Ontario Educators are hoping that you’ll consider putting in a proposal for the ECOO 2011 Annual Conference: Inspire, Connect, Learn! Click here for all the proposal information – you’ve got until April 1st – no joking! 🙂
I’m so indebted to the ECOO community for my knowledge of Ed Tech and for nurturing and pushing my thinking about learning and teaching and therefore I enjoy giving back on conference committee as do the dedicated volunteers/teachers who put it all together for you. I hope you’ll consider returning to present, or taking a risk as a newbie presenter and sharing your learning with us! My friend @peterskillen reminds me that there was a time when I thought that I could never present at a conference like ECOO! I didn’t think that what I had to say could help anyone else, or that my one-hour workshop could compete with some of those slick and polished presenters.
What I’ve found out, however, is that many of us want to hear the unpolished, authentic voice of a teacher who is struggling to improve his/her practice. These are the people in my network, the ones who I talk to on twitter everyday, and the ones who I help when I can and who help me when they can! We aren’t in the business of delivering slick presentations day in and day out…but it’s the understanding of the determination, inspiration and organization that can make change happen in schools and the (seemingly) little things that teachers do each day that make a BIG difference to our community of educators.
If the stand and deliver type of workshop isn’t for you, we are also hoping that some people might be interested in a more ‘unconference’ approach involving the facilitation of a conversation that can engage an audience to participate around a topic. We are adventurous and would love to hear your creative ideas about that!
Ontario teachers like to focus on how learning environments and teacher practice can be transformed through the use of technology, rather than having sessions that are solely based upon the rudiments of a software or hardware tool. We are learning through networked communities and we want to learn more about how that impacts us professionally and personally. As you can see, there are so many directions an ECOO presentation might take!
I’m encouraged by all of the wonderful educators (both new and experienced) that I see in my work and online everyday and I’m glad to have the opportunity to tap folks on the shoulder and say ‘the work you are doing would make a great session at ECOO! ‘ If we haven’t gotten to you yet…don’t be shy…step right up and consider it for yourself, or pass this along to an educator that you know! Hope to see you at ECOO!
If you are interested in attending and not presenting this year….watch the ECOO Website for news about registration starting June 1, 2011.
Learning Zone 