Thing+12

=Thing 12 (Week 6): Attend a "21st Century" Conference (in your PJs!)=

Introduction
The [|K-12 Online Conference] is a free, volunteer-run, international, online event for educators around the globe. Presenters are selected by a panel of distinguished technology educators from the U.S. and several other nations. The purpose of the conference is to advance the use of leading-edge educational technology in the cause of high-quality K-12 teaching and learning, worldwide. In 2006, the first K-12 Online Conference, themed

Unleashing the Potential , drew more than 50,000 attendees. The 2009 theme was **Bridging the Divide** .

Each year, over a two-week period, at least 40 conference sessions and keynote presentations in four themed strands are posted online. The presentations are then archived for continued access, on demand. Conference sessions are typically multi-media lectures (in video format) and most include links to supplementary materials.
 * This "thing" uses the archived conference presentations from all four years as content. I encourage you to first explore the 2008 and 2009 sessions, as the format has gotten "tighter" and the video quality better, but you are free to select sessions from any year to complete your task, and there are certainly quality offerings throughout.**

Discovery Exercise
Visit the [|K12 Online Conference] site and "attend" a presentation of your choice.


 * Pick a session that seems interesting/compelling to you, view the presentation and explore the supporting links or resources and see what you can learn! Be sure to view the included "essential questions," even if you do not wish to leave a Voicethread response.** (Check the //Task, Part 1// below for blog post requirements).

Now that you are aware of the [|K12 Online Conference], I hope you will return to this resource for future learning, that you will "attend" the 2010 conference next October, and visit the archived sessions for 2006-09 where you have time and interest. Please share this wonderful resource with your colleagues. (For those of you who may be interested in a further PLU opportunity, I have created another, less structured, online course that uses the K12 Online Conference as content).

See instructions below for help in navigating the [|K12 Online Conference] site.

The easiest way to **locate a session** is to click one of the **categories** listed under **2008** on the right sidebar of the blog. (The sidebar is present on every page of the site).

**¤ NOTE:** You will see the archived links for 2006 and 2007 as well -- if there is a session you feel //compelled// to "attend" from either of those years, you absolutely may, but I encourage you to enjoy the fresher, more "presentationally consistent" content of 2008 and 2009 for your first go! || ||
 * Under each category (for example, "Getting Started"), you will find several **blog posts** listing presentation titles, presenter information and a session description.

Click a **post/session title** to view the full session page, where you will find a full session description, and links to stream or download the presentation (typically in video format).

Many sessions will provide accompanying resources (such as a companion wiki site or related links) as supporting content for the presentation. || ||
 * On the **main session page**, you will find links for viewing (or listening to) the online presentation.

**¤ NOTE:** **Session lengths vary, but for 2008 and 2009, session videos have been capped at a maximum of 20 minutes (Forewarning: keynote presentations will be much longer)**. You should see a video "run time" or length listed next to the presentation link. || ||

Task

 * PART 1:** Write a blog post sharing your thoughts about the session you viewed. What were the main points made? Was it worthwhile? Did you learn anything new? Did you find value in the online, anytime delivery option for professional development? Is there anything from the session you might use in your classroom or professional learning? Include a link to the session in your post. Be sure to include "Thing 13" as part of your post title.


 * PART 2:** Explore any other participant blog you wish and leave TWO comments (on two different blogs) in response to any posts that interest you. Be sure to include a link back to your own blog in the "website" field. (If you are logged into Edublogs, it should do this automatically).

‡ HELP Video: [|How to leave a comment on someone's blog] (More Edublogs help resources available on the Edublogs Help Page).