Have you ever been to a concert–a big concert–and sat there staring at the performers, thinking: "Oh my gosh, I’m seeing [insert name]. I can’t believe it!"
I felt some of that yesterday, when David Warlick came to town. I’ve been reading David’s work for years, and to finally hear him in person was such a pleasure.
Talk about quiet confidence. Vision. Presentation skills.
I ustreamed the event, a first at a conference for me. Chatting with the 17 people in the chat, figuring out where to aim the camera, and listening and reflecting to David’s thoughts were challenging at first, but soon I was multi-tasking like a …..beginner. Nothing pro about my work, but listen to David’s keynote and you’ll be inspired.
It was also fun to see the members of the VAIS tech committee on which I used to serve. And seeing Jamie Britto from Collegiate took me back. I attended a conference in, I think it was 1999 or 2000, where he led us in discussions about using tech in the classroom. So long ago. Funny how we are, in some ways, still saying the same things. And yet the world is different.

Today, my colleague Jennifer and I will present on using web 2.0 tools for ourselves and our students. After some difficult conversations at school this week about what our vision is for teaching and learning, I am struggling to get my head around what these tools truly mean for us. How do they fit into the big picture of how we learn, how we can help our students learn, and what they mean in this "flat world."
Of course, it’s not the tools themselves but a philosophy of education–and I can’t go there until I have more coffee.