My wife is in Philadelphia right now at the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages Annual Convention. Right away this morning she was texting about how inspired she felt right away in her morning workshop - seeing new things, sharing ideas with those around you in the room. A lot of goodwill all around. Education is tough. The day-to-day grind can grind people down. I commented on a message to someone on Twitter that I've seen way too many folks in my career that are checked out when they still likely have 30 years to go in their life. I wonder if those educators didn't do enough to revitalize their practice?
Over the last few years I've been scoffing at conferences because first my Google Reader Feed fit my learning bill - long before I knew what a Personal Learning Network is - and now Twitter helps me to keep fresh ideas floating in. Those are the things we all need to make learning part of our everyday lives. Sure you can Email, Tweet or Post to sink your intellectual teeth into interactions, but collaborating/sharing/brainstorming/learning from someone face-to-face is more dynamic. To see that person's excitement as they tell you their story, those are uniquely human things that are better communicated and dealt with in person.
A few weeks ago I went to an event on Personalized Learning and I'm so glad my bosses wanted me there. To hear the narrative the districts presenting provided was immensely valuable. Online professional development is still my main medium for learning, but its harder to get scaleable excitement about a video or blog post with someone in the classroom or cube next to you. It's easy to get excited talking to the person next to you at lunch or in a presentation room. It's even better if you're going with a team of people from your building or district. This way the fire is burning amongst many, not just one or two already true believers. The random interactions, the networking add so much value. I can feel it myself and hear it in my wife's experiences this week.
Going is the fun part - now the hard part - getting those ideas to work in a classroom/school/district!
Over the last few years I've been scoffing at conferences because first my Google Reader Feed fit my learning bill - long before I knew what a Personal Learning Network is - and now Twitter helps me to keep fresh ideas floating in. Those are the things we all need to make learning part of our everyday lives. Sure you can Email, Tweet or Post to sink your intellectual teeth into interactions, but collaborating/sharing/brainstorming/learning from someone face-to-face is more dynamic. To see that person's excitement as they tell you their story, those are uniquely human things that are better communicated and dealt with in person.
A few weeks ago I went to an event on Personalized Learning and I'm so glad my bosses wanted me there. To hear the narrative the districts presenting provided was immensely valuable. Online professional development is still my main medium for learning, but its harder to get scaleable excitement about a video or blog post with someone in the classroom or cube next to you. It's easy to get excited talking to the person next to you at lunch or in a presentation room. It's even better if you're going with a team of people from your building or district. This way the fire is burning amongst many, not just one or two already true believers. The random interactions, the networking add so much value. I can feel it myself and hear it in my wife's experiences this week.
Going is the fun part - now the hard part - getting those ideas to work in a classroom/school/district!
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