Educational Insanity

Lots of folks are reflecting on their NECC experiences.  The reactions vary.  Scott’s bullish, while Sheryl is not so sure.  Also, towards the end of the conference, there were LOTS of tweets about brains hurting and brains shutting down.  Ewan, using the work of Chris Craft, even wrote about this seeming cognitive overload.

My guess is that we’re all struggling with living and learning in an attention economy in the digital world.  As I’ve written before, I don’t know a whole lot about “Attention Economics,” but according to Wikipedia, Herbert Simon wrote that:

…in an information-rich world, the wealth of information means a dearth of something else: a scarcity of whatever it is that information consumes. What information consumes is rather obvious: it consumes the attention of its recipients. Hence a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention and a need to allocate that attention efficiently among the overabundance of information sources that might consume it (Simon 1971, p. 40-41)

Let me repeat that one part: a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention and a need to allocate that attention efficiently among the overabundance of information…

Simon wrote that in 1971; a very different time.  So, further down on the Wikipedia site, it says:

According to digital culture expert Kevin Kelly, the modern attention economy is increasingly one where the consumer product costs nothing to reproduce and the problem facing the supplier of the product lies in adding valuable intangibles that can not be reproduced at no cost. He identifies these intangibles as:^[1]

1. Immediacy – priority access, immediate delivery
2. Personalization – tailored just for you
3. Interpretation – support and guidance
4. Authenticity – how can you be sure it is the real thing?
5. Accessibility – wherever, whenever
6. Embodiment – books, live music
7. Patronage – “paying simply because it feels good”, e.g. Radiohead
8. Findability – “When there are millions of books, millions of songs, millions of films, millions of applications, millions of everything requesting our attention — and most of it free — being found is valuable.”

Undoubtedly, much of the information was immediate, accessible, and findable.  Ustream, CoverItLive, etc.;I mean the backchannels seemed to begin before the conversations/presentations started.  Thus, there was value from that standpoint.

For me, though, the personalization aspect was missing.  I’ve written about how little focus there was on educational leadership and the nearly complete absence of dialogue on issues of equity and social justice.  Thus, ISTE, as a supplier of a product, did not provide those intangibles for me through NECC.  This detracted from the total value of NECC for me.

Also, I think the spector of consumerism made it all less authentic than it needed to be.  At our hotel, each day, some vendor dropped off at our rooms a copy of something called “The Ed Tech Show Daily.”  It was not much more than a glossy accumulation of very large advertisements.  Each ad promoted the “program” or “product” that’s the “best.”  “Company X is the nation’s leading XXXX…”  “Product Z is the #1…in schools…”  I can’t even begin to comment on the exhibit hall.  As Kelly writes, with language like that, how can we be sure it’s the real thing?  With so much promotion going on, authenticity is hard to find.

Finally, I think we’re all having to do our own interpretation of the product that is NECC.  ISTE did not really provide that intangible along with its product.

For me, then, I’m interpreting NECC as a product that ISTE offers along with the intangibles of immediacy, accessiblity and findability.  But, the information was so immediate and accessible that I, for one, did not allocate my attention efficiently.  Furthermore, now we’re all having to personalize and interpret it for ourselves (what does ALL this MEAN for ME?).

I’m wondering now, given all of the critiques of Edubloggercon, if we might consider holding something of that sort (something more unconference-y) AFTER NECC as a space for reflection, interpretation and meaning-making.  I suppose many of us are doing that through our blogs, but I crave some unplugged f-2-f time with edubloggers in particular about all that went down at NECC.  What about you?

On the lighter side (figuratively, not at all literally)…

I had some great eating experiences while in San Antonio for NECC.  It all started Friday night when I told Scott McLeod that I was hoping that the hotel’s continental breakfast would involve my favorite flip-over self-serve waffle irons.  Well, Saturday morning we learned that not only was there an iron, but there were 8 (eight!) of them.  Better yet, Texas shaped waffles!  Does it get any better than this?:

I went out to dinner two nights in a row at the same restaurant, Zuni Grille.  The food there is excellent, so I had no problem going back-to-back.  Saturday night I got to chat with Wes Fryer at length, along with Kevin Honeycutt, Joyce Valenza and others.  It was great to spend time with Wes, in particular, since he’s been networking, learning, teaching for quite a while.  I consider him to be one of the early movers (forefathers?) in the blog/Twitter/Ustream/Learning 2.o network.  Not to be outdone, on Sunday night I got to sit next to Vick “CoolCatTeacher” Davis.  I also consider Vicki to be a real pioneer and a hub within my PLN.  Julie Lindsay was there as well, and I really admire what she and Vicki are doing with the Flat Classroom project.  Thus, I guess you can say that my learning entered hybrid mode this week as I added the f-2-f component.

Sunday night at Zuni brought with it one of the funnier moments of the weekend.  A number of us were VERY hungry (and a bit cranky).  The people at the table behind us arrived after us but were receiving their complimentary chips and salsa before us.  Somehow, the New Yorker in me slipped out and I loudly inquired, “Hey, where are our chips.”  The server, to his credit, quickly responded, “NO SOUP FOR YOU!”  It was witty, funny, etc.  We appropriately dubbed him the Chip Nazi and then took the picture below.  That’s me using my NY sharpened elbow on him.

Good times at NECC.

Something (perhaps some thingS) is (are) rubbing me the wrong way about NECC.  I’ll reflect a bit more over time, but for today I want to write a bit about a related set of issues about which I am incredibly passionate.  My ed. leadership professorial friends/colleagues and I joke about what we perceive as an over-emphasis on issues of “social justice” “equity” and “diversity” at the annual conferences we attend.  Please understand that we all care deeply about those issues; it’s just that it’s gotten to the point where it seems like it’s all that gets discussed at a comprehensive conference. Well, after being at NECC for a few days, I long for some conversation about…”social justice” and “diversity” and “equity.”  Hang around the blogger’s cafe for a bit and tell me how much diversity you notice.  Sure, there are international folks and that’s awesome.  But, racial diversity?  Forget it.

I did a keyword search of the program and came up with the following results:

EQUITY – other than the Digital Equity Summit (which I’ve written about before), there are only two other instances of the word “equity” in the program.  One is for a session about “[r]ole playing a seventh to ninth grade student, participants will complete an inquiry activity using technology for supporting diverse learners.”  The other is about how the addition of interactive white boards have promoted classroom equity in one school district.  This is a joke and a crime.  Sorry.  That’s how I feel.

DIVIDE (looking for references to the digital divide) – appears two whole times in the program.  The first reference is for a session about the “digital divide” between what teachers and students can do with technology.  Give me a break.  The second reference is for a session I’m sorry I missed.  The session was about research showing what works for disadvantaged students.  Hooray for Dennis Harper, Generation Y with Trina Davis, Susanna Garza and Martha Peet.

JUSTICE (looking for references to social justice) – shows up twice but only because one workshop is being run twice.  In what sounds like a really interesting session, participants are asked to “[e]xplore the merger of social justice and technology by creating a podcast on the Civil Rights Memorial Center and learning from student producers.”  Nice.

DIVERSITY – Zero.  Zilcho.  NEVER appears in the program.

I’ve asked quite a few people I’ve spoken with either at the conference or out on the town if they watched Hard Times at Douglass High, the documentary that was all over HBO last week.  Not a single person I asked had seen the film.  How could that be?  How could there be so much attention on books like Here Comes Everybody and Wisdom of the Crowds (the author gave the keynote) and virtually no attention to an important film like Hard Times (and I don’t mean the Ridgemont High version)?

I DARE YOU to watch Hard Times (see preview below) and then to walk through the exhibit hall at NECC.  The conditions and consequences of poverty documented in the film stand in complete contrast to the glitz and excess of the exhibit hall.

Please people, how can we continue to talk about the pedagogical applications of Google Earth and how much we need to talk about how to do good presentations and, and, and?   And how can we continue to soak in the excess and the free giveaways when so many young people don’t have basic necessities of life.

Hanging out at the blogger’s cafe this afternoon, and this is more what I expected from yesterday.  Lots of people pecking away at their keyboards and chatting away.  Jeff Utecht is live streaming in one direction, while people in the cafe are watching the feed of an area 5 feet away.  People are chatting, tweeting, etc. with people 4 feet away.  But, there is actual f-2-f communication going on.  It’s a little hybrid community right here.  Pretty cool.  Here are some other random thoughts:

• I couldn’t agree more with Ewan McIntosh about Edubloggercon.  Through no fault of anyone, I think EBC got away from everyone.  Over 200 people showed up and nobody could know that would happen.  If EBC is to continue beyond this year, those involved in planning it need to figure out ways to allow serious and intimate conversations to happen.  I think there’s real value to blocking out time among like-minded folks to converse before the madness of NECC proper kicks in.
• Compared to the academic conferences I usually go to (AERA, UCEA, etc.), NECC shapes up to be a relative rock concert…almost literally.  As one example, there’s a stage being built that resembles the stage you might find at a top concert venue.  Supposedly there will be a band performing after the keynote tonight and they’ll be streamed live into Second Life.  So, I guess you’d say NECC is the geekiest rock concert you’ll ever see.  I’ve been to ASCD and AASA conferences; those are big and fun, but no comparison to NECC.
• I don’t yet have a read on how many principals or APs are here.  Met one principal and one AP yesterday at EBC.  I did note that there are 13 sessions designated in the leadership strand for the conference.  Paltry.  Also, a search of the whole NECC program yielded 4 hits for the word “principal.”  Really?  4?  Oy.
• San Antonio is hot this time of year…but you knew that.
• Being here, hearing/seeing/thinking about what’s possible, my attitude about the institution of public schooling is only getting worse.  My poor wife and kids.

Look for a special blog post tomorrow about breakfast at La Quinta Inn.

Just sat through most of the “discussion” on filtering policies.  Good/interesting discussion.  My take:

• “Policies” vary across districts.  Some have very stringent AUPs that go well beyond CIPA (for example).  One participant spoke about a “mature” AUP that trusts kids and teachers to do the right thing.  They treat “bad” sites like bad books or posters.  Those are individual situations to be dealt with when they happen.
• Lots of frustration.  Many LEPs block social networking sites because they are “open.”  From a leadership standpoint, that’s an understandable approach even if it’s not the most pedagogically sound.
• Conversations need to happen between leaders, teachers, community, etc.  I believe everyone can get along as long as the dialogue is ongoing and educators are treated like professionals.  There ARE ways to keep kids away from “bad” stuff and to also allow teachers to work with the kids to get where they need to go.

Good start to NECC and EBC.