EduBloggerCon is This Saturday and Classrom 2.0 is at 25K--So Let's Have a Party

It's hard to believe, but EduBloggerCon is this Saturday, kicking off for many of us our visit to NECC in Washington, DC. If you're going to be in DC on Saturday, please come for part or all of this free all-day "unconference," now in it's third year. You do not need to be registered for NECC to attend, and we'll have little badges like the one on the left so that you won't have be bothered by security getting in and out of the building during the day. If you're not going to be in DC, you'll be able to watch much of it live-streamed through Elluminate--including our Saturday Night party sponsored by Wikispaces which will also be celebrating Classroom 2.0 reaching 25,000 members yesterday. The links are on the wiki.

This event is not just for bloggers, but for anyone interested in the use of Web 2.0 in education and is subtitled "A Classroom 2.0 Meet-up." Organized on the wiki agenda by those attending, this is a day of "conversations." There are no formal presentations--just discussions that people who are attending propose and lead. Currently, about half the time slots have something in them. Last year we had people vote on the sessions to hold at the start of the day, but we've ditched that idea for this year and anyone who wants a session on any topic can set one up! This is based on feedback from last year that people wanted more and smaller discussions, so we've arbitrarily created six tracks, and can create more if we need to.

We're also going to be giving out some buttons made by Sue Waters and the Edublogs team to help make sure that those who might feel shy and need help 1) getting to know others or 2) learning to use Web 2.0 tools get the attention they deserve! When you arrive you get to pick which button best describes you. :)

We'll be broadcasting through Elluminate what takes place in the main room (so that includes Vicki Davis's Web 2.0 "Smackdown" event!). We also have some Elluminate rooms set up if anyone wants to hold virtual sessions for virtual attendees--no one has signed up to do that yet, but if anyone wants to, we'll try to make it happen--if you're nostalgic about not attending this year, we want to give you some options! As a special event this year, the director of the film Us Now will be joining us live to challenge the education community to find a way to remix or reuse the films content to create an educational version.

Whether you are there physically or virtually, EduBloggerCon is guaranteed to be a great time! We did add into the schedule an hour of socializing before the event actually begins, so be sure to come early. If you are going to attend the (physical) Wikispaces party from 6:00 - 8:00 pm at Regional Food and Drink, be sure to sign up (free) so they know how many will attend. I'll be bringing my netbook, projector, webcam, and Verizon wireless connection to the party with the hopes that those who need to attend virtually can get in on the action!

Here's to a very fun day!