This year's National Educational Computing Conference (NECC) was one of the best that I have ever attended. The more than 18,500 educators and exhibitors that came together in Atlanta created enthusiasm and energy as high as the late June temperatures!
As always, it was great to meet so many champions of visual learning from around the world – both in our booth on the exhibit floor, in workshops and seminars, and even on the conference shuttle buses. We learn so much from our conversations with all of you and come back home energized and, of course, inspired.
One major highlight for Inspiration Software at NECC was our participation in the Constructivist Consortium's inaugural workshop, The Constructivist Celebration. More than 100 educators attended this celebration of creativity, computing and constructivist learning. The day started with a keynote from Gary Stager, founder and executive director of the Constructivist Consortium and Peter Reynolds, co-founder of FableVision and author and illustrator of "The Dot." Then, for the rest of the day, attendees participated in hands-on activities, developed by our company and the other five founding members. The workshop participants created their own learning experiences – spending as much or as little time as they wished on each activity.
The event was held at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens so many participants explored the gardens, taking digital photos and gathering data and then used what they had collected to develop InspireData and Inspiration plots and diagrams. When lunch arrived, many teachers were seen still working on their projects – sandwich in one hand while using their digital camera or laptop with the other!
At the end of the day you could feel the sense of joy and accomplishment throughout this creative group of teachers. Enthusiasm ruled the recap session as participants said they felt "nourished" by the day’s events and that exploring their creativity "brought the joy back into learning." Many of the attendees have posted their thoughts about participating in The Constructivist Celebration on blogs and other places. To read what they learned and see some great photos from the event, go to http://technorati.com/photos/tag/Constructivist+Consortium
This year's celebration at NECC is just the first of many events and resources that this group of ed-tech companies will offer. Please be sure to visit the Web site and sign-up to receive information as new activities are planned.