenting at this year's conference. Dean actually says hello to me if we meet in person and I am honored to say I know who he is. I am one of the presenters at the conference this year. In fact, I should be editing my video now. ;) And I am on the public relations committee.

I like being on the public relations committee. I love this conference. I love that it's free. I love that all the presentations are videos which can be accessed at my own convenience. I love that there are live events that I can join in and connect with others about various presentations. Mostly, though, I love learning.

October is coming. The conference officially begins the week of October 13th. But teasers have been up for a few weeks. These are nice little ads for each presentation. The excitement is building. Are you going to join in? If this is your first time, there is a link on the site for "first timers". It's very helpful. Check out the schedule and try to attend at least one live event. Maybe we will meet there. See you soon.

Meme: Passion Quilt

My network friend, Martha Thornburgh, tagged me for this meme. And how appropriate that I found out about this from someone I have never met face to face but have communicated with through projects, twitter, and email.

The rules are simple. Think about what you are passionate about teaching your students. My passion? Collaboration. I truly believe if we don't start teaching our children how to collaborate with each other both in and out of the classroom, we will never know a better, kinder planet. And I really want to live in a better, kinder world. So I do my part, one class at a time. And with today's technology, it is easier than ever to collaborate with others around the world. It's hard to fight a country where your friends are living.

These students from our classroom work together to create amazing projects and link up with other classes through various sites. And they enjoy doing so. Can you see the future taking shape?

3 Simple Meme Rules:

1. Post a picture from a source like FlickrCC or Flickr Creative Commons or make/take your own that captures what YOU are most passionate about for kids to learn about...and give your picture a short title.

2. Title your blog post "Meme: Passion Quilt" and link back to this blog entry.

3. Include links to 5 folks in your professional learning network or whom you follow on Twitter/Pownce.

So now to my tags:

Christine Southard - the ultimate collaborator

Lisa Durff - my first out of classroom connection

Alice Mercer - can't wait to see her passion

Cathy Nelson - my most helpful twitter friend

Cheryl Lykowski - because she needs a fun break from her thesis

Enjoy!

My "Little" Circle of Friends

I know I seem to keep coming back to this theme but I am still in awe of the power of communication on the Internet. Just a mere 3 months ago, I learned about and began a journey into Twittering and Webcasting.

I listened to my first webcast in July. It was an EdTechTalk webcast and the only reason I knew about it was because a woman I have never met opened herself up to me in Classroom 2.0 and told me to listen. Lisa Durff, I was to find out later, is an incredibly passionate educator, whose goal seems to be to promote webcasts and blogsites. She is the town crier for all things important happening online and I love her for that!

Since then, I became an intern at the Webcast Academy, met some more incredible people, began hanging out at Second Life at the recommendation of some of these people, met some more incredible people, started a Twitter account and met more people, and, here I am, three months later, with a nice list of people I now consider my friends.

I find myself looking forward to reading their blogs, awaiting their messages in Twitter, anticipating their comments on my blogsite, socializing with them in Second Life and enthusiastically chatting with them in webcasts and on Skype calls.

But the real test of these friendships came just today. Last night I sent out a message on Twitter that my students' blogsite was up and rolling. I invited my followers in for a look, not really expecting anything. What I got was comments - really thoughtful and caring comments - from people who don't really know me, except online. People who took time out of their busy schedules to help make blogging worthwhile for my students. People who did what I would hardly expect from colleagues I see every day.

And I should have known this would happen. I should have anticipated it way back in June. It was then that Christine and I got our webcam. Then, that we sent out an invitation to anyone in Classroom 2.0 who wants in to come Skype us so we can try it out. And our call was answered. By Skip Zilla and Kelly Christopherson, by David Jakes and David Warlick. We had a wonderful chat and signed out, surprised and elated that people came to talk.

I should have figured it out then. I should have known that, in the online world, friendships are made quickly and become strong. In the online world, people want to help out. In the online world, when you reach out, there are always people reaching back.

So thank you to my "little circle of friends". Those who helped me make it through the Webcast Academy - Jose, Jeff, Durff, Alice, Maria, Lee, Carla, everyone - those who listen to my twits and act on them - Colleen, Jen, Karen - those who befriended me in Second Life and helped me stop banging into walls - Kevin, Lori, Cheryl, Jen, Colleen - and everyone else who has touched my life by being my online friend. You are the very reason I keep coming back.