Sticklers - NECC Edubloggercon

Based on Will Richardson's post - I'll Be In The Hallway
And Jeff Utecht's post - EdubloggerCon and my need for Beta Time

First, I hope Will will have a sense of humor about the character. Yes this in homage to one of my favorite people to read and from whom I learn. When I sat in his class at the GAETC in 2006, he wore a long-sleeve T-Shirtlike shirt. I did too.

Second, let me be clear. I wish I was in San Antonio. Although I have received 0 credit for Professional Development by reading and interacting with my educational colleagues from around the world through blogs, Twitter, Ning, and other services the web affords us, I choose to spend a lot of time with these people. I think many of us feel there is a sense of camaraderie, collegiality, understanding, and...family. For this reason I hope for the day to shake hands with my teachers.

With that said...

Like Will and Jeff, I wondered how the edubloggercon would go this year. I think Steve Hargadon's leadership is outstanding. He seeks to help educators, and does it regularly. Thank you Steve.

But, the one thing I know, deep in my heart, that when something happens that was not truly planned (like the description of the 2007 edubloggercon and blogger's cafe in Atlanta) people do not want the experience to end.

And sometimes the worst thing to do is try to PLAN for it to happen again.

It simply won't. That's why we must learn how to live in the moment...because they seldom, if ever come again.

Teachers -- we cannot plan spontaneity.

It was the atmosphere of spontaneity that made 2007 successful. Go back and read what the attenders wrote last year. It was what we wish could happen in our classrooms...that people would "get it" and want to discuss it, learn from it, and go move mountains.

Is the experience this year void of value? Absolutely not. Attenders and absentees alike will come away better in some way.

I do wonder something though. I have read about the number of people in the edubloggercon and the blogger's cafe increasing. Some have suggested that more people (and Pearsons's disruptive recording) made it difficult to have conversations. This could be a space issue (which I have also read), but could Tim Holt (June 2006) and Jon Becker (April 2008) have made a point about this earlier? I hope this is not the case. But I do wonder if the "buffet table" was too crowded.

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Creating Self-Importance

I've been away, for longer than I like, from posting. I've been reading, but time to write has been limited.

I've been coaching our middle school track teams. Our boys went undefeated, with 4 school records broken, and our girls finished first in all their meets except 1 - against a great private school team in Chattanooga. Anyway, my evenings have been busy -- and fun. But I haven't had the time to blog.

I was also notified last week that I get to return to the classroom to teach 7th grade Social Studies next year. I'm looking forward to it. Middle East, Africa, Asia - History, Geography, Economics, and Culture. I've already started compiling my resources, finding websites for WebQuests and Treasure Hunts. Thanks to my Twitter/blog friends for the congratulatory notes. It really means a lot to me.

But I've been reading my feeds. Blogging, to me, is active reading. I write about what I read. Occasionally I'll have a post that derives from personal experiences, but mostly I reflect, and use the information as raw data (D. Warlick).

So here's my favorite reflection of the past week or so.

Jon Becker (much like Tim Holt last summer) posted to his blog that he feels left out of the inner circle. He then gives his evaluation of the inner circle members - Will, David, Wes, Vicki, Dean, Stephen, and Chris.

[Hey Tim, If you're reading this - there doesn't seem to be a big change from last summer in the buffet :-) -
Yes, there are a few Hispanics and there are a
few women, but for the most part, the dinner is being hosted by white
guys. And it is being hosted by middle age, middle class white guys.
Still feel like coming to dinner?]

So, what's my point? Simply this, and most already know this - I did it too. If you want to get noticed, drop some serious blogger names. As Scott says - quoting Seth -

[They] don't care about you. [They] care about themselves.

Jon, you have gotten several people who have noticed you because of your thoughts. You are figuring out how to make yourself known in the information economy. Either praise the people who have gone before you, or criticize the ones who have gone before you. [They] will notice - and respond! I didn't know about you until I read Scott's post. Dr. McLeod gives very good advice, and does it consistently.

So Jon - Here's my advice. You now have an audience. Many of the people whose names you included in your post have responded, and in doing so, they have given you an audience (that's how I found you). Now for the hard part: What will you provide to keep us coming back? You have invited yourself to the buffet. You have knocked on the door to the inner circle. You have made your presence known. You have said, as all of us have, "I am somebody. I am important in the conversation."

What will your role in the conversation be?

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