A virtual conversation on the future of education – come one, come all!

Educon 2.0 is this weekend, January 26 & 27. This “un-conference” is being held at the Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia to discuss the future of education. There are no traditional presentations – the agenda is to create conversations on various topics, and to not be restricted by time or space. No small vision here!

So – here’s your chance. Please join in the conversation!

Not only will there be a free-flowing conversation in the room, each session has access to a Ustream channel and a wiki associated with it. Ustream is an online video streaming site that can broadcast live video feeds. If the technology gods smile on us, we will be ustreaming the conversation live. People can participate by watching online and text chatting their comments, contributions, and virtual rotten tomatoes. I hope to have someone at the session act as the moderator for the ustream chat and bring comments and conversation into the room.

This means that people (you?) can participate in a number of different ways, by suggesting conversation topics ahead of time on the wiki or by viewing the live video stream and chatting as it happens.

Help Wanted
If you will be at Educon 2.0 in person, I need a volunteer (or two) to help monitor the video feed and text chat and be the voice of the virtual attendees. If Ustream doesn’t work, we could try Twitter or Skype to enable virtual attendee participation. We are the first session at the conference, so we get to be the pioneers on the bleeding edge. Fame and fortune await. If you are a session facillitor at a later session, you might want to help out just to see how (or if) it will work for you. You may just want to have a good laugh! Either way, email me at sylvia at genyes.com and I will be eternally grateful.

I’m involved in facilitating two sessions:


Influence without Authority: Finding the Common Ground to Frame Innovation and Change (with Kevin Jarrett)
Session Time: Sat. 10 – 11:30 EST (US Eastern)
Everyone loves conferences. You come, see amazing presentations, meet incredible people, have thought-provoking conversations, and leave inspired. The next day, you’re back at your district. The memories are still fresh, and your Twitter network waits at the ready, but you’re all alone. What do you work on first? Where do you begin? How do you advance your ideas? Facilitate change? Make a difference?This is a conversation about techniques, processes and best practices surrounding change in what some say is one of the most change-resistant organizational environments on the planet – our own public schools.

Wiki: Click here for resources
On Saturday at 10 – 11:30 AM (EST) – Join the uStream video and chat: EduCon Channel 1


What is Student Voice?
Session Time: Sun. 12:30 – 2:00 EST (US Eastern)
Web 2.0 advocates often list “enabling student voice” as one of the reasons to use collaborative tools in the classroom. However, what is “student voice”? It’s obviously not just students talking; it’s something more subtle and complicated than that. It can be looked at as a classroom practice, as a school practice, as impacting the local community and also the larger educational community.

Wiki: Click here to add to the conversation starters
On Sunday at 12:30PM (EST) – Join the uStream video and chat: EduCon Channel 1

One Reply to “A virtual conversation on the future of education – come one, come all!”

  1. I will be there – Put me to work where you see fit. I will also shamelessly volunteer my 2 compatriates, Eleanor Schuster (Schubird in SL) and Marianne Malstrom (Knowclue Kidd in SL) (heheheh – I’m driving and the room is under MY name!)

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