I attended two back to back educational conferences this week. One was a vendor supported conference for invited administrators held in NYC, and the other was a teacher sponsored Unconference at Rutgers University. Both conferences expected an attendance of about 300 participants and neither saw that happen. I came away from both conferences with useful information, but only one offered more inspiration.
For those of you who are unaware of what an Unconference is, you are not alone. I reinforced this lack of awareness with every conversation I had with any administrator I conversed with at this first get together. Since I was headed to the second conference, or unconference at the conclusion of the first, it was a natural addition to any discussion I had. Most of the administrators were unaware as to what an unconference was, or that it even was a developing form of Professional Development. They had no idea that so many unconferences are cropping up all over the country.
At the Administrator conference I felt very disconnected. I knew some of the people from Long Island since I had spoken at some of their events. There were no other attendees that I had any connection with at all. The exceptions to that were Eric Sheninger and Pat Larkin, both of whom I am connected to in my PLN and both of whom were going to the same unconference that I was at the conclusion of the first. The last person that I was connected with on my PLN was the Keynote speaker Chris Lehman. The four of us found ourselves sitting together at lunch.
Chris was one of two Keynote speakers at the NYC conference. If you have never seen a Chris Lehmann speech, make it a point to do so. As a matter of fact here is a link that will get you to a video-taped speech to view after you have finished this post. Chris Lehmann Keynote NYSCATE 2009
There was a vendor floor where snacks were provided and people networked before the second Keynote. David Pogue, the NY Times Technology editor, was the second keynote. He did an entertaining speech about technology that had nothing to do with education. He was knowledgeable, affable and humorous, but his speech never made a connection with education.
I do not mean to be critical of either the NYC or NJ conference since I did come away with some food for thought from both, but I feel a need to record some observations and make some comparisons of both events. Now would be the time to interject the “apples and oranges” comparison. Yes, I understand that they were different types of educational events.
The administrator event started at 9:30 AM and ended with a box lunch at 12:30. I think the Box lunch at the end was intended to get everyone together to exchange ideas, but most were gone by the time that was to take place. I guess it was also an opportunity for administrators to get back to their districts to complete their work day.
An unconference is a direct result of Social Media. Educators who were connected virtually had a need to meet in a real world setting. The Unconference is set up by volunteers. It is usually free to attendees and it must be held on a weekend. The presenters could be any educator who has something to offer. No one is locked in to a workshop. People come and go during the course of a session. This particular unconference started at 7:30 AM and went to 5PM. This was my fifth unconference in the last year. One unique thing about these unconferences is the connection between the attendees. Many are virtually connected mainly through Twitter. Blog posts are another connection. Attendees know the views of other attendees through their Blogs. The whole unconference has a feeling of camaraderie experienced at no other type of educational conference. Those few attendees, who came unconnected, leave with an appreciation and need to virtually connect at the conclusion of the event. These unconferences are instilling, or in some cases re-igniting a love for learning. We are leading people down the path of lifelong learning again.
This is where my mind plays its little game. I had thoughts of those leaders in the Middle East who led their countries the same way for generations. They were, if not uncaring, at the very least unaware of the needs of the people. The ruling class failed to keep up with the influence of Social Media affecting change on the population. The ruling class continued in the same old way as their people changed predictable habits. The ruling class was unaware until the end. My concern is what will fill the void? Being as old as I am I can vividly recall the time we invoked some sayings of the 60’s. “If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem”. “If you can’t move forward, move out of the way”. No, I am not saying Administrators are Tyrannical leaders. I am saying that as leaders, if they are not relevant, they are not effective leaders. Additionally, this is not an age issue it’s a relevance issue.
As always comments are welcomed.
I’m looking forward to going to Edcamp Plano (TX) in a couple of months. My wife has gone to Barcamps and Mobicamps for a couple of years and she and I have both been to Bloggercons. Each of those are organized but fairly unstructured.
This week I’ll be attending and speaking at SXSWedu which has been added as an additional conference to the HUGE SXSW event. It happens on a Tue/Wed/Thu so very few teachers will be in attendance and speakers have to pay “the reduced price” so there isn’t even a big incentive to be a speaker.
Administrators, in my experience, are just now getting to the point of admitting conferences might be good PD. Will they ever get to the point where these un-conferences are recognized for the potential for valuable learning that happens? One can hope.
Tom,
First of all, great to see you yesterday! Glad you came to our session. Your contributions were very valuable, so thanks!
Last week I attended two days’ worth of principal PD programs. I approached the facilitators at the end of Day 1 and asked if I could plug the unconferences coming up in the area. We’re rather lucky to be so close to Phila. and Boston and have a few Edcamps and Ntcamps so close to us.
This is the same group of facilitators that seemed generally interested in me talking to the group about social media a few months ago. My gifted 15 minutes turned into 45, but it seemed as though everyone was genuinely interested in what I was learning and sharing and doing.
This time, though, the program facilitators seemed quite put off by my desire to want to invite my fellow principals to an “unconference.” They bombarded me with questions about what organizations ran the conferences, who the presenters were, “can they get Act 48 credit?” and the like. And they weren’t asking me because they were curious- I felt as though their questions were meant to belittle the events. Very disheartening.
In the end they never gave me the time but I emailed everyone in our group with links to the information, along with an impassioned plea to attend, and to allow their teachers to attend.
Not sure what else I can say about that particular group of folks, but I’ll keep spreading the word about any gathering of educators I find valuable, “unconference” or not, virtual or live. Thanks for doing the same!
Of all the professional development sessions and conferences I have attended during the past forty years I must say the best are the edcamps and TeachMeets. Social Media, as you have stated, has brought together a wonderful group of passionate educators who are willing to eagerly share their ideas with each other. Many collaborations have resulted from teachers meeting each other at these unconferences. I hope these are the wave of the future.
This post is a great way to let administrators and teachers become aware of the unconference model as a way to provide excellent professional development.
I applaud the Superintendents and principals who bring these forms of great PD to their school districts. The teachers attending have a choice of sessions which is the way it should be.
This post is on my Professional Development page (since I saw it earlier today!) http://www.cybraryman.com/profdevelop.html
Sad but true..too many admins have no clue what is relevant and what or where education is going…those of us who do or think we at least have a clue are in the minority of admins or are shut out…too bad…I hope to get out as soon as I can…fed up with education and where it is going administratively!!
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I spoke at a conference last Thursday. I hadn’t sought this out, a colleague scheduled me. But, ok. One hour sessions in discrete rooms, chairs lined up facing a screen.
And my first words were, “we’re not going to change anything unless we stop meeting like this.”
Because until we model new learning formats, it is all just words.
So I don’t care if it is Chris Lehmann – who gives a great speech – or any TED session – or me – a lecture is a lecture is a lecture. It is a one-way “delivery” of information, and honestly, we know how to do that (we don’t all do it very well, but we know all about the system). We also know how little changes – in the brain, or in the classroom – as a result of lectures.
So here’s where I am. I can’t watch many great keynotes and TED presentations on YouTube. we all can. Millions and millions of words spilled, and thankfully, available anytime. I have no actual reason to travel anywhere, or devote any particular moment, to any of those. It is all available on demand.
For me, the learning I want to be (physically or even just synchronously) involved in is interactive and immersive. Is connected directly to practice.
That’s where I begin to see change. And that is what’s worth my time.
Although unconferences are better than traditional conferences, I still learn best through conversations in one to one or very small groups. How much more could we learn from each other if we spent a few days with a group of four or five?
We all need to ask ourselves why we are where we are and be aware that we have chosen to be where we are instead of ….. There are many alternatives. If we’re just blindly doing what we did yesterday, or even last year, we’re missing out.
Agreed. We must change our thinking about PD, from the current expert-driven model to self-authorized learning. Powerful adult learning occurs when it is personal, social and voluntary. I recently wrote a post about unconferences (edcamps, TeachMeets), entitled Revolutionary Professional Learning at http://bit.ly/gj0OA6 . We need to move from “push” (top-down mandates) to “pull” (self-generative design) as we support educators’ learning at all levels. Thanks for your thought-provoking post.