Reflecting on the State of NOW – 140 Conference NYC

My “NEW” (old) Friends

On Wednesday April 21, I had the privilege of sharing the stage with Eric Sheninger, Tom Whitby, and Steve Anderson at the 140 Characters Conference in New York City. We were invited by Jeff Pulver to share ways Twitter and the real-time web is positively affecting the world of education. If you haven’t had a chance to watch our panel, be sure to check it out here.

Me, Steve Anderson, Tom Whitby, and Eric Sheninger

I call the above mentioned, as well as the other educators from the day 1 education panel, my “new” (old) friends. Why? I have been connected with these amazing people via Twitter for the last year and a half. I have collaborated, communicated, and created with all of these people many times. The only new part about this experience was meeting them all face to face for the first time. We have learned from each other and about each other for such a long time. There was laughing, joking, hugging, and instant camaraderie when we all met up this week in New York City. I can’t talk enough about how much I learned from the guys mentioned above as well as from Mary Beth, Lisa, and Kevin who spoke on the 1st education panel on day 1 of the conference. If you haven’t watched their panel be sure to do so here.

The State of NOW

Twitter and the real-time web is having an enormous impact on multiple industries and so many are given the stage at this conference. I learned about branding yourself for a global audience and reaching people with authentic passion for what you do. That’s what I want to express through my tweets and through this blog. I want people to know I’m passionate about the impact that technology can have on student creativity and learning in the classroom. I want teachers, students, and parents to know that technology is not going away. We need to be learning how to use it effectively and responsibly and students should be at the forefront of that learning! Need an example of effective student use? George Haines brought an entire class of 8th graders to the 140 Conference to share a project they had created using Twitter and the book Animal Farm. Go watch it right now here and then come back and finish reading my post.

If you didn’t pick up from our panel that we’re passionate about what we do, go watch it again. I’m also very passionate about my PLN, which I learn from every day. As I said at the 140 Conference, “You can’t buy this kind of PD!” The support we received in the backchannel during our panel was amazing. Thanks to all of you that tweeted so many kind words before, during, and after our session.

We are definitely in the state of now. The real-time web has the potential to connect us to thousands of educators and classrooms all around the world. It IS connecting us on a global scale right NOW! Imagine if you could have had that experience when you were in elementary, middle, and/or high school.  Would your thirst for learning have been different? I know mine would have. If you know a teacher and they don’t have a PLN, please encourage them to do so. They should be bringing the world to their classroom, and taking their classroom to the rest of the world via the real-time web.

I am very thankful I was able to experience the 140 Conference. I met so many great individuals and learned tons. I hope to experience it again in the future.