CUE 2008 TakeAways

I spent the last several days at CUE in Sunny Palm Springs in Southern California. An ideal location for an educational conference. Even though my head is still spinning I want to take a few minutes to give you MY take aways.

The Bloggers Cafe: It was exactly what I expected it to be. An informal environment to have real conversations As I walked in on Thursday morning the first voice I heard was Jdub setting up camp at the Bloggers Cafe and standing next to her Alice Mercer. Being there was an opportunity to connect a face to our Web 2.0 buddies. It was also the venue for the CUE report on Edtech Brainstorm. At one point we had 10+ educators engaged in a conversation on the happenings at the conference. On Friday it was also the space for the panel discussion on Social Networks. Steve Hargadon did such a great job facilitating this discussion. Best of all it was broadcast on Edtechlive ustream channel. It is so important to document what happens during these conversations. Blogging, twittering, ustreaming, and liveblogging go a long way in leaving a record.

Sessions: It's really hard to give this justice. There so many factors that make an effective presentation and leave a lasting impressions. Just like teaching; there are some presenters that are just darn good. I attended several of those sessions. The stars shined! I was looking for presentations that had a catchy title and not commercial. I really appreciate when a presenter has the resources available online. The presenters that concentrate on providing an avenue for me to use these tools in my classroom, make the most impact. I decided I would give LiveBlogging a try using Cover it Live. It is an effective method to put my thoughts as the presentation is going on. These reflections are posted directly to your blog synchronously. Remote participants can view your thoughts and add their own comments. I especially like the interaction you can have with virtual attendees.

EdtechEvangelism: On Friday night I attended my affiliate meeting. I did a short presentation on the power of MY network, Edtechtalk, as part of being selected as Outstanding Teacher of the Year. My basic argument is that I (and You) have the power to create your own PLE - Personal Learning Environment. Our networks give us a new kind of professional development. But this comes with a responsibility to give back and bring in others into the edupodosphere. Now I feel am ready to go back to my classroom!
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