My First Day at Necc

So here I am at NECC! This place is HUGE and there are so MANY things to see and learn and do! I went up on Sunday to get the lay of the land, volunteer and attend the opening keynote address with Malcolm Gladwell. I started out by volunteering in Presenter's World for three hours, and helping presenter's get some of those last minute presentations put together. I met teachers from Ireland, Ohio, Canada, and some great student presenters who were eager to try out their presentations on me. They were both from schools that use alternative assessments in their schools, with portfolios and online classes. They were so excited to be here and share what they've learned with teachers from around the world.

After my volunteer hours, I attempted to get into the ISTE Member welcome and orientation session, which had started earlier, but the fire marshall was doing a great job and the room was over capacity, so the session was closed. Patience paid off though, as some people left the room and they let some more people back in, and I was able to catch the last 20 or so minutes and see the great digital storytelling videos for the ISTE contest and vote on the winner. I then ran into some colleagues of mine, grabbed an expensive chicken sandwich (isn't convention food always expensive?) and up to the ballrooms for the keynote.

The president of ISTE spoke about some upcoming changes, such as changing the name of NECC to ISTE. All the promotional ads and brochures for next year bear the ISTE2010 in Denver on them. I don't like name changes after something has been used for so long and people know it by that name, but in this case, I'm happy about this change. It is now a global organization and with 60 different countries attending NECC this year, it's also a proven point.

Then Gladwell spoke. He is an author of three books on the unexpected implications of research in the social sciences. Many of the things he said makes sense with education, such as students who work harder and put forth the effort will do well in the long run. He provided some interesting examples (rock bands and football players) that I wouldn't immediately think would relate to education. Specifically, he talked about Fleetwood Mac, the Beatles, and some top NFL players. He made some very good points with these examples and remember my own experiences as a student struggling in certain subject areas, but that the effort I put forth often helped me get through those challenges. I thought one of the best thoughts I took away from the keynote was, success grows from having had many failures, not successes. It's very true and something I often forget when I'm frustrated with something not turning out the way I want it to.

After the keynote address, I went to the Opening gala and met up with teachers in my current county and my previous one. It was great catching up with them and talking about what we've done this year. Tomorrow I'll report on how Monday went.