SMART Boarding in the Classroom

SMART Boarding in the Classroom 202: Work SMARTER, not Harder
Presenter: Bret Gensburg, University of Akron; Eagle Technology Integrations, LLC
Tuesday, July 2 @ 10:30 am

Tuesday Notes from NECC

Tuesday at NECC was very good. The first presentation I went to was Developing 21st Century Skills in School and District Leaders, which you can find live blogged below. They discussed how they have been working to strengthen their pd after beginning a 1:1 initiative. They have an extensive online community for their teachers, which you can find links to in the live blog. They've put in many hours to develop everything, but it seems they think it paid off and they are great resources for the rest of us.

My next session to attend was one on open source software. However...the presenter never showed. So I took off even though someone else volunteered to present. I finished my rounds in the vendor area. As I mentioned yesterday, I've found a couple pretty cool things that I'll be working on more later. If they're decent I'll pass them along, but don't worry to bother you with junk.

The last session I attended today brought away what could be the quote of NECC (as mentioned on Twitter): Chris Lehman, principal of Science Leadership Academy (SLA) in Philadelphia, said, "The best collaborative tool is the one we all agree to use together." Simple, yet brilliant. No technology is going to change your district if it's used sporadically. Change has to be as complete as possible. His presentation was how they are integrating technology into their UbD guides, and his theories and shared activities were absolutely magnificent.

For better or worse, there is only one more day left of NECC. I'm very excited to get home, but I've got a couple presentations that I'm really looking forward to tomorrow, plus squeezing in a trip to the Alamo after we were denied by the rain this afternoon. If you've never seen the Alamo, I believe you are not allowed to leave San Antonio until you have seen it. I'd hate to get home any later than I already am...

Developing 21st Century Skills in School and District Leaders

Tuesday @ 11:00 am
Presented by Christopher Corallo, Henrico County Public Schools with Adam Garry

Podcast Channel for NECC

NECC is podcasting many of it's sessions through the Apple Learning Interchange. This is an outstanding resource to hold on to whether you are at NECC or not.

Sunday Keynote - James Surowiecki

I was a little skeptical in attending a keynote at an education conference from a man from the business community. James Surowiecki, whose latest book is called "The Wisdom of Crowds," turned out to be outstanding as the opening keynote for NECC 2008. His ideas though, were spot on, not just for the business world, but definitely for education. His theories and research on how, continually, groups routinely outscore the best and the brightest. He gave a couple good stories about how different entities had tried their tested methods of problem solving with their most capable employees only to be outdone by a group of individuals from all different backgrounds and a variety of IQs. His final story was about how a submarine sunk in the north Atlantic Ocean in the 1940's (I believe). The Navy used all of the "technology" they had to try to find the submarine, but because the Navy only knew where the sub was because they checked in, they didn't actually know where the sub had went. So after a few months, they turned the problem over to and up and coming sailor who put together a group made up of sailors, mathematicians and others. After proposing some scenarios and having the group come up with ideas on their own and then as a group, they imputed their information into a mathematical formula. Their point, a point determined by an average of all of the collected "guesses," was only off by 220 yards.

His other stories about how close groups generally are were amazing. He theorized that if you have a variety of IQs, some may not just be dumb, but learn and think differently, therefore allowing everyone more ways to think about new possibilities. Having a group of like-IQed group members doesn't always allow for different ways of thinking. In fact, Surowiecki says at some point the group just starts to be dumber because no one questions anything or needs to have it explained.

It was an outstanding beginning to what is turning out to be a wonderful conference.

Here are some other Surowiecki keynote-related blog posts:

Assorted Stuff: Keynote With a Smaller Crowd

2 cents Worth: Major Problems with Blog

Cool Cat Teacher: Live Blogging Keynote - Wisdom of Crowds NECC

For more NECC reading, visit the Hitchhikr page.

At NECC - Sunday afternoon

I made it through my first big test at NECC...finding my name tag. Now that I found my name tag, I already proceeded to forget that today is Sunday, not Monday, and was thoroughly confused as to why the exhibitors weren't ready to go. What a long strange trip it's been...

At any rate, this is already amazing just to look at everything that is going on. The "brochure" is a spiral bound novel. And while everything is bigger (what would you expect in Texas?), I find it funny a fellow NETA member ended up at the Blogger's Cafe with me.

Even talking with others on the way here (um, sorry, Will Richardson walked by...wasn't expecting that...a little star struck I guess...), the conference may be a bit too large for its britches. It is almost confusing as to what's going on when, where it's at, will it be presented again. Is that the sign of a good conference? I suppose. But can there be too much of a good thing? Will it wear itself down? I think NECC has a long way to go before that happens. But it's an observation.

Back to doing some planning. I'm glad I'm at the Center already, but probably could've waited a little longer. I suppose meeting the NETA member was the reason...scary how things work like that, huh?

We Made It!

The Tech Fridge is happy to say that we have finally made it to our room here in San Antonio for NECC 2008. After getting organized, we are planning on heading over to the Convention Center to see what's what. Oh, and we highly recommend the Sausage Butty at Waxy O'Connor's on the RiverWalk. 

Prepping the Fridge for NECC

The Tech Fridge is traveling to their first NECC in just a few days! After new teacher training tomorrow, we will be feverishly getting ready to make our maiden voyage to the mecca of educational technology. We thought this week we'd share a few ideas and areas in which we are prepping.

1. Getting the Mac Book Pro set up as the "mother ship" for our work. There are three main reasons for this: 1. Battery life and speed FAR exceeds the tablet; 2. It's still my security blanket; and, 3. Honestly, it has a built-in camera that I can Skype home with. Let's be honest, that's the real reason.
2. Lee mentioned putting our Twitter usernames on our nametags. Cheesy? Yep, but what Fridge doesn't love some good cheese? Not really something I'm preparing for, but it's part of the gathering of ideas before I get there.
3. The NECC 2008 main site has the ability to create a conference planner. While I have added some workshops that I want to be at, I haven't messed much with adding this to iCal, etc.
4. Getting ready on the NECC Ning. I just want to browse through it some more and do a little more networking before hand.
5. Finishing up my business cards. I made the mistake of not planning a head for this. Michelle Baldwin Tweeted one day about getting her "Moo cards" and I just didn't jump on the ball fast enough. Between formatting and ink, I'll get them done before I take off.
6. NETA has a wikispace for all of us to collaborate. Great job, Jason!
7. Following NECC on Twitter.
8. Following Hashtags on Twitter, a website that tracks Tweets.
9. An article about RSS with Twitter and the aforementioned Hashtags from the Cool Cat Teacher blog.

I'm sure that there are other things that I'm forgetting, so please feel free to remind me! If I think of anything else I'm doing in preparation, I'll of course mention that as well. Yes, Mom, I will pack enough clothes for each day and I'll take a little blankie in case I get cold on the plane. Even a Fridge can get chilly, though probably not while in San Antonio.