Archive for the ‘conferences’ Category

I went to Podcampnyc and it was my first time attending a Podcamp event. I had such a great time. I drove up to Brooklyn early Saturday morning and got to Polytechnic University just in time for registration.

There were so many sessions to choose from, I was overwhelmed. I especially wanted to attend Podcampnyc for a couple of reasons. One being I am a podcaster and I wanted to meet other podcasters and learn more about podcasting techniques (both audio and video) and how to market them while building a community.

The second reason being the fact I’m truly trying to put my master’s degree to work. I have a master’s in instructional technology and Podcampnyc was also focusing on education & technology this year. So I thought it would be a great opportunity for me to attend sessions that were related to education and the integration of technology into schools and curriculum along with other educators and technologists. Turns out I was right. It was such a wonderful experience listening and sharing ideas with other educators and technologists. It was also very inspiring.

Panel discussion on Issues Concerning Eduction and Web 2.0 led by Chris Hambly (all the way from London).

Quick Notes from the Panel Discussion:

• Hilary Mason (another panel member) is a computer scientist and considers herself an accident educator. At the university which she works she has developed and incorporated: using wikis for curriculum changes and has also created courses in Second Life such as introduction to entrepreneurship and virtual Morocco.
• Session attendees talk about how afraid teachers and administrators are of learning new technologies such as instant messenger, blogging, podcasting, etc to communicate with students and other faculty members.
• There is a also a control factor. Using social media tools in education means you give a little control and independence to the student and many are not willing to do so. The perception has such been; teachers and administrators talk and students listen.
• Is it a cultural divide or is it just fear of change or does it all boil down to school systems not wanting to give up their control over what teachers and students can and cannot do?
• We also discussed how these same fears of learning something new and giving up a portion on control is found in corporations with higher level executives.

Session on How New Media Can Change Learning led by Chris Brogran and everyone else (Joel was unable to come and lead the session so Chris stepped up and did it)

Quick Notes from Session:

• Schools are still behind in technology. Many schools block services such as YouTube and Google related products like GMAIL, Google Docs, etc, which makes it hard for teachers who want to integrate these tools in their current curriculum.
• What can parents do to petition the need for the use of technology in the classroom? Many parents are willing to stand up and fight for this; they just need to know how to proceed.
• Although the challenge of using technology in the classroom to enhance learning is at the forefront, so is classroom management. Classrooms are still overcrowded, which makes it hard to manage the classroom. When teachers are spending majority of their time in class telling kids to be quiet, sit down, writing kids up and sending some to the principals’ office; everything else regarding learning gets pushed to the back-burner.
• With so many real estate developers building homes in neighborhoods and the state not building new schools to accommodate the number of new families that’ll be moving into these new homes; overcrowded classrooms will remain an issue.

Session on Podcasting Your Passion: if it works for sports fans (and it does) it can work for you led by Andrew Figgins.

Quick Notes from Session:

• We did an exercise where we broke into groups of 3, came up with a topic to podcast about and each group recorded a 1 minute podcast live on the spot. That was a blast!!!!! (tried to find the final recording of this, but no luck)

Session on New Media in the High School Classroom led by John Herman

• John is integrating new media technology trends into his media class.
• He has incorporated Google Docs where the students collaborate in research projects and write a thesis. John said using Google Docs takes away the “I can’t print my paper” or “I was absent so I didn’t do my work” factor.
• He is also using NING to build a classroom social network, which has been very successful thus far .
• His teaches 11th graders and he said they have really taken a liking to all of the new media tools he brings into the classroom.

References from the days sessions: (click on each reference to visit website)
Dana Boyd
Pew Internet: Teens and Social Media
WorldSavvy
Free Reading
Yugma
Globalgateway.org.uk
isquint
teachertube.com
iShowU
voicethread.com
Classroom 2.0
Having Our Say: Middle Grade Student Perspectives on School, Technologies, and Academic Engagement

I’m back from PodcampNYC and I am whipped. I had a BLAST though. I met some folks I follow on twitter, which was really cool. I thought the sessions were really good and I enjoyed them a great deal. There was tons to take in and I learned a lot. I did take some photos and video of some of the sessions and I have lots of notes and whatnot, so I’ll be getting all that in order over the next three days to compile all that stuff to post on the blog.

This was my very first podcamp and it was worth the drive from VA to Brooklyn. Was also my first in Brooklyn. The main thing I liked about podcamp was the collaboration and the meeting of the minds factor. There was such a high level of energy, desire to learn & share and openness that it was infectious. I can’t wait to finish compiling my photos, videos and thoughts so I can share it with you all.

I attended the CREATE Conference in Myrtle Beach, SC on April 19 and I must say it was well worth the drive. I was originally planning to go to Podcampdc, but when I saw Podcampnyc was going on April 25-26, I decided to go to that, skip Podcampdc and go to CREATE at the last minute and I am so glad I made it down there.

This was the first CREATE Conference and it was super organized. I was so impressed; with everything. They chose a really nice venue (The Myrtle Beach Train Depot), which had wifi and a very large room that didn’t make you feel like you were trapped in a jail cell. The organizers had a plethora of food for the attendees (which was absolutely amazing - super tasty), branded t-shirts, stickers, pins and these nifty little mini booklets on how to blog and create video (very creative and clever take-a-ways).

There were some really good sessions as well. I especially enjoyed the sessions on building your podcasting studio on a budget by Tee Morris, co-author of Podcasting for Dummies, social media and web 2.0 by Brian Carter of Fuel Interactive and vlogging, internet TV and video publishing by husband and wife team; Marcia Lynn and Warren Walker of DomainerTV.

The organizers did an excellent job putting this conference together and they deserve a loud attaboy. Before I left, one of the organizers said they’d be doing it again next year, so I’ll definitely be there.

Thanks to all the folks who organized the CREATE Conference.

PodCampNYC is going on April 25-26. I plan on attending, but will only be there on Sat, April 26. This will be the very first PodCamp event I have attended. I opted to miss PodCampDC last weekend to attend the CREATE conference inn Myrtle Beach, SC, so I am really looking forward to being a part of PodCampNYC. I plan to liveblog the event (will finally get to use CoverITLive - YES!!!), take some video footage (using my sweet new Sanyo Xacti) of the seminars and of course take plenty of photos. I am already checking out the seminar schedule for Saturday. So many to choose from (don’t ya just love learning new stuff?).

If anyone plans on going, DM me on twitter and let me know.

I went to Myrtle Beach, SC to attend the first annual CREATE conference this past wekeend. It was so worth the drive. These folks deserve a pat on the back for putting together a fantastic conference. You could’t even tell it was the very first conference. I am so glad I decided to attend, which was some what last minute.

I have some video clips and photos I took during the conference, so hopefully I’ll be able to get that posted tonight. So stay tuned for that.

I recently heard of a site called WhyGoSolo. I think someone mentioned it on twitter. Any-who, me being the geek that I am; I went on over to this site and to my surprise it was something I’d always wondered why it didn’t exist. A lot of times you sign up for events, conferences, workshops, seminars and sometimes you get tired of going to all these things alone. It’s nice to see a familiar face when you go to some of these events.

So why use WhyGoSolo?

WhyGoSolo is perfect for all the things you love to do but you don’t have the right person to do the activities with. WhyGoSolo is splendid for those occasions when you’re on the road traveling, left behind by your friends, stuck with cancelled plans or just relocated to a new area. WhyGoSolo is also ideal for those moments when you feel spontaneous and find yourself with an afternoon or day off or you want to try something new and meet someone new.

Needless to say I signed up. Not quite sure how long WhyGoSolo has been around and if there are a ton of users, but I believe it is worth signing up. Right now WhyGoSolo is free, but they are working on building partnerships with other venues, vendors and organizations to give WhyGoSolo membership holders discounts and benefits with these partners. I’m actually excited to see what partnerships they build.

Since this is the first version of WhyGoSolo if you Upgrade now you will receive a lifetime membership for the cost of the yearly membership fee.

Knowing this, I will most likely upgrade now. I think it’s an excellent offer. If you decided to sign up for WhyGoSolo; look me up and friend me. I’m on there as GeekyCyberMom of course….

I’m thinking about adding a calendar or something to this blog so I can share various social media, podcasting, blogging, film and video meetups and events I attend. Someone in the DC/MD/Va area may have an interest in attending. Maybe I’ll add an upcoming or 30boxes widget to the blog, whichever one works and looks the best.

More later on that….

Thanks to Theo J from Theo Talks, I now have another conference to add my list.

Blogging While Brown Conference: to be held July 25-27 in Atlanta, GA. Needless to say, I WILL BE THERE… So thanks Theo for the info……

If anyone else plans on going, DM me on twitter or email me.

I missed so many conferences this year and I am determined not to miss them next year.

MacWorld

SXSW

CES

Future of Web Apps

Web 2.0 Expo

New Media Expo

BIL 2009

That should blow a complete whole through my wallet. I better stop there.