So this post started this morning and I never got a chance to finish, and it started out titled...the calm before the storm, but the day began and the storm blew through...which you may have noticed in my posts :) but I wanted to post some reflections about NECC so far...Last year was my first NECC...it was the place where I made many connections that have helped me to build an amazing personal learning network. At the end of the conference Steve Dembo posted a twitter wondering if these types of large conferences were really necessary...with the ability to stream, twitter, and liveblog do you REALLY need to attend? I thought about that as I was running along the riverwalk. It was really quiet, the calm before the storm. Very few folks were out...very unlike the night before. As I was running along the river, I was thinking about the evening before seeing all the folks that I "work with" all year long, but only get to see and connect with face to face but 1-2 times a year. I was preparing for the week ahead when across the river I saw Pat Sine....a "colleague" that I met only recently but have connected with a number of times. We called out to one another like old friends and it struck me, THIS is what it means to attend a conference face to face. Is NECC needed, YES... it really is and at breakfast this morning Michael Baker summed it up perfectly...
When it [the conference] is streamed to you, you get the information yes, but today information is EXPECTED to be free…When you attend the conference…you get the connections…and you can’t put a price on that
I hope to connect with many of you as we convene here for together we can transform what is happening in today's classrooms
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