EduCon 2.2 (Friday Night Reflections)

This morning, as I hopped on Septa to go downtown to the Science Leadership Academy, I knew this was going to be one of the best weekends I've had in a long time. Not only would I get to meet (or see again) some of my favorite "friends" on Twitter, but I would also get to listen and learn from some of the smartest people in the education field.

After my tour of SLA, led by Sophomore student, Jeff K. (who follows me on Twitter, after I attended his EduCon 2.1 session last year), I found some of my other Philly locals, and we planned out our day. I originally planned on observing some classes, then going over to The Franklin to see the new BodyWorlds exhibit. Instead, we took a few out-of-towners to the National Constitution Center.

We met up with a few others at Monk's Cafe for a late lunch (yum!), then made it to the panel discussion, "What is Smart", at The Franklin. Listening to an author, a programmer (a graduated SLA student, who created Tweetie), a Princeton professor, a neuroscientist, and an artist college director try to define smart just made us all think even more. Is IQ genetic? Does smart mean "intelligent" or "street smart" or "talented" or maybe all of the above?

I don't know if any of the 500 educators attending EduCon 2.2 this weekend will be able to answer "What is Smart" by the end of the conference, but I do know one thing: We will all be smarter by the end of the conference.

Reflecting on BarCamp Philly 2009

Yesterday, I attended Philadelphia's 2nd BarCamp, an organic, unconference, where the attendees dictate the sessions, and you get out of it what you put into it.


This years' BarCamp was even more appropriate for me, as I had some of my personal learning network attend as well. We had never met in person prior to that morning of BarCamp, but through Twitter, Google Docs, and Wave, we decided we would present something. After some delicious bagels, freshfruit, and coffee (okay, I had a Pepsi), we posted 2 sessions, and found an empty classroom to begin planning.

Kevin Jarrett posted his session, "Teaching as a Second Career" first thing, and had a small, but dynamic turnout. Being that most of the BarCamp attendees were developers, designers, consultants, and artists, it was a great session for anyone even curious about becoming a teacher.

After attending Things that SUCK (a group exercise), we decided to skip session 3, and grab some lunch at Cosi to continue our planning for the afternoon session, Social Media Survival Guide for Schools.

For a handful of educators, who hadn't met prior to the morning of BarCamp, to collaborate, and present, just shows you how powerful something like BarCamp is to a community. The best thing about it: We're still learning from it! (Our Google Doc, my Twitter List of the 6 of us, and the BarCamp Philly Flickr Pool, for example)

Enjoy, and I hope to see you next year for #3!

BarCamp Harrisburg! January 10th, 2009

I'm a greenhorn when it comes to unconferences, social-media, and presenting, but BarCamp Harrisburg, will be my 2nd BarCamp this year, and I gotta say, I'm pretty excited!

My "virgin BarCamp experience" was in Philly this past November. The one-day event introduced me to so many amazing people, and a ton of great ideas, that I was itching to find the next unconference to attend. Little did I know, Harrisburg would be the my next! This time, I even intend on hosting a discussion (based on using open-source apps), which is a little scary, but it's all part of the experience!

BarCamp Harrisburg will be hosting at Temple University's Harrisburg Campus, on January 10, 2009 from 9am-5pm. It's free for all social-media types (check the wiki for registration details). With the size and popularity of our monthly Central PA "Tweetups", I'm excited to participate in BarCamp Harrisburg. I hope to see all my Central PA friends, and I'm looking forward to meeting new folks!

p.s. if you have questions, find me on Twitter! @rorowe