NCETC in Greensboro.

Posted on | December 3, 2008 | 6 Comments

I’m sitting here watching Jim Moulton’s keynote. I’m also reading Jeff Whipple’s twittering of Zhao’s keynote in New Hampshire (where I was yesterday) — and still preparing for my three presentations and one workshop today. …and I can’t multitask.

Here are some quotes from Moulton’s one lines.

We are teaching Screenagers.
For Kindergarten, the most important technology is the rug.
Talk to your children. Speech Therapy is a growth industry in America. (applause)
We all have to know our multiplication tables (why do we have to say that? — I was almost applause for that line)

The world is going to be different at the other end of the depression. America’s preeminence is over. (I suspect there is a lot of truth to this, especially the first part.)
Job interviewer is troubled by the lack of intellectual curiosity.
Perseverance trumps ability.

Yong Zhao – do the perceived “achievement gaps” between USA / Canada and rest of world really matter?
Zhao – purpose of education is definitely NOT test scores…other data is more important…
zhao – schools have been moving too far away from education, schools should be faith-based orgs…education is different from instruction
zhao – technology allows us to extend our world from local-physical to global-virtual…what new skills will we need?
zhao is showing two maps, sizes of countries based on pop and wealth…what differences…how will globalization change these…
zhao – now places map of education…now a royalty fees map…US is huge…we are knowledge economy
zhao – now a map of toy exports…china is huge…they hav e a making stuff economy
zhao – showing parts sourcing for Mini Cooper…if parts can move, so can people…yao ming and herbert hoover – global trade of talents…
zhao – “death of distance” ebay…a “global garage sale”…transformed garage sale…more access to people who want to buy your trash…
zhao – phenomena – some strange talents can be of value to others…web allows more opportunity to connect
zhao – creativity is not a skill, it’s a mindset, it’s innate and can be killed…
zhao – spirit of US (and canadian) education…belief in individual talents…YOU are responsible for success…adults have to respect kids
zhao – talking Dan Pink AWNM …GM says “we are not in transportation industry, we are in art industry”
Yong Zhao – do the perceived “achievement gaps” between USA / Canada and rest of world really matter?

Quotes from Yong Zhao’s keynote address at the NHCMTC conference in Manchester, New Hampshire — twittered by Jeff Whipple

I’ll add in here that I am becoming increasingly convinced that we need to much more frequently restructure our conference sessions as unconference in nature. I’m finding that I am presenting in rooms with people who need to hear what I have to say and show. But there are as many who know it already, and know many more things that I don’t know. We can serve everyone.

There are a lot of people attending ed tech conferences who don’t need to. We need to tap into that capacity.

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The NCETC in Greensboro. by 2¢ Worth, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Category: conferences, education, warlick

Comments

Cathy Fraser posted the following on December 3, 2008 at 4:06 pm.
Enjoyed your keynote address at NHCMTC yesterday. As a one-woman crusader to stamp out the use of Wikipedia in my school, I sure had my eyes opened. What you described are (subversive?) (underground?) global learning communities.

It was encouraging to learn that the educational machine has not totally stamped out the youth’s natural curiosity and inquisitiveness. They’ve merely taken it to where they have an outlet for it. We certainly aren’t nurturing it in schools, if the work we’re seeing from students is any indication.

Regarding your comment that people attend these conferences who don’t need to, I believe they might be using the reaffirmations you provide as leverage to some extent. Also, one has to keep oneself current and aware. As you point out, the cyber landscape changes at breathtaking speed.

Colleges are conspicuously absent from these discussions. What are they doing to prepare students for the “undescribable future?” How are universities and colleges harnessing these learning communities? They ignore what’s happening at their own peril.
Reply to Cathy Fraser
Ernie Cox posted the following on December 3, 2008 at 8:59 pm.
I think I might be one of those people that don’t need to attend as many conferences as I do. Your sessions today invited me to form questions and engage in discussions about the tech stuff I already knew about. That is what we need more of…
Reply to Ernie Cox
cfraser posted the following on December 4, 2008 at 1:43 pm.
Enjoyed your speech on Tuesday morning at NHCMTC. Your point about preparing students for a future we can’t explain really struck a chord with me. You see, some of us think we’re trying to prepare students for college. Seems to me that colleges are in fact conspicuously absent from any of these discussions. I’m hoping you are better informed about this than I.

Regarding your observation that some people who attend these conferences don’t need to, perhaps the affirmations you provide are being used as leverage by them on some level. Plus one has to keep onself fresh and aware because, as you observed in your speech, the cyber world changes at breakneck speed.
Reply to cfraser
Gary Stager posted the following on December 5, 2008 at 9:10 pm.
Rather than constant tinkering with conference or unconference organization, perhaps speakers have to grow and evolve their messages.

The best speakers have more than an hour’s worth of material.
Reply to Gary Stager

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