Bridging ALA and NECC Conferences

July 1, 2008

I wandered into an ALA Videoconference session this morning and it is a cool concept. Glen Warren connected us with some “library types” who are attending the ALA Conference in Anaheim, CA.

We connected with library media specialists to join in a conversation among the two groups. It is interesting in every session when we talk about videoconferencing, Skype always comes up because it is cheap and easy. What do you have to set up in the room to use it with a group of students? I know that you can hook up a digital video camera…how good is the quality?

I still want room-based videoconferencing to be as easy as setting up and using the Wii. It is already as fun as using the Wii, now let’s make it as EASY as using the Wii.

Love what Glenn says that we are constantly faced with the “Tyranny of or. Librarians’ world is filled with and.“

Glen is so engaging and passionate about bringing videoconferencing into the Web 2.0 mix. What videoconferencing (desktop or room-based) brings to Web 2.0 is the synchronous, community-building aspect.

Joan Roehre shared that the “lifeline” to her teacher collaborations are the media specialists in her schools. I also see that with our districts. They have so much to do already, but are passionate about creating amazing experiences for students.

I know that some folks are working on developing the remote NECC concept and I hope that we see more of the spread of distance technologies in conjunction with conferences.

Posted in Collaborative Projects