Feb weekend

Well I have to say that the Feb weekend has to have been the most inspiring and exhilarating yet. Mike Mazyck's presentation and the discussion that followed was the highlight. When we wrote what we felt our schools would look like in 5 or 10 years I was amazed at the variety of responses. It was somewhat discouraging to hear those who were realists as they were rather pessimistic. Some of us, myself included, were probably dreaming. I know I was thinking that if money was not an object what would the possibilities be?
When we examined the progression from web 1.0 to web 2.0 it helped me realize that it is almost futile to predict what our schools may look like. The technology grows and changes so quickly that there are likely to be many incredible breakthroughs that will completely change the landscape of the Internet.
I believe that the only thing we can do is try to stay informed, share with as many colleagues as we can and keep moving forward even if our particular situation seems to be moving at a turtle's pace rather than the speed of a hare. Keep our eyes on the technologies of the future and believe in our dreams.
I left the weekend feeling that I was really prepared to make a difference in my district and with the students and teachers as far as encouraging them to look more to the future and embrace the new technologies available even though we are unable to access them all at school.
Carl's show and tell of virtual worlds was quite fascinating. I guess I had heard of them but had not really explored because I thought they were just game type technologies. Well, now I can see that they can be very valuable and although I have not done much more with them, I am at least open to the possiblilities and hope to do more exploring in the future.