2010 Reform Symposium -The Afterglow

Two weeks ago at about this time, I was fully immersed in the incredible 48-hour live event -the Reform Symposium 2010 E-conference. I had done my presentation on The Power of Images and was feeling very happy to be attending an action-packed programme of fabulous talks by educators from around the world. I drank a lot of coffee in order to keep me awake late at night and also to make me concentrate fully on what I was listening to!

I was on a virtual and physical high the whole weekend. Why was this? Well, I was learning a huge amount and at the same time, evolving as a teacher. To hear so many educators, each and every single one of them without exception, talking passionately about their job was an absolutely mindblowing experience. I was totally engulfed in a global educational-fest. In fact, Ingrid Veilleux from Edculture, has written a very interesting post called #rscon10 as Woodstock. In her post, Ingrid reflects on the powerful effect that the conference had on her. The analogy of an educator's 21st century Woodstock is a really cool one!

The After Effects
I am still thinking about the Reform Symposium now. It has entered my psyche. I don't really want the feeling to go away. I felt part of a global community, all with the same ideals and aspirations. Even though it was a virtual event, I experienced the sensation of feeling close to everyone who was taking part.

My whole weekend was geared around the presentations and I am glad that I was able to carry on with my composting, animal husbandry and a bit of gardening, inbetween breaks. It was something I could never do at a real F2F conference. I wanted to attend all the talks, but of course, that was impossible, so I have a lot of catching up to do over the coming weeks.

All the talks can be accessed via the link here. You can now also listen to the podcasts of the talks and download them via iTunes for free here.

Presenting an Award to..


all the organizers, presenters, moderators, volunteers and members of the audience for making it one of the best virtual events I have ever attended. I would definitely like to present again next year. Why don't you join me? I promise you, it will be enlightening!

Further Links
Sue Lyons-Jones from The PLN Staff Lounge has written a comprehensive feedback post called"Pick of the Week: The 2010 Reform Symposium". Please check out all the fantastic links to the talks and related blog posts she has carefully selected.

Iconscrabble of Reform Symposium discovered via this post on Larry Ferlazzo's blog.