Now what?

So there I was, all inspired, but with no idea of what to do next (at least I was about to spend two days learning about technology). I decided to choose my break out sessions like a kid and only wend to ones that sounded FUN. If I walked into one and didn't like it, I simply left and found a better one. Well, my strategy worked fabulously and I saw so much cool stuff that I got a bit overwhelmed. Luckily, I took voracious notes and still look back at them.

My absolute favorite was a session by Steve Dembo called "Extreme Makeover: Education Edition". Looking back, I definately consider him my first educational technology mentor. He works for Discovery Dducation and basically tells teachers about websites with super sweet (and free) applications beyond passivley looking up stuff (a.k.a web 2.0).

Just for a sample try out some of this fun:
www.crappygraphs.com
When you just need a simple graph to make a point

blabberize.com
Take any photo or clip are and make it talk like those babies on tv

edublogs.org Want to try a blog with students but need full access controling what gets posted before even considering it?

The most useful part at the time was the discussion on the purpose of different social networks. He suggested keeping Facebook for personal and Twitter for professional use and I wholeheartedly agree. He suggested following between 20-40 people and gave some names to start with like Leslie Fischer, Bernie Dodge, and Steve Dembo (of course). I went home and immediately opened my Twitter account.