Reflection on the great love fest to all things that go beep 2011
Thursday, June 30, 2011 at 05:16AM After spending a "bonus" night in Atlanta thanks to a missed connecting flight, I got home yesterday exhausted from ISTE 11 in Philadelphia. A few reflections:
1. The best part of ISTE/NECC conferences always has been and always will be catching up with old friends, getting to know colleagues better, and meeting new people the professional networking. (I was warned networking sounds better than visiting.) Not sure why, but it seemed I didn't get to talk to as many people as usually do, but the few conversations I did have were wonderful. The convention center was gigantic and easy to get lost in.
2. I didn't catch the bug for any new tech device, software or concept this year. 2010 was all about iPads; 2009 all about GoogleApps, etc. This year nada. I was pleased that more districts are looking at BYOD (bring your own device) programs, giving a name to something we've been practicing, but not pushing, here. "Flipped classroom" seemed more buzzword than strategy. And sorry vendors, 3-D projectors leave me completely cold.
3. The SIGMS Forum was every bit as wonderful as I had hoped it would be. Anita Beaman, Buffy Hamilton, Cathy Jo Nelson, Gwyneth Jones and Shannon Miller each lit up the room for 15 minutes, brilliantly sharing their ideas and how they, as practicing media specialists, turn them into reality. I don't think I've ever heard such positive feedback about a Forum before. Media specialists, if you are not a member of SIGMS, you aren't where the action is.
4. Like others who seem to have been working at change in education for a while, I am growing tired of some conversations. (See Miguel's and Jennifer's posts.) I'm tired, in fact, of the whole notion of "conversation" - it's too goddam civilized, too passive, too open-ended. When does the talk stop and the action begin? When do we stop our whining about test scores ruling education and start sharing how we are using other metrics which better demonstrate "educated" students?
5. I spent Saturday split between EdubloggerCon and TEDxPhiladephiaED. For some reason, EdubloggerCon didn't do it for me this year - groups too large, "conversations" (see above) too hard to hear and follow, something. I've loved the event in the past and won't give up on the idea of the un-conference, but something was off this year for me. By contrast, I felt connected and moved by every TED talk in the afternoon. Which just goes to show, lecture may still have its place.
6. Boy, was I disappointed in the Stephen Covey keynote. His broadcast talking head was down right creepy (actually I think it was an animatron) and I was concerned the slick acolyte who introduced him was going to invite us all up for a little sip of Kool-Aid. I've admired Covey's ideas forever, using The 7 Habits as a textbook even, so this was a real let-down. Dr. Medina, channeling Lewis Black's hysteria, was amusing, if not particularly informative. I left town before getting to see Chris Lehmann (who I will watch on video). I did enjoy the dancing robots just before the Covey keynote. Four were doing all the moves. One was either broken or the supervisor. A little tough to tell.
7. I may need to re-think my hotel selection strategy. The Comfort Inn (Historic District) sucked big time. The worst wi-fi of any place I've stayed in the last five year, a very noisy location due to highways and fireworks, and sub-standard breakfast seating. I relished my mile and half walk to the conference center and back, but the Comfort Inn was nasty - and over priced. Early booking at a non-conference hotel seems to work better for me, being both cheap and having high standards.
8. After attending the session on open educational resources by the folks at K-12 Open Ed, i realized that both ends of the copyright/intellectual property spectrum can use misinformation and scare tactics to advance their POVs. Thanks to Renee Hobbs and others like her, there is a sensible middle that helps us all understand and use Fair Use concepts.
9. Thanks to those who attended my session on Libraries in the Cloud. I was delighted by the turnout of nearly 200 lively participants. If you didn't get the link to the support materials, they are here.
Tim Stahmer reflected that he's been going to NECC/ISTE since 1999 and the conferences have changed little. My first ISTE conference was in Seattle in 2003. While I take Tim's point that the basic formula of keynotes, concurrent sessions, and vendor area is still same, the atmosphere and perhaps even the purpose has changed dramatically. I hate to say it, but the conference seems a lot more about glitz, big attendance numbers, and corporate sponsors than it is about educating kids. Am just getting old and don't understand how all these things work together? While I always come back excited and motivated from our smaller state tech conference, I usually come back worried from ISTE about the future of education.
Maybe I just didn't get enough sleep.
Reader Comments (10)
Well... aren't you the feisty one this morning? :)
As someone who wasn't able to attend ISTE, I'm really sorry I didn't get to be a part of your Libraries in the Cloud session, so thanks so much for posting those materials. That, and the TED talks you referenced in the previous post are the parts I'm most sorry to have missed out on. On the other hand, I'm also a little relieved to read your assessment of ISTE and giant conferences in general. Mind you, I'm an incredibly small cog in the library/education wheel, so I've only ever been able to attend one big national conference -- unless you count FETC, which FETC certainly does, then it's two. Either way, I emerged from both a little disillusioned. I remember feeling bombarded by vendors and too many sessions that represented the culmination of somebody's doctoral thesis. This year, as I mourned my absence at both ISTE and ALA, the things I really regretted not being a part of were the times between sessions, the unofficial gatherings of smart people and the chance to visit... er... network with educators (like you!) who I admire greatly. For what it's worth, maybe we're both getting old, Doug. :)
I think you make the point I was aiming at (and might have hit if I wasn't half asleep while writing it :-), that little has changed about the conference while everything around it has changed a great deal. Most of what I consider memorable about recent ISTEs occurred in settings other than those anointed by the conference organizers. As the size of the event has grown to become overwhelming, it does, however, offer the opportunity to form lots of little interest groups in the halls, restaurants and bars, which is what keeps me coming back.
I also agree that EduBloggerCon was disappointing this year. It too has become too large, and frankly too well organized. Maybe it's time to rethink the whole "unconference" concept, especially when you start distributing event tshirts with corporate logos on them (and polyester/cotton for goodness sake! :-).
Hi LG,
That's the problem - you only get to see people from around the nation (and world) at national conferences!
I wonder at times if it is the conference or my attitude and/or attendance strategy that keep such events from being all they can be? Ya never know.
Keep up the good work on the blog. I loved the 5 conversations post.
Doug
Hi Tim,
That was exactly the post I was thinking about! Thanks for the link.
I always wonder when I have a less than stellar conference experience if it is the conference or if it is me. It's not the glitz, but the need for the glitz if I am to be sold some sort of snake oil.
Next ISTE, you and I need to go for lunch or drinks. I never feel I get a chance to pick your brain at these things!
Thanks again,
Doug
Hey Doug... can you elaborate on your point related to #8? Who used scare tactics?
Thanks for your quick reflections. Lots of reflections of ISTE going around. Yours seemed to catch me for some reason. Keep it up!
Hi Jason,
In the Open Ed session, Karen Fasimpaur made a number of statements about the illegality of using copyrighted material that did not acknowledge fair use or educational use. Admittedly, this is a gray area, but I felt Karen purposely played on people's fears of running afoul of copyright in order to increase the interest in her company.
Doug
Hey Doug,
Thanks for your insightful review of the conference! I, too, was unimpressed with my overpriced hotel and am ready to go back to finding my own rather than relying on ISTE's choices. We did have good wireless though, and I find that to be a plus throughout the conference: this is the first time I can say that I didn't have a problem connecting (except when I went to a vendor session at the Marriott and they wanted to charge me twenty bucks).
I also wanted to apologize for closing my eyes at the end of your Cloud session. It wasn't you: I was just tired.
And yes, I would say that the SIGMS forum was the best ever! Thanks for all your work pulling it together!
Enjoy a bit of a summer break: see you at AASL!
Laurie
Hi Laurie,
It was due to your good PR work that we had such good attendance at the Forum. I'm glad it went so well!
Oh, don't worry about napping during my presentation. I was just a little concerned that the snoring might keep others from hearing.
Have a great summer,
Doug
I realize this is a pretty old post, but I just wanted to acknowledge the constructive criticism (from a much respected source) and say that I'll be attentive to this in the future. I do quite a lot of presentations where I talk about what the law about fair use really says, but perhaps didn't cover that in this session. I find that the vast majority of folks define fair use in a way that is much broader than what the law says. I think the nuance matters.
I guess my central message is that with all the good open-licensed content available, there are many options to worrying about if you're violating copyright (especially for remix work that is republished online).
Anyway, thanks for your always thought-provoking writing.
karen
PS K12 Open Ed is not a business. It's more like a passion-driven hobby. :) My professional (paying) job is with K12 Handhelds.
Hi Karen,
Thanks for the note. I will admit I am definitely on the content user side in any debate about fair use. I think we should just stretch that puppy to the max! And while good open source, Creative Commons, and public domain materials are often enough, sometimes a person just has to use copyrighted material and everyone should know their rights in regard to it - especially educators.
Hope you will be back at ISTE!
Doug