Musings & Lessons Learned from NECC09

NECC09 Washington DC on PhotoPeach


Musings, & Lessons Learned from the NECC Conference, 09

First, you may want to take the test What Kind of Tech User Are You?....then think about the ONE thing you would like to learn or apply to your career in the next year...

"Our plates should be small but our appetite LARGE for new technology"

but what i'm saying is..... pace yourself, you can't learn AND use everything you hear about ALL the time! if you just concentrate one thing each week/month/year......heck even if you only try one thing on one day each year you're ahead of 90% of the tech users & teachers out there! see? not so bad!
and if you're the daring sort...the kind that isn't afraid to dive into the digital pool and swim with the fishy digital collaborators...know that there will ALWAYS be someone who is doing more than you...who humbles you with all that they utilize in their classroom or school (i get both overwhelmed and inspired when i listen to Joyce Vallenza!!!) but if we measured ourselves by these superstars we'd never get anything accomplished cause we wouldn't even try! LOL

so do what you can....try a few new things....and always ALWAYS SHARE SHARE SHARE! take the "each one, teach one" - NTTI model or the new digital collaborator model of "each one, tell many"
So Blog...Twitter....Wiki...Plurk....document and SHARE your successes AND your failures! heck, our failures teach us more than anything! Build your PLN (Personal Learning Network) you're not alone...even if you're the only one in your school trying new things...you're not alone if you join and participate and develop your PLN.
PLN's that are vibrant and you should consider joining:

Twitter...join...try it out...search for the hashtag #NECC09... it's still perking a bit! i invite you to follow me at /gwynethjones
Nings! Social Networks for Educators...the best of Facebook & Myspace but all for educators
--

Visit TeacherLibrarianNetwork

--

Visit ISTE Community

--

Visit Classroom 2.0

--

Visit NECC Ning

--

Visit Teachers 2.0

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Makerspace for Little or Nothing

Image
Makerspace for Little or Nothing You don't have to spend thousands of dollars to start a Makerspace area. You don't have to have a designated room or rip out bookcases. You can even have a Makerspace on a cart! When we have testing in our Library, I put all our Makerspace stuff on an AV cart and roll it into our server room.  This post evolved from a previous post called Makerspace Starter Kit Updated where I had some of these idea, but I felt that it deserved it's own expanded post. You can take baby steps into the Maker Movement.  I've been saying that for 7 years or so....long before I blogged about it, I tried it out. Yeah, sometimes I try things on the sly to see if they are blogworthy for you! Now....having said that..... WARNING: Controversial Opinion Ahead.  I'm not 100% sold, even after 7 years of talking about the Maker Movement, that it's something that's here to stay and not just a fad. Even though I've (without knowing it!)
Keep reading

Makerspace Starter Kit Updated

Image
Three years ago I shared my Makerspace Starter Kit with you or what I was buying to boost our Makerspace area using four empty Library study carrels that no longer held desktop Macs.  That post has consistently been one of the most viewed posts every week for years and years - with more than 83 THOUSAND views, gee whiz! (Crazy, right?) So, I thought maybe it was time to update it!*  Since then, I've had some major Makerspace successes and a couple dismal (and expensive) Makerspace failures!  So, here's the latest for ya'll with the good, the bad, and the bloody awful! Our MHMS Makerspace How it works: Kids can come in before the 1st period late bell rings, during lunch, or when they've finished their work in class to explore, craft, and create in the Library Media Center. It's not a "class" or an organized offering. It's a free form optional offering of constructivist learning and creativity! It's not as big as some and it hasn't tak
Keep reading

Curating the Happy for Your Future Self

Image
Teacher Tip #112 Teacher Self-Care:  Create a Happy Folder In my School Library Media office desk I had a manilla folder where I carefully tucked all the hand written notes from kiddos & parents to read on a rainy day. I also SHAMELESSLY would first tape them to my office door (let the other teachers internally writhe with envy!)  Nah, really just to keep me motivated and also show the kiddos I appreciated their heartfelt little notes!  But.....before I tucked it away tenderly or taped it to my door, I took a picture of it and uploaded it to Flickr. A digital Happy Folder that pays back dividends of warm fuzzies and motivations for your future self.  Because, let's not kid ourselves, being an educator right now is HARD.  Start this habit NOW.  Don't be like me and wait 10 or 15 years. OK, some of that was because cell phones and digital cameras weren't as handy and as ubiquitous back then. But do your future self a favor, there will be days when you will need it.  Make
Keep reading