C4T #3

The Power of Educational Technology

For this C4T assignment, I was told to look over Liz B. Davis' blog. Well, the first post I came across was a short one talking briefly about Edcamp Boston. Well, I got curious and Googled Edcamp Boston. What I found out was that Edcamp Boston is an unconference to addresses issues in education and throw around ideas on how to fix them or to just give ideas in general. So, what's an unconference? I had to Google that too. An unconference is a gathering that tries to avoid certain aspects of the normal conference, like high fees, and is participant-driven. It seems Edcamp Boston has succeeded in being a successful unconference. It's free to attend and it's sponsors offer free breakfast and coffee and free lunch, along with free entry. However, what marks it as even more successful is the fact that the limited number of spots filled up within about a week. I think perhaps teachers should attend one of these education unconferences; it's always good to get other opinions.

The second post I read through and commented on talked about how Belmont Hill School faculty have made amazing progress, but Davis wondered if she should push them even further before the school year lets out. However, she was curious as to whether this was the right choice or not, and frankly, I don't think so. I understand her enthusiasm and her want for the school to improve further when it comes to using technology, but changing everything all at once isn't necessarily the best choice. Sometimes it's better to introduce things slowly and allow people to get accustomed to the changes. But I do have to say that it is great that she is so enthusiastic about making more changes.