There were comments I overheard over the two days about it being overwhelming. I think it needs to really be stressed that the two days is just a mind dump. It’s up to the participants to go forward and create their own personal learning networks. There needs to be more emphasis on how to do this.

Stephen Covey suggests that we take time to sharpen the saw. It’s those fifteen minute blocks of time Carolyn wrote about that build a knowledge of how to go forward in the classroom. It’s also how I’ve been able to take a huge leap forward in what I do in the classroom.

There was a lot I gained, personally, by attending the event. I connected with someone I only knew online. I met local people that I want to beginning communicating with. I was inspired by Marco Torres. It was a pleasure listening to you in person after getting to know you through your blog since your trip to Australia.

There’s a place for everything. We just need to bring the experience of learning networks to those ready to take the chance.

After reading your comments here about PD, I thought that I should mention something about the Classrooms for the Future initiative here in PA.

We are very lucky because a key component of the CFF program is that each participating school have a Technology Integration Coach (my current position). Our job is to assist staff in making the transition to more 21st century teaching and learning. By having such a person on staff, the schools are moving beyond the one hour or one day workshops and now have someone who can assist them full time in making the transition to School 2.0.

As someone who is participating in the professional development opportunity you described, I can tell yout that I’m personally getting a lot out of it.

I definitely think moving toward ongoing initiatives is critical. I also think that workshops aren’t inherently bad, but are much more effective when tied together over time, theme, and purpose.

@Gerry: No doubt the workshops have some carry over. But I guess I’m just wondering how much in the long term. I’m just wondering how much more effective those days can be given the restraints.

@J: That is precisely my point in terms of struggling with the next step. You can do it on your own, by continuing to read, to comment (as you did here, thank you very much) and asking where you are comfortable. What I find so powerful about those other communities that I’m working in now is that comfort level that allows people to ask and respond because the interaction is ongoing and present and not as distributed as in the “real” spaces. It’s a great scaffold for what is possible. Thanks for adding your thoughts…keep doing it!

After attending BLC ’07, I’ve dived in head-first into my best interpretation of the type of teaching you advocate. My students blog; they create wikis; they use social bookmarking and RSS feeds. They are slowly coming around, and I am figuring out how to make these tools more effective. The problem with me creating my own network is the discomfort I feel reaching out to people such as yourself that I perceive to be so far advanced beyond what I am doing. I’m not confident enough in what I’m doing to take the risk of asking you (or any of your peers) for input or feedback. The other side of the story is that I’m so far ahead of my in-school colleagues that they avoid talking to me about technology for the same reason. I’m trying Will, I’m just not sure how to take the next step!

Using 2.0 tools and perhaps videoconferencing tools, smaller more accessible learning opportunities could be built to help deliver professional learning that is not so overwhelming.

That day I went home overwhelmed but also knowing that I needed change and personal education. I have begun a personal quest to learn more about the read/write web, to focus on its good uses instead of its bad, to use it in my personal life and to teach it to others. A week later, I was in a workshop led by David Jakes at IETC. The challenge was affirmed and I learned about some new technologies: Twitter and Ustream.

Since that time I created a wiki for our staff to answer a few questions about their technology use in the classroom. I added entries to the blog you helped me start so I could journal my experiences learning. I created a Ustream site and streamed rehearsal of the fall drama production just to see if I could. I also started following several folks (yourself and David included) on twitter in the hopes that I will catch some bit new that will keep the conversation alive for me. And then, I set up an RSS feed in iGoogle so I could have it tell me when it changed.

So far, in my experience, the read/write web has not produced much fruit yet. I read and I write but it still lacks the interactivity of a true network. I am still in a learning phase so I don’t expect lots of people to subscribe to what I tweet or post (although the reply from Santa Claus was kinda cool).

I, too, think that the best part of conferences and most workshops is the chance to meet and network in person. The ideas that are exchanged in that format are often 100x more valuable than any scheduled session. But I also am looking forward to the next time that I get a chance to interact with you, David or any of the other dozen or so folks that I have been introduced to in the last few weeks, thanks to the spark left by you in a workshop. So, don’t think that your workshops lack substance and please don’t abandon folks like me and Principal Jenn (who learned to twitter yesterday). You have made a difference and we want to join the conversation and we still need guidance to make our efforts bear real and substantial fruit.