I have been tagged by Lani Ritter-Hall for the K12 Online Conference Blog Meme.

What is a blog meme?

The Daily Meme provides a definition which accurately describes my understanding of the concept:

People often ask, “What is a Meme?” so here’s a more than a little information on that. I pronounce it so it’s rhymes with ‘dream’; some pronounce it so it sounds like ‘mem’ (from mem-ory).

First off, technically most of the sites here are not memes. The fact that most of these sites create new questions all the time removes the whole evolving viral concept of a meme. But most people call them that and I liked the word ‘meme’ so I used meme.

In the context of web logs / ‘blogs / blogging and other kinds of personal web sites it’s some kind of list of questions that you saw somewhere else and you decided to answer the questions. Then someone else sees them and does them and so on and so on. I generally consider these to be actual questions and not some multiple choice quizzes that determine some result at the end (what color you are most like, what cartoon character are you, what 80s movie are you).

What is the K12 Online Conference?

The K12 Online Conference is what I would describe as an open source conference, one which has been freed up from time, location, and cost. There are no excuses for not participating, even in a small way, since you can choose when, where, how, and at what level you will participate.

It is a group of 4 conveners, Darren Kurapatuwa, Wes Fryer, Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach, and Lani Ritter-Hall who volunteer to organize a conference. They manage a group of individuals who select 40 individuals who volunteer to create a presentation on a topic that they are passionate about. They also have others who help organize four live events, three fireside chats and one 24 hour gathering that allows educators from all over the world to connect and share ideas, thoughts, and experiences with each other around the topics covered during the two weeks of presentations. All an attendee needs to participate is time, motivation, and the energy to be challenged, connected, and engaged. And if you don’t have time during the conference dates, this year October 8th – October 27th, you can visit the presentations, which will be available in perpetuity, or when the technology evolves, which ever comes first. In short, a very long time.

K12 Online Conference Meme Rules

To share either three (3) reasons to participate based on your experience from last year or (if you didn’t attend last year) three (3) things you hope to gain from the experience this year.

My Responses to the Meme

1. My participation in the K12 Online transformed me in positive ways which I am just beginning to understand. It challenged my notions of what should be done to prepare students, faculty, administrators, and parents to prepare them for the shifts that I believe are happening in the world around us. I have begun to act up those notions in my professional practice.
2. The presenters last year mentored me to making a real commitment to  embed the use of these new tools into my daily practice. I owe a huge debt of gratitude to the opening keynote speaker, David Warlick whose presentation pushed me to blog consistently for the past 11 month now, to Vicki Davis whose hands-on activity on wikis provided me with real experience as to how wikis can be utilized in the classroom, and to the contributions of other presenters such as Mark Wagner, Jeff Utecht, Chris Lehmann, and Ewan McIntosh.
3. Many of individuals who I got to meet during the As Night Falls (scheduled for October 26th – October 27th this year) I now count amongst my friends. They have provided me opportunities to grow and learn both professionally and personally. And from this group, I have been introduced to an even larger pool of people who now fall within my friendship group. I now feel that I can travel nearly anywhere throughout the world and know that I can connect and share with these great people.

Who is next?

I tag Alex Ragone, Darren Draper, Stephanie Sandifer, Charlene Chausis, and Joyce Valenza, and any others who wish to participate. Jump on in.

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