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.

Thanks to Dennis Richards for links to Big Think and videos like this:

I read this blog fairly regularly, and this particular post (which I just re-read) hit me right over the head today…..hope he doesn’t mind that I copied it here….(what’s the protocol for this?)

• That being open to learning often means being challenged, being
  surprised, being overwhelmed, and being wrong. Sometimes all of these
  things at once. And it’s OK.
• That some of the best learning experiences come from being vulnerable– a key part of being open– and vulnerability’s OK.
• That vulnerability– even the good kind– often involves fear. And fear’s OK.
• That none of these things matter if you don’t care and the
  fact that you don’t care isn’t always– or even often– your fault. It’s
  not a permanent condition. It’s OK to care.
• That the upper register of caring is in harmony with passion
  and while we can’t all be passionate about the same things we can
  respect it when we see it, hold onto it when we discover it, and look
  for it everywhere. Go ahead: dig through the drawers, go for dessert
  first, wonder aloud, and ask big questions. It’s OK.
• That being passionate can make us strangers in our own skin–
  not to mention our world of friends, acquaintances, peers and family–
  and that’s OK.
• That wonder is just one down-stroke past wander, you can’t
  have the first if you don’t do the second, and wonder isn’t only
  wanting to know something you don’t, but a state of being, as in being
  awestruck or being in love.

Image: ‘Dream‘
www.flickr.com/photos/86708826@N00/149049741