Cathy Nelson’s Professional Thoughts

The SLJ All Together Now version of 23 Things is now in its 2nd week, and “thing 3″ calls for us to subscribe to a podcast or two and tell why we like it. Yesterday I wrote about Bob Sprankle’s Bit by Bit. Today I thought I’d plug the upcoming K12 Online Conference, which starts its 3rd annual event October 13, 2008 (with an introductory keynote) followed by two weeks of forty presentations (October 20-31, 2008.) I have participated in the last two years, and plan to be there for the 3rd annual conference too. Best, it is ALL online, so I don’t have to go “anywhere” in particular, and even better, it’s totally FREE. It has been promoted as free, flexible and forward thinking. This is last year’s logo, but it really speaks to what the K12Online Conference is all about. Free is self explanatory–it doesn’t cost you a dime in travel, hotels, lodging or any of the other amenities we commonly associate with attending a typical conference. Flexible describes it well, because participants choose when and where they partake of “most” of the offerings–there are a few events that are live, but most of those are even archived. Forward Thinking (Progressive & Practical) is also used in describing the K12Online Conference too, as participants can capture a true vision for forward thinking from great presenters who share fabulous and usefull tried and true tips for engaging learners using 21st century skills. (Gee I sound like a commercial.) But its true! There is something for everyone here, from the true novice beginner to the professional keynoter who alredy knows it all. This year’s theme is “amplifying possibilities.”

I know I will blog about this again nearer to the actual dates of the conference, but for those out there who have decided to participate in “All Together Now” 23 Things, here is a wonderful podcast series that you can go ahead and take advantage of now. Subscribe to the K12 Online Conference and GRAB learning on the go that will NOT disappoint you. Yes, it will be last year’s content, but the content is still wonderful. I think this picture from a set in lynetter’s photostream says it all. This is true especially for podcasts, no matter when, where, or even how we consume them.

Where are the K12 Online feeds? Here

Image Attributions:

“Online Things Can Live Forever.” 1 February 2007. lynetter’s photostream (set “interesting Snippets”). July 29, 2008. <http://farm1.static.flickr.com/166/376632696_3f4d7a3755.jpg?v=0>

K12 Onlince Conference Banner 2008

http://k12online.ning.com/

K12 Online Conference 2007 Image

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2247/1520649674_db1606ee7d_o.jpg

Tags: 23Things, ATN, SLJ