NECC 2008

I just returned from another amazing NECC Conference, this time in beautiful San Antonio Texas. I love NECC because the people I get a chance to see are just outstanding. I'll be posting more of my thoughts from sessions presented by Gary Stager, Cheryl Lemke, Ian Jukes, Elliot Soloway, iEARN Canada, and to really feed my techie addiction, Idit Harel! I finally used my microphone with the new ipod so I have nice voice memos of the sessions...hope that was legal! :(

I'm currently revamping my website to make it more functional and less course-like...but that seems to be taking forever! LOL I did put my NECC pics on the website so once it's up and going they will be there. There was even a 'secret society' meeting which was very cool. I also got a chance to see Roger Wagner again, the brain behind Hyperstudio who was launching an excellent Hyperstudio 5...that was cool to see.

I am continually exploring wikis and blogs and wonder why most of the blogs out there are personal journaling and it's only very few cases where you actually see comments. The same happens with most of the wikis I create or see. It's like pulling teeth to get the discussion going. I'm struggling with this question as I decide how to proceed with a wiki for Special Ed. teachers to REALLY use.

These are my personal ramblings, after all. Why post them on the web at all? Does it just waste bandwidth, or is there something worthwhile in it? I think we really need to think this through as educators before we jump on the bandwagon. Kids seem to be far more intrigued by more participatory environments like Facebook, so I am beginning to think that wikis would be more conducive to collaborative educational projects.