WCET 2008 Day 1
Some said it couldn’t be done. Some said the subject didn’t even exist. Some claimed it couldn’t be quantified enough to be useful. But somehow today Jared Stein, Scott Leslie and I managed to put on (I think) a pretty successful workshop on the Personal Learning Environment (PLE) for educators. I facilitated the “beginner” sessions– focusing on the blog as a hub for activities and tools that make up one’s PLE and feed reading for both management/efficiency and as another way to participate in the larger conversation. I took care to continually focus on the Personal in the concept of the PLE, using the blog as a way to make and sustain human connections and as a means to start the cycle of the virtuous circle of intellectual and social capital building.
Outside of some inexcusable logistical and technical issues (how long will it take WCET organizers to realize that robust Internet access is a must for the entire conference venue, not to mention hands-on web-based workshops like ours? Does a breakout room that is three floors and a small maze away from the main room make sense? If laptops are promised isn’t it reasonable to expect that they will be delivered to the room prior to the session starting? Don’t pre-conference participants, who have paid a pretty penny to attend, deserve coffee and juice on the coffee breaks?) things went pretty smoothly. We were blessed with a group that wasn’t highly experienced but was generally pretty clueful, with little time being spent on basic browser operations, negotiating account signups and other things that can stall progress.
My only real regret is that I wasn’t able to sit in on Scott and Jared’s session. My job was easier because I’ve developed a pretty good method for contextualizing blogging and feed reading and network participation… things get significantly hazier when you start talking about data mashups and such.
After the session we had the special interest dinners. Our strand was supposed to have 45 but ended up with only half that. The food was so-so, but the big problem (apparently) was that it was too cold at the outside tables we were given. Guess I am Alaskan through and through– I felt quite comfortable at 67F or so! But, as usual, the real fun was the dinner table conversation with friends I only get to see in person at functions like this. I was reminded very clearly of why Twitter has become so valuable in my working life– it’s the closest thing I have to providing the informal, wide-ranging, social interaction that plays out at conference dinners, hallway conversations, and late nights at a hotel bar. It’s not the same Twittering with @sleslie @jstein @diamond_mind @johnkrutsch @gsoutherndl as hanging out around a frozen table or a booth made for lovin’, but it’s close and I’m thankful for it.
Finally, a word about the hotel– I mean “resort.” There’s no question this is a higher-end popular resort and I’m sure that for a certain kind of traveler it is a fine spot for a vacation. But it’s a lousy venue for an educational technology conference. The internet access– hardwired and wireless, in the room, lobby, and conference areas– is consistently poor. Word is that there won’t be *any* wireless in conference areas for the rest of the week, which is completely ridiculous. And education travelers are, most often, on a per-diem that just isn’t adequate for a hotel like this. My per-diem doesn’t cover even a single meal, not to mention the incidentals like constant tipping opportunities. It’s not that I mind the extra cost, but given the fiscal reality, the truth of Bryan Alexander’s law of hotel Internet (the more expensive the hotel the more expensive and poorly performing the internet access will be), and that much of the value of conferences is having a comfortable way to interact with people met during conference activities… I just don’t understand why venues like this are chosen.
November 6th, 2008 at 2:45 am
“I Don’t Need to Steenken Diagrams” hah! I now may call you Gold Hat, and the next preso might be “Treasure of the Sierra PLE”.
Curious to know what audience response was. Too bad on the hotel, at least you get nice palm trees, and there are some nice walks in the mountains away from the hotel glitter.
The tools, practices, strategies you present are all things I support (and it is in counter to fixed, packaged “un-personalized platforms which remain un-named by brand here), yet I still get a twitch in trying to understand how among a cloud of network tools/activities that a PLE is a “thing.” I keep wanting to understand what the bounding edges are. When am I in my PLE and not?
It’s similar when people talk about PLN (SMT = Sigh More TLAs) Personal Learning Networks… I am connected to many overlapping networks, but do not see how/where my general networkedness is so defined to be Learning (or not).
And we still seem tool-centric when the network is to me, the people and their interactions. My PLE includes email. Phone calls. IMs. Postcards. Conversations in beer soaked East Vancouver bars.
I just don’t get where my cloud of connections has labels; I cannot say I am never “learning” and then I end up where everything is my PLE/PLN and then why do I need a label for it?? I know Chris you will counter with sound statements that humble me.
November 6th, 2008 at 5:56 am
Chris, it’s still hard to find a good conference venue with decent WiFi. And not insanely expensive WiFi, either.
I’ve heard many horror stories on this score over the past few years. But I can’t figure out why the situation isn’t better. Wouldn’t it be a fine market advantage to have good WiFi?
November 6th, 2008 at 10:56 am
[...] Chris Lott captured most of my thoughts and feelings about the Personal Learning Environments All-Day Workshop that we conducted with Scott Leslie, however I wanted to reciprocate to my co-presenters and the participants by posting a few comments and observations: [...]
November 6th, 2008 at 3:54 pm
Chris,
As one of your learners at the pre-conference workshop – I can’t say thanks enough. Your patience throughout was so very appreciated as we each got lost at certain times in this new learning environment. But as someone who came to the conference to learn new technologies – you hit the button. Meanwhile, as someone who used to be a general manager of hotels (my first career) and worked at resorts and corporate hotels – there is a difference between the two when it comes to technology; and good conference planners understand that.
November 18th, 2008 at 9:21 pm
[...] what they’re talking about…here’s their commentary on the workshop: Jared Stein, Chris Lott, and Scott Leslie. This PLE thing will yet take root [...]
November 22nd, 2008 at 2:41 am
[...] who know what they’re talking about…here’s their commentary on the workshop: Jared Stein, Chris Lott, and Scott Leslie. This PLE thing will yet take root [...]
November 25th, 2008 at 3:11 pm
[...] are that blogs are going to be a major component of a PLE. Some of the more interesting work in this area certainly suggests this. So the modified question for this post and the activity I [...]