I have just finished up four days of NECC, the National Computing Educators Conference. I am really for a really LONG nap. What an incredible conference it was. The sheer numbers (over 12,000 people) and the vast amount of vendors and presentations were a bit overwhelming. What you get from technology conferences are three things: Networking, looking to the future, and incredible people.

In education we have a saying – work horse or show horse. I think in technology we have communication or self-communication. Sounds strange. I present a lot in concerning “Let’s Communicate.” In this day and age there are so many ways to communicate your head can spin. Nothing, no matter what way technology moves, will replace the face-to-face communication. The eyes communicate 80% of our language. What strikes me strange is to see all the “techies” plugged into the own computer. I admit I can get that way as well. During the day I was concerned about my presentation and about me. I really should have been more concerned about others and talking to the vast amount of techies here.

I love presenting, but I should “share,” or networking more. Yes, there are the SIG groups, but it was the informal get-togethers I really enjoyed. I was invited on Sunday to attend the Discovery Education Network “dude ranch.” What was so amazing the person I was sitting next to was a twittered “friend” and yes, you guessed it, we follow each other!! The more we got to talk, the more we realized that we have so much in common.

The evening with the Illinois Computing Educators (ICE) was cool as well. I saw a lot of people I already knew, but branched to talk to others to broaden my techie world.

So, when I am around techies, I will push myself to talk and communicate, not be plugged in to others in the “techie world.” The more we share and learn from each other eye-to-eye the more we can “rock” the world.

I have had many of my online friends within my technology network have wanted me to join and participate in SECOND LIFE. It is techie heaven, so they say. My response has been, “Like I need one MORE thing to learn and participate in.” Their response was “This is DIFFERENT, you will develop a “Personal Professional Learning Network or PPLN, this is where you will really take off in technology, networking, and professional growth.” But, when Golden Apple sent me an email that they were looking for anyone that was in Second Life, and need “Fellows” to develop a learning network, that was it, Octavia Thepsian was born, ten days before NECC.

The main purpose at NECC, was to really get into Second Life, so by design, my first attended presentation was the panel on Second Life. Amazingly, I was not overwhelmed, I already had signed up, had a name, and was off Orientation Island. (People who are in Second Life know that is quite an accomplishment) Additionally, the panel had only really been in Second Life for fourteen months. This is doable, I said to myself.

Some basic suggestions. In all technology, baby steps. First, you should have four things before you start:

• Have a google account, aka google address. You don’t want to use your school account for everything, especially Second Life. Many administrators may not understand what you are doing.

• Have some blog or website, so you grasp basic navigational tools.

• Have either a del.icio.us or diigo bookmark account, so you comprehend social sharing.

• Have a twitter account, so you already in the social network scene.

Once you are in Second Life, many people are going to ask about your website, blog, bookmark account, and/or twitter. If you have to learn all those things at the same time, the stress level will be extremely high.

I have been in the social networking scene for over a year, so that is the reason I feel that I was not overwhelmed. I could actually figure out many things myself. Finding friends was easy, since I already networked and felt good about instant messaging.

I have so much more to learn, experience, and discover how to develop more about Second Life, however, I still love my first life and will continue to work on that. Second Life and the virtual environment is going to a big part of professional growth for educators in the future.

Ok, Octavia Thespian, get ready, you have a lot to learn and will be extremely busy in the next couple of months.

Over the past three weeks, Facebook has exploded at my school, with students and parents. But, sad to say, no teachers have started to social network, just a few aides. I had four discussions, quite different and extremely telling.

Discussion 1 – Parent. “I can’t believe you have 71 friends, will you be my friend? I only have one!” The talk of Facebook was the real topic at eighth grade graduation. Parents realize that their children are communicating at a rapid pace and want on the bus. They love the connections and how easy it is to “get the word out.” Ironically, there was not the discussion of “keeping track” of their children, just the connection. Grade: A

Discussion 2 – Aide. “Carol, I want to tell you why I cannot be your friend on Facebook.” This aide is wonderful young twenty-something aide in the school where I teach. We had a long discussion why she does not want to “be-friend” me. Her points are real: pictures of her at bars and communication with her friends unprofessional. She is currently trying to get a teaching job. She is an adult now. She knows that administrators might be on Facebook, be my friend and inappropriate material will get out. This is a big reality check for those who have posted material they shouldn’t. Think 5:00 news. If you wouldn’t want it on the 5:00 news, DON’T POST IT. There should be NO pictures of you at bars, no bad language; the list goes on and on. As web 2.0 takes off, many people who posted imapproiate material are going to get burned. You are in the professional world now, not the kiddie world. “Get real” as Dr. Phil would say. Grade: D-

Discussion 3 – Students. “Friend request” I have had lists of students, current and past to be my friend. They all want their voice to be heard. Facebook is blocked at school, so all these students are setting up their accounts at home (or their friend’s home) We don’t teach them how to load their pages or how to set it up. They just teach themselves. What strikes me as amazing is the younger the child, the more appropriate the material. They understand how this is a record FOR LIFE. Keep it clean. I even talk to students about this, the middle school students really get it, and so do the high schoolers. The twenty-somethings do not, many of their material is well, gross. I have had to “un-friend” a few, just because of things that were posted or said. Grade for newbies: A+ Grade for oldies: F

Discussion 4 – Teacher. I was talking a fellow teacher about the social networking going on, she is a bit scared of the internet and how it has predators on it. Yes, there is evil out there. Be smart, if you don’t know the person, don’t be-friend them. I am of the opinion we cannot place our heads in the sand, social networking is here. It is the human need to connect, discuss, and relate. We need to teach students, parents, young adults, that you can have a strong internet presence that is good. Employers google new employee names, it happens everyday. Your resume and recommendations will soon be obsolete; whatever is on those “google” pages will matter. The more you have up appropriate on google the better. Grade: C

I just finished having my multi-media students present all their work they did this past quarter. The students were in same-sex groups. What shocked me more than ever was the action presentation versus the relationship presentations. The boy’s groups were all about the visual activities, tons of costumes, and with limited talking. They let the action tell the story. The girl’s groups were with costumes, but basically walking around the school discussing the activities, not showing the action.

The real story was when each group was watching the other’s presentations. The girls were confused by all the action and really didn’t understand the storyline of the boys. The boys wanted to know when the presentation was really going to “start.” The boys kept talking out during the entire presentation, thus trying to keep them focused on the “relationship” presentation was extremely difficult, and I have good classroom control.
As education moves more to multi-media projects, it is going to be difficult to break this “action versus relationship” presentation problem in the middle school. Boys love the action, and as they develop into men, it doesn’t change: action movies, action videogames. Just as girls, who become women, and enjoy “chick-flicks,” the relationship is the basis. If we as educators do not understand this, and as we create more multi-media projects, we are not teaching to their “learning style” or the “Venus-Mars” style. We must connect to the “Venus-Mars” style. I am going to experiment with next year: students must have action with relationships. I’ll keep you posted as to my lesson plans and how it turned out.

Time to give back. As I go through the road of life, I begin to see that others had such a hand in how I walked the road. I am reminded of this on a daily basis. Not that I don’t want to micro-manage my words, but I see that the simplest of words can either act as encouragement or defeat. I am been so blessed that many people have helped me along the way of life. I recently was awarded a wonderful award. The true gift of this award is that I am re-connecting with those who helped me. Those simple phone calls to those who helped me have been so uplifting especially for me. When I talked to my first principal that hired me, I was transported back to the age of 22. The mistakes I made and the special guidance I was awarded made the difference in my teaching over the years. The retired superintendent that was tough, but extremely supportive, made me grow as a teacher as well as an individual. I have a mentor for this award, which is a former student of mine, twenty years ago. The thought of having a former student help me through this year has warmed my heart. Yes, time to give back and let other know that they made a difference. I was that tall girl in the back of the room, constantly talking, never listening. I wasn’t the teacher’s pet, or the lead in any plays. But, many, many teachers had an impact on me, in good ways and bad. Thanks to all of them, good and bad, they made me what I am today. Time to give back and let other’s know.