When you use a lot of technology to push the envelope and hang with others who do as well-- it is pretty amazing when you find yourself in awe of the tools. Darren, Wes, Dean and I continually use tools to collaborate since we all live so far away from each other. Wednesday night at NECC wasn't going to be any different than other countless K12Online virtual meetings we have had except that three of us would be together and Darren would be online- or so we thought.

We ended up at a pretty ritzy restaurant. Once we were seated Dean pulled out his laptop and called Darren on Skype. We made him full screen and sat him at the table across from ours. It made him seem as if he was eating with us virtually.

It was so dark that we had to use a candle to allow Darren to see us. It seemed a little like a ghost story moment. Dean took the laptop and walked Darren around with the camera on so he could see the RiverWalk and get a feel for what our surroundings were like. Someone walking by knew Darren and hollered out to him. It was wild, just like he was really there.

The waiter came up and greeted us all including Darren. When he found out he was from Canada he began to sing the Canadian National Anthem. Overall, it was an awe inspiring event.

I always enjoy a good double meaning in a title, so I’m pleased that this podcast, recorded during my drive home from NECC, is called what it is.  I find myself driving at the moment, refreshed and recharged.  That’s what I wanted out of the conference.  I’m pleased it worked that way, and grateful to lots of folks for all the conversation and push back.  It is good to be in community (or communities, or whatever) with smart folks.  I wanted to get this podcast up, mostly for my own benefit, before I lost some of that momentum.

I’m off to the beach for a week, hoping to top off my batteries, and will be doing my best to be offline - but I’d welcome your comments here on the podcast as a way of keeping me driving and moving when I return.

Oh - and below is a piece of the conversation that I mentioned in the ‘cast.  Thanks to Kevin Honeycutt for recording it and Darren Draper and David Jakes for facilitating the conversation.  Not sure if a complete recording exists, but you’ll get the gist of the conversation, one of my favorites.

You can find most, but again, not all, of the K12 Online Conference presentation I reference online over at Wes’s place.

Spotlight NECC08 Session with Will Richardson

This session will describe the work done by the presenters in creating
a sustainable model for ongoing professional development using 21st
Century technologies.

I have to admit that we were nervous about this presentation. Not the presentation part (Will and I do this "on stage" thing together a lot) but rather the what exactly do we share part. Will and I agreed that what we didn't want was a commercial or a presentation that smacked of "hey look at us-- we are the experts" or something that tried to imply we had *the*answer. What we wanted to convey was that we are all in this together. Here is what *we* know about using community for PD from our varied experiences- now share with us what *you* know and together-- we can get this thing figured out.

The session went well (if you do not count the room being 100 degrees) in that I think we helped folks think about how they could use virtual PLCs in their schools/districts to implement change. Some folks approached us about modeling the techniques and helping to lay the framework to get them started. Others were excited to have a place to start developing their own models.

I'd be interested in your thoughts on using community as a PD methodology and a way to implement sustainable change. Ideas?

Here is a Ustream and Live blog of part of the session. If you have a recording of this session to share please link here in comments.

I left the conference a little disjointed -- not sure why and decided to reflect transparently and see if any of you (my community of readers) can help me sort it out. Please comment below. I welcome your thoughts.

First let me say that meeting so many folks f2f (if I tried to list here would I miss someone) I had long admired or even had worked with on various global projects for the first time made my trip worth it. I enjoyed the human network element to NECC much more than any sessions.

I was looking back over the Tweets from NECC and saw a comment by Gary Stager, it was a push back to Wes Fryer (i think)- and I am taking it out of context -but it meshed with one of my take aways from the conference.

Gary said, "Contact doesn't matter if the connecting people are not doing anything. Don't you think?"

And while Gary often says things I do agree with, this statement left me shaking my head no. For me, connecting *is* the point. Connecting and listening to ideas and allowing this new contact to push my thinking beyond where I could take it myself, reflecting on what and who they are, and then deciding if it becomes part of my developing schema is in and of itself enough- regardless if we do anything beyond that connection. Alfred Lord Tennyson says that we are a part of all we have met. I believe that.

It was clear that NECC07 had an impact upon me in that I came to the realization that NECC08 was the anniversary of what came to be several key relationships in my life. But just as importantly, there are many folks this year with whom I connected and had a casual conversation with- that while they pushed my thinking in ways I had not previously considered- I will probably not do anything further. There may be tacit knowledge outcomes that will have a subtle impact on what I believe, but the meeting in and of itself was enough. These connections for me are much like watching a beautiful sunset. The beauty of the event is in and of itself perfect- there need not be any learning objective or standards met or end result- the beauty of the now is worth the time.

Why We Can't Go Back

I caught up with Vinnie Vrotny at the airport, he said something that I felt had deep meaning. I asked him if he had a good conference experience. He explained that this year's conference was different for him because he was different- he was in a different place. Others had approached me at the conference saying they felt this year's event had a different feel as well but attributed it to it not being the "love fest" last year's event became. One attendee told me she felt many of what she called "A listers" from last year had been saying they felt "D listed" this year. I must admit, I never have gotten this stream of thinking. Who exactly are the A listers? All I know is each new person I meet seems more interesting than the last. I am drawn to new ideas and quality conversation- regardless of how many readers you have online.

Class, gender, and race isn't something I naturally see. I tend to go straight to ideas- always have, even in high school. I am glad to have this type of blindness actually. However, I admit to feeling pulled at this conference. There were so many people I wish I had taken the time to connect with on a deeper level. I brought family and felt I was ignoring them when I spent time networking. I felt very ineffective. I am thinking that is what has left me in this funk-- of trying to figure out why I am not still high from the NECC experience.

So I am curious- did any of you feel similarly? Was it me? If you did-- why? Is it like Vinnie said-we are all at a different place so the conference should feel different? Or did I simply spread myself too thin?

Photo credit:
Texas Star- CSouthard
http://www.flickr.com/photos/csouthard/2622627476/

Ewan and Jeff at the Edubloggercon- DWarlick
http://www.flickr.com/photos/davidwarlick/2618246017/