Visit NECC in your PJs!

How can you visit NECC in your PJs? Virtually, of course. There are numerous resources online sharing NECC experiences in pictures, videos, blog postings and podcasts. Here are some places to begin your exploration ...

• Flickr photos "tagged" with NECC2007
• Technorati aggregating blog posts "tagged" with NECC2007
• Live From NECC Webcasts, from WestEd (look for yours truly -- June 26 @ noon)
• "Official" NECC 2007 Podcasts from Apple Distinguished Educators
  
• Women of the Web 2.0 webcast SuperShow Live from NECC -- June 26
• TeacherTube Videos
  

Gearing up for NECC

In just a few days I am off to Atlanta to attend ISTE's National Education Computing Conference (NECC). I am looking forward to connecting with educators that I previously have only met online, as well as, catch up with others that I met last year. The best part of NECC is being able to learn from like-minded colleagues -- those who are all passionate about teaching and learning, and infusing technology in the process.

There will be wireless access available at the conference center, so I will be blogging and sharing info as I learn it. And, to make it easy to follow all the blog postings, ISTE has created individual blog tags or labels for each session (and presentation, meeting, lecture, showcase, etc.) to help keep track of all the blog posts and tagged photos from a specific session. Check out the list that Steve Hargedon has assembled at:
http://www.stevehargadon.com/2007/06/necc-2007-session-tags-and-feeds.html

So, you too, can attend NECC virtually!

Your opinion matters to U.S....

I know many educators who work hard to integrate the tools of technology in their professional practice. Now is the time step forward and let your voices be heard!! U.S. Dept. of Education Secretary Spellings would like to hear your ideas on the integration of technology in education, and has posted the following 4 questions on the Dept. of Education website:

1. In what ways has technology improved the effectiveness of your classroom, school or district?

2. Based on your role (administrator, parent, teacher, student, entrepreneur, business leader), how have you used educational data to make better decisions or be more successful?

3. In what ways can technology help us prepare our children for global competition and reach our goals of eliminating achievement gaps and having all students read and do math on grade level by 2014?

4. What should be the federal government's role in supporting the use of technology in our educational system?

Please take a moment to provide feedback on these (there is a 1,000 character limit for each answer) -- click here to enter your opinions!