The following is my ‘live blog’ from the Tri-State Education Technology Conference.

It’s exciting to see so many educators coming together on a Saturday! I’m really looking forward to an awesome day of tech talk :) Thank you Eric Sheninger for opening up your school for an awesome event!

* I don’t normally blog on the fly... but here are some quick thoughts as I think them...*

First up, Lisa Nielson... Thinking outside the ban.

WOW! Lisa sure knows how to put together an awesome prezi. If you aren’t in the know about Lisa and her work... get in the know! Check out her blog at http://theinnovativeeducator.blogspot.com/

Stopped by Jason Bedell’s session on iPods to see what he recommends. Check out the class notes on http://titanpad.com/ilearn

SIDE NOTE... I just had a side conversation with another teacher during Jason’s iPods session (sorry, Jason!). She wants to know how I’m not tenured and I’m still begging for social networking and mobile learning in my district?? My answer: if I don’t, who will?

One woman at the front of the room just admitted that she doesn’t like technology. I’M SO GLAD THAT SHE IS HERE TODAY. Right on, I hope we change her mind!

Next up, Shelly Terrell all the way from Germany! She is Skyping in... that’s too cool to start with, but she has great info to share as well. A fantastic wiki for the session can be found at http://technology4kids.pbworks.com/globalprojects - check it out for some ideas about global class projects.

OK, some mid-day thoughts... this is a really great conference. Kudos to Schoology for hosting an awesome event. The only downfall so far is that there are too many good sessions to choose from! If you couldn’t be here today, take a moment to log on to Twitter and search #TSETC for some phenomenal educational conversations! I’m so inspired to see such a dedicated group of educators sharing their ideas and stories on a SATURDAY. I’m looking forward to the afternoon’s lineup, and I’m definitely looking forward to presenting about iPads!

I’m not sure if it is the food coma or the overwhelming amount of excellent information, but everyone appeared very quiet after lunch. I know I have a lot on my mind... I’m truly amazed at this group of educators.

Right now I’m checking out Karen Blumberg and Basil Kolani’s session on grassroots professional development. This is a huge arena for educators right now, and it goes far beyond just Twitter. I love the idea of the unconference, it really speaks to where education is going. This idea is definitely something I want to bring back to my district because I think it can start a conversation about how education needs to change. There is a great discussion going on right now. On a side note... Karen is hilarious. (Take a look at Karen’s ‘incomplete notes’ from the conference at http://karenblumberg.com/thanks-nmhsprincipal-and-schoology-here-are-m ) Also, Karen’s website is http://karenblumberg.com and Basil’s website is http://selfexplanatory.net

I’m home now, but I wanted to throw out a few quick thoughts to wrap up the day. I ended the conference with my own presentation on iPads. I hope everyone that attended enjoyed the session; as I tell people all the time “I could talk about this for hours.” I stand strong behind the idea of individualized learning for ALL students, and the iPad is a great tool to assist in that process.

As if a great FREE conference wasn’t enough, Schoology took it the next level by hosting an After-Party. It was a fantastic opportunity to discuss and digest some of my thoughts and ideas.

I look forward to posting the information from my presentation tomorrow... I’m on information overload right now!

Job well done Tri-State Education Technology Conference!