Cluster Conference

Well, I've just finished attending a 2 day conference for our ICT cluster. I presented 2 workshops, 1 on Quest Atlantis and one on connecting learners to global audiences. I was very nervous about presenting as I have only ever presented to my own staff - not a whole lot of others. However, it went really well, I had positive feedback and people seemed genuinely interested. I really enjoyed having the opportunity to share something I'm passionate about with others and I hope that people were able to take something away from my presentation. I created a wiki to go with my presentation which you can check out here.

Our keynote speaker today was Derek Wenmoth He had us all wanting one of these. His presentation focused on preparing our learners to live in a future that is difficult to imagine. I have to say, I always find it mind blowing just how rapidly technology is advancing. Things I've read about in science fiction novels are becoming, if not already a fact of life, then more of a possibility and less like fiction.

Over the last couple of days I've had the opportunity to explore Scratch, Picasa, create pick-a-path stories and tangrams using Powerpoint and simply have the opportunity to talk and share with others. The downside of presenting is that you don't get to go to as many workshops (there were a couple of things I missed out on that I would liked to have seen); however, it gives you a different perspective and you appreciate just how much work is involved in preparing a presentation and just how nerve wracking it can be.

The whole conference ran smoothly, food was yummy and it was a great way to get geared up ready for the start of a new school year.