The keynote speaker, Will Richardson, began his remarks with a comment that he was a little nervous about the speech he was to give because two close and esteemed colleagues of his were in the audience. One was a former teacher partner and the other was a world-class blogger. Both of whom he has great respect and both are LPS employees: Mike Porter and Karl Fisch. That set the stage for me.
I was pulled away on several occasions during the event, but we had a very active blogging experience. Of course, the idea to blog this event is an attempt to model Anne Smith's (AHS) Fishbowl activity that is a product of Karl's Constructivism with Technology cohorts. Check out Karl's latest at http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/ where he has released the next version of Did You Know and has a cast-umentary on the Fishbowl technique. These are some great videos and I highly encourage you to check them out.
Looking at our blog posts for the TIE conference, I see such an array of comments. From elementary teachers to secondary; from computer coaches to principals... we had good participation and great comments. The great thing about using this tool is the dual facility of being able to find your notes and thoughts later and to get to see everyone else's. The impact of connectedness and participation is startling... we've only just scratched the surface.
I would be remiss in not thanking the Instructional Technology Team of Boni Hamilton, Mike Porter and Randy Stall who gathered resources, stormed ideas and implemented solutions to bring a record number of LPS educators to TIE... nealry double our presence last year. While I will miss Boni on staff, knowing she is one of our Assistant Principals gives me solace. I'm sure Mike Porter will give us great leadership and I am hopeful for our next hire for an Integration Specialist. Considering what this team has done this year, whomever fills that seat has some high standards to live up to.
But that's LPS... a Premier district. Thanks to everyone who supported this effort at TIE!