Double-Dutch Done!

Okayalrighty! Joan Roehre's IVC Showcase session was really really fun. She had every bit as many interesting and interested people in her session as I did in mine yesterday. The difference, and I MUST remember this for future sessions and workshops of my own, is that she got the folks up and moving with music. K2K Connections and Collaborations: Get Your Project and Partner Here! featured everybody's favorite erstwhile cheesehead delivering a very brief intro to classroom to classroom collaborative projects, then getting folks up to face off "Speed-Dating" style, in two lines down the middle aisle. When I started the music, attendees had 3 minutes (or so) to exchange the information cards Joan had provided and discuss what they might be able to do with their respective schools and classrooms to establish IVC interactions of mutual benefit. It was veryveryvery cool, watching enthusiastic educators meeting and sharing under pressure! This was such an exciting procedure that I really hope it gets replicated in a concurrent workshop (hence larger room, hence more time to do it) next year!!!

Of course, Joan picked my own song, "Fly Raven Fly" from my Alaska Songs CD to use for the first background song, which surprised and pleased me, basically a gopher-guy for this session. A big handful of attendees stayed for chat after the session, and I got to meet a fellow named Aaron from Michigan who has worked extensively with my friend and colleague Glenn McCombs at the Vanderbilt Center for Science Outreach. Joan distributed copies of Janine Lim's guide to classroom videoconferencing to all the folks there.

I'm off to LA to visit my dear friend James Morrison, of 24 fame, for a couple days tomorrow morning. This has been great! Let's Skype sometime!!! My username is, cleverly, "scottmerrick" and I'd be pleased to chat with ya.