As much as we would all like to get away and go to as many conferences as we can during the year, often we are restricted to one conference or workshop based on what is close, or what we can afford. This is one of the reasons I love web 2.0. Right now the How To Organize Your Teaching Conference is going on at http://k12onlineconference.org.
Want something new to use in your class? Thinking about encouraging students to blog about their solutions or code? Or want to just see what new ideas exist? Head on over to the site and take a look at the schedule. All of the presentations can be viewed at any time, so you don’t need to schedule yourself out of class.
There is a first-timers area (see links in the near-upper right hand side of screen) which brings you to the wiki that explains the conference and how to navigate the sessions, as well as links to previous year’s conferences. There is also a link to the wiki as well in that area so you can read and take part in the conversations that we all know are some of the most important parts of attending any conference. There are also a series of live events, named Fireside Chats and When Night Falls.
While none of the content is specifically computer science generated (there are no java workshops). There are some great workshops that can be applied in any discipline, including ours. I encourage you to go and take a look, view at least one session, participate in one discussion and perhaps pick up one new idea for your classroom.
Leigh Ann Sudol