EduCon 2.4

     This weekend is the 2012 EduCon conference in Philadelphia! I will admit, before I became an education student I had not heard about this conference before but I am so glad to have been introduced to it through all the great educators on Twitter. They shared it with me and I would like to share it with you! Here is a description about EduCon from their website:
     "Educon is both a conversation and a conference.
     It is an innovation conference where we can come together, both in person and
     virtually, to discuss the future of schools. Every session will be an opportunity to
     discuss and debate ideas - from the very  practical to the big dreams."

The great thing about EduCon is that you do not have to physically be there to attend (although it is probably awesome to be there in person). You can be involved in EduCon discussions via Twitter (#educon) and they have even set up live streams where you can view a specific conference online, AWESOME! I have been following the #educon conversation through Twitter on and off during the day and have really enjoyed hearing.... reading the ideas, thoughts and concerns of educators from all over the world.

     As I made my way through the list of conversations, I found some that specifically interested me... (check out the link to see the over 70 conversations that are offered!)

1 ) THE RISE OF THE INTROVERT
One of the questions/concerns that I hear about Whole Brain Teaching is that, "How will this work if a student is very shy?" "Student's may not be comfortable with a lot of peer interaction, some strategies would make them very uncomfortable." "My child needs time to think and reflect on their thoughts, do these strategies allow enough time for that?" I think that this session would be really helpful for me to have a better understanding of the introverted students that I may encounter and how I can best address their needs.
     The Rise of the Introvert

      Who:

      Tony Baldasaro

      When:

      Session Three

      Traditional school systems do not always support the needs of introverts.
      This session will begin to address the needs of introverts in today's classrooms.

2 ) FROM THINKING TO BECOMING: BEING A RISK-TAKING EDUCATOR
Although I have only been involved in the educational field for a short time, and been interested in Whole Brain Teaching for an even shorter time, I have already discovered that I have been drawn to something that does not necessarily conform to the mainstream and traditional way of doing things. Especially in Manitoba, I have connected with very few people who have heard of or are using elements of this classroom management strategy. In that sense, I do consider exploring this strategy to be a bit of a "risk" because I am doing something that not many other educators are. I think that this session would be really helpful in educating me about taking risks in this profession, what classifies as a professional risk, how they can affect my students, and how best to reflect on my risk-taking process.
      From Thinking to Becoming: Being a Risk-Taking Educator

      Who:

      Philip Cummings, Wendy Eiteljorg, Hadley Ferguson

      When:

      Session Four

      Risk-taking for educators can feel just that, risky. What pushes us as
      educators and what holds us back? Through visible thinking strategies,
      we will spark dialogue about classroom risk-taking, encourage teacher
      reflection, and share ways to break out of our comfort zones.

I will probably be writing another post on Sunday about what I learn this weekend so stay tuned! What conversations are you going to check out?