NECC Surprises

Well I have been so busy contributing to a district blog about my NECC experience that I have neglected my own blog. While I started the whole conference kind of sluggish, now I am in full speed mode. If I had to summarize my first full day in one word it would be: surprises. There were so many small events yesterday that surprised me that I felt that should be the post topic.

One of the biggest surprises of the day was the concepts, terms, and sites that no one had heard of before. Here are some of them:

Twitter

Backchannel

RSS

I was personally surprised that there were no WOW moments for me in yesterday's sessions. So of course I went into reflection mode. It couldn't possibly be because I am so advanced that there is nothing more to learn. Maybe I was in a fog when working on my planner or didn't see the potential of some session (the library 2.0 smackdown was one of them). What I should have realized earlier in the day was learning doesn't just take place in the sessions.

Probably the biggest surprise of all were the people at the conference. I had the best time having discussions with those I had know and those that I had never met. It was a little disappointing that some of those close to me seemed so distant, but that was quickly overshadowed at the Tweet-Up, brief stay at the MICCA party, and a late dinner with those that were willing to adopt me into their group.

I have a feeling that there will be more surprises as the convention continues. There is some surprise that I was brave enough to plant myself in the Blogger's Cafe for the second keynote.

If you are looking for links, I decided to be organized (another surpise) and tag all of my links in Delicious with necc2009.

Go Ahead, Toot your own Horn!

It is kinda of weird, the more I achieve the less I like to talk about it. When I started teaching and my class did well on a quiz I would shout it from the rooftops, now I rarely share anything in real life. Maybe that is me being a little more mature, or me being a product of my environment. At my school the idea is that if no one gets credit then no one feels left out. Well that is how I see it, but my administration puts it in a way that sounds better. So when I got a phone call from a local newspaper wanting to interview me about getting technology grants for my classroom and the school I was less than thrilled.

The whole process was pure agony. From scheduling the actual interview to my district wanting to censor what I say to the reporter interviewing my eighth grade students. My stomach was in knots for days and was relieved beyond words when it was over.

Then the article came out. It wasn't bad. It was kinda of nice to see my class in the paper since most don't even know what happens in the computer lab. Then I realize that as teachers we should toot our own horn more often.

Even now many are glad to give up a part of their summer break to learn at NECC. We are willing to give up more time to anyone who shows an interest in technology. We are giving up own person time to write grants, set up a wiki, or research resources for others. We are reaching out to our social networks and our PLN because no one in our building "get it."

So take a minute and reflect on the all of the wonderful things you did this past school year. How many students and educators did you help? What were the best projects of the year? Now figure out a way to toot your own horn. Reward yourself with a new gadget, flowers, or even a wonderful ice cream sundae. You deserve it!