NZ Blogger's Cafe

NZ Blogger's Cafe
Originally uploaded by *** ICT U Can!

This post is as a result of my thinking after reading:
Bump on the blog
Tim Holt - Preaching to the ... You Know

Ulearn 07 was a very different conference for me. I have taken some time to try and figure out why. This is the 7th ICT/Educational conference I have attended in the last 3 years. What made the difference? I thought it might be that I presented more workshops than I attended and therefore I was intellectually drained. But that wasn't it, as I would hold this conference up as the best so far. Then it came to me. After attending so many conferences I have made many connections, I know a lot of people. I stop and pass the time of day with them and discuss what powerful learning they have engaged in, but it is somewhat superficial. This year at Ulearn 07 with the Blogger's Cafe, I made some strong connections. Meeting people who I have virtually known for the past year at least was remarkable. It was as though we had a foundation to build a community on. It is interesting, I have read about how the internet can help extend real friendships, with the Blogger's Cafe, I found that F2F can help extend virtual friendships. It was a privilege to spend the time with these talented NZ (and Scottish) bloggers, and I rushed back from each session to the cafe to continue with the discussions.

There has been discussion in the blogosphere about whether or not these Blogger's Cafes are a good thing.

Almost to a person, the best part of the conference really had nothing to do with the conference itself, but rather was the blog cafe. All of the bloggers talking to other bloggers. Sort of an incestuous feeding frenzy of writers not discussing the conference, but discussing themselves.

Nice blog Bob. Thanks Larry. Nice Blog. That’s quite a big widget you have there Bob. Why thank you.

The argument saying that the bloggers are removing themselves from the rest of the conference, forming a select group and spending all their time promoting themselves. I can understand these comments, but I will argue vehemently that we did not remove ourselves from the rest of conference, but that our participation in the Blogger's Cafe added a whole new dimension to the conference. It is also argued that it is near impossible to find the 'secret handshake' for this select group. I know for a fact that during our time at the conference there were many people who came up to the Blogger's Cafe to find out about blogging, and there were many people willing to share their time and expertise. For the current bloggers it was a treat to meet other bloggers, however the Blogger's cafe definitely served two functions. As I said before, our cafe was for both 'blooming' bloggers and 'budding' bloggers.

The bigger picture here, is of course, wondering how to get more members in the club. Is there some point that the dissemination of knowledge becomes so large that it becomes counterproductive?

This quote from Tim Holt is the position I was wrestling with in my post Troubled. I was so concerned about the sheer expanse of the Web community I was worried about it overwhelming me. My fault is that I'm an overachiever and if there is a blog out there then I must read it! But finding balance is important in all areas of our lives and this is just another moment in life for me to practice this skill :)

This conference and issue has raised more questions for me than answers, especially about the quality and functionality of virtual relationships. After attending ULearn 07 this year I now know the value of my online community and my virtual friends.

Reflections from day one at Ulearn

Well, I hate to say it ... but I have been too busy to blog! What! How can that be? The reason is I am having a great time meeting people F2F!

The highlight for me of this conference has been meeting the minds in my aggregator. I have sat at the blogger's cafe with Chrissy, Simon, Rachel, Allanah, Ewan and Jarmin. Even though I really enjoy the community of friends I have on line, it was great to put a face to the blog. It was also great to meeting Ewan F2F after he has traversed the globe to join us here in the southern hemisphere.

Ulearn has so far been an exemplary conference. I began my Ulearn experience running a full day pre-conference workshop on podcasting. In my workshop was someone who looked familiar. It turned out to be Simon from Educating the Dragon. I haven't met Simon f2f before however have read his blog. It was a great experience. The day went well and we had a room full of new podcasters by the end of the day.

The next day the conference started with a bang with an inspirational keynote from Ewan McIntosh. Ewan gave us an entertaining overview of the issues we are facing in technology and education today. One thing he said that resonated with me was the concept of 'digital holiday makers'. As an ICT Facilitator I have come across those teachers who seem to excitedly grab hold of the ideas I am presenting in a workshop with a hiss and a roar. The problem is when I go to visit the next term the said teacher has finished with the idea and has returned to the previous way of teaching. The new learning has not embedded or changed pedagogy. This type of teacher is a 'digital holiday maker'. They take a holiday into implementing a new idea or technology and then return back to their normal classrooms or 'homes'. The teachers who really excite me are the ones who grab an idea, just one, and embed it into their practice. Then through reflection identify why that idea is valuable for the students.

Off to do more learning now. Will report back later.

NZ Bloggers' Cafe at ULearn 07

Hey all you NZ edubloggers out there, want to put a face to the blog?  The NZ Bloggers Cafe is happening this year at ULearn 07.  Come along and engage with other bloggers in some lively debate about life, the universe and everything.  This would also be a great place for 'budding bloggers' to come and learn some tips and tricks from 'blooming bloggers'.  The cafe will be open during morning tea and lunch breaks so come along and join in the discussions. The venue will be advertised in the conference handbook and I am told there will be some aromatic coffee available!

We will need people to help man the cafe during these break times, the idea for the cafe is twofold.  The first is so that we can all get together and meet in person the minds we have been reading.  The second is to be of help to other bloggers just starting out and who would like some tips and tricks.  If you would like to help, please leave me a comment.

I would like to kick the cafe off with a targetted discussion during lunch on the first day of conference.  There has already been a suggestion of looking at the issues raised in the Karl Fisch presentations, if you have a topic you think would be a great one to get us started please also leave a comment.

I look forward to meeting my aggregator in person, there are some great bloggers in NZ and I'm sure there are some I haven't discovered yet.

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ULearn 07

ULearn is happening once again this year, from 3rd to 5th October at Sky City in Auckland.  I will be presenting three workshops, starting off with a full day podcasting pre-conference workshop.  This day will take participants through the entire process of finding, making and posting podcasts, all using the Apple software GarageBand.  The two other workshops are entitled, 'What is this thing called Podcasting, and why should I care?' and 'The thinking, moving, collaborative classroom is not a myth'. 

Whew! then I will look forward to spending time with educators I only get to see at these conferences, like Allanah King.  I am also looking forward to meeting Ewan McIntosh who will be keynoting at the conference, who's blog I have read for a while now.  We should put together our own Edubloggercon or Blogger's cafe at the conference!  Mmm, might have to get on to that one.  Anyone who is attending ULearn and would be interested, let me know and I'll set the wheels in motion.

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