The Open EDge

NECC 2006 has come to a close, and all in all, I believe it was quite a success. ISTE did a great job of organizing and planning the events, with plenty of options for every interest and skill set. If there was one criticism I have of the conference, it would be that there should be a bit more scrutiny of the sessions, and that the schedule needs to be reduced to specific tracks in key interest areas. Wading through 20-25 session options on overlapping time schedules during any given hour was a bit unnerving at times. Fewer, more focused sessions with proven speakers along track lines would be a big improvement.

Yesterday, Mike and I participated in a BOF (birds of a feather) session with some of the leaders in open technologies in education, as well as a large number of teachers and other education leaders with a variety of backgrounds and interests in the topic.

Arrived at NECC today, and have been quite impressed, not only by the number of attendees, but also by the number and quality of vendors in the exhibit hall. The selection of sessions is downright dizzying for any one hour period, on a wide variety of topics. I have been happy to see a large number of sessions incorporating open-source tools, some of which we use (or are thinking of using.) There are quite a few districts exploring the possibilities of open technologies. After seeing the state of blogging and e-portfolios at these sessions, however, I'm looking forward to demonstrating our teacher community on Friday - boy do they need something better!

I'll be serving on a variety of panels and other meetings as well while I am here. Will keep everyone posted with pictures, etc. as the days progress.

A view of the NECC show floor:



A view from inside a NECC session:


A view from outside the San Diego Convention Center: