tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899447029099688486.post6389021555846618385..comments2024-03-26T05:20:10.232-04:00Comments on Between the By-Road and the Main Road: Are unConferences A Manifestation of Plato's Allegry of the Cave?Mary Ann Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14349201167828984708noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899447029099688486.post-17519074860071687362011-03-07T18:42:12.871-05:002011-03-07T18:42:12.871-05:00Thanks for the remarks Mark. Appreciate your comm...Thanks for the remarks Mark. Appreciate your comments, insights and suggestions.Mary Ann Reillyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14349201167828984708noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899447029099688486.post-29023344838874841252011-03-07T18:09:00.361-05:002011-03-07T18:09:00.361-05:00I was a participant in the unconference session th...I was a participant in the unconference session that Dr. Reilly is referencing above and, if I'm to be completely honest with you, I'm still trying to recover from the disappointment of this particular session. The experience made me uneasy and the paraphrasing, while quoted by Dr. Reilly out of context, does not entirely misrepresent the sentiments of the speakers, as I heard them.<br /mylatinteacherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16953138055327117154noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899447029099688486.post-82740507921908508182011-03-07T18:02:23.267-05:002011-03-07T18:02:23.267-05:00Thanks Dave. Glad the day was productive for you:)...Thanks Dave. Glad the day was productive for you:)Mary Ann Reillyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14349201167828984708noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899447029099688486.post-85043809651570902562011-03-07T16:50:34.127-05:002011-03-07T16:50:34.127-05:00Hi Mary Ann:
I'm glad there was interest in y...Hi Mary Ann:<br /><br />I'm glad there was interest in your post and I will keep your thoughts in mind going forward. I had a good day at tmnj11. In a couple of time slots I was sorry I could not be in two places at once. Now that I've been to a few I look for certain presenters rather than a topic to guide me. I found a several more good people to "follow" at tmnj11, Deven Davehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10846620993152259555noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899447029099688486.post-30604511382564232362011-03-07T06:27:04.155-05:002011-03-07T06:27:04.155-05:00That's good to know Andrea. Dan the session wa...That's good to know Andrea. Dan the session wasn't simply not meeting my needs but more so raised some questions about scholarship and its place at an unConference. Appreciate your POVs.Mary Ann Reillyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14349201167828984708noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899447029099688486.post-91173834825998139332011-03-06T23:58:41.262-05:002011-03-06T23:58:41.262-05:00I think that with any conference it s important to...I think that with any conference it s important to realize that you are still a learner. Not every experience is going to be the same because not everyone leads the same. We teach our students tontake lead of their own learning we should expect the same or ourselves. The unconference conference that I have attended for 2 years now is amazing. Podstock is more of a familynand I highly recommend Busy Bee Andreahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14228195052318259187noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899447029099688486.post-30714512916115318212011-03-06T22:39:23.318-05:002011-03-06T22:39:23.318-05:00Mary Ann,
You raise important points, and I under...Mary Ann,<br /><br />You raise important points, and I understand your frustration with the "negative teacher room chat" you experienced. I'm just not sure what you wrote about had anything to do with it being an unconference. It sounds like you chose a session about education reform, and unfortunately ed reform and frustration currently feel to many like synonyms.<br /><br />My Eric Julihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10465411652145052073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899447029099688486.post-7195280051257487382011-03-06T22:33:13.907-05:002011-03-06T22:33:13.907-05:00Mary Ann,
I think you did ask some important quest...Mary Ann,<br />I think you did ask some important questions in this post, but I'm confused by what appears to be your unfair characterization of the conversation overall. Furthermore, I'm surprised by your deflecting defensiveness about those points. When you have based your critical questions on what seems to be faulty evidence, it significantly reduces your credibility in asking those Dan Callahanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11502149671967824854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899447029099688486.post-52078424647469145702011-03-06T22:14:16.376-05:002011-03-06T22:14:16.376-05:00Good luck with your unConference, Matt. For the re...Good luck with your unConference, Matt. For the record I wasn't eavesdropping. Nor did I cite the event. I was alarmed at the comments though and did ask the group to discuss their own practices. That did not happen. I can't tell you why. Two other people also tried to redirect the conversation, but they were interrupted repeatedly by the host. One said to the group that we needed to liftMary Ann Reillyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14349201167828984708noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899447029099688486.post-24947733817877765592011-03-06T22:03:23.559-05:002011-03-06T22:03:23.559-05:00Mary Ann,
Thank you for your post. All posts cert...Mary Ann,<br /><br />Thank you for your post. All posts certainly make the reader stop and reflect on what they read. As someone who is currently in the midst of planning an UNconference (EdcampPlano) in North Texas it is a harsh reminder that there are teachers within the profession that simply do not get it. It saddens me to think your experience was tarnished by a few bad eggs.<br /><br />As Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14956201846680980660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899447029099688486.post-87165220712801705192011-03-06T22:00:30.542-05:002011-03-06T22:00:30.542-05:00Well, I guess I struck something of a chord. I do ...Well, I guess I struck something of a chord. I do understand that people can participate in the same event and have different responses. I have no doubt that can and does happen and by the record recorded here, it did happen.<br /><br />Asking critical questions about the structure of a forum and its content ought to be accepted, if not applauded. One can be both a participant and a critic.Mary Ann Reillyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14349201167828984708noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899447029099688486.post-26898570969839759752011-03-06T20:00:30.705-05:002011-03-06T20:00:30.705-05:00I was in that session as well and I will disagree ...I was in that session as well and I will disagree with many of the negative points you address. I will first disagree with the suggestion that you left based on the content of the discussion. As I recall, you apologized and said that you needed to check on the A/V for your session which was beginning in 30 minutes. <br /><br />You noticed, as we all did, that the needs of the room were at times Dr. Timonyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09455479447970314205noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899447029099688486.post-60574417282439982022011-03-06T17:57:38.062-05:002011-03-06T17:57:38.062-05:00I attended TMNJ this weekend and loved it. The se...I attended TMNJ this weekend and loved it. The sessions I attended centered on technology in the classroom, sharing techniques, projects, and strategies. I was able to speak to teachers and ask them questions about what they were doing in their districts and how they were accomplishing their goals. I loved it and came home energized. I do feel there is a place for the experts and research, butAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02790516497352704328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899447029099688486.post-27959499576164177642011-03-06T17:46:40.022-05:002011-03-06T17:46:40.022-05:00Dear Mary Ann,
Ha! A heretic! Where's the sta...Dear Mary Ann,<br /><br />Ha! A heretic! Where's the stake?<br />*sigh* We have a long way to go.....<br /><br />~Michaeldoylehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12901661320505882735noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899447029099688486.post-37927716462347785302011-03-06T17:30:02.641-05:002011-03-06T17:30:02.641-05:00You certainly had a very bad experience in that fi...You certainly had a very bad experience in that first workshop you attended and left. I would be troubled however, if your entire critique of unConferences is solely based on an partial attendance of one workshop.I certainly agree with your critical points on that workshop. <br />What comes to mind however is an alien landing in the middle of the desert and reporting to the home planet that the Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899447029099688486.post-6094739314056960352011-03-06T17:24:16.813-05:002011-03-06T17:24:16.813-05:00To paraphrase is to restate a comment or passage i...To paraphrase is to restate a comment or passage in different words but to retain the original message. Having attended this session, I believe that a number of the comments above are unfairly attributed with respect to context, content, and intent.<br /><br />For example, the comment about a participant's child having a great number of books but a neighbor's child having only one was toPine Glen Room 209https://www.blogger.com/profile/00592229267834614130noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899447029099688486.post-83810851687171437102011-03-06T17:03:47.923-05:002011-03-06T17:03:47.923-05:00Having just participated in my first unconference ...Having just participated in my first unconference yesterday, I disagree with some of what was said above. I am in the early stages of creating my PLN, and have been involving myself in both blogging and Twitter for about a month. The ideas I have discovered and the feedback I have received from my "virtual" friends are absent, to some degree, in my professional life. <br /><br />That Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17709633747277285511noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899447029099688486.post-10636212511638685552011-03-06T16:27:22.727-05:002011-03-06T16:27:22.727-05:00Mary Ann,
That's an ugly turn in a conversat...Mary Ann, <br /><br />That's an ugly turn in a conversation. But do you think it's specific to the unconference format? Would those same teachers have read those reports if they were sitting in a juried conference? <br /><br />I also think that Matthew's comment about participants who believe "no one outside of my classroom can have ideas/opinions that are valid" does not Pete Rodrigueshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07186258272332754879noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899447029099688486.post-20826007140779281692011-03-06T16:12:55.883-05:002011-03-06T16:12:55.883-05:00I think that will something to watch out for as we...I think that will something to watch out for as we plan our unconference. I certainly don't want to let any of the statements you heard go unchallenged as I believe as you do.<br /><br />There is a difference though that I think is worth pointing out. If you had attended a typical conference, those statements would have been left unsaid, but would still have been floating around in the heads Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08098221991466148258noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2899447029099688486.post-53114143382558393162011-03-06T12:03:48.881-05:002011-03-06T12:03:48.881-05:00Thank you for this excellent post. I have yet to ...Thank you for this excellent post. I have yet to attend an 'unconference' but was wary as to the effectiveness of such a loosely defined idea. I had never anticipated a degeneration into the non-productive chatter that happens in the staff room. <br /><br />I also see this same thing happening with a rejection of data-fueled education research. The idea that data is bad and that no Matthew Campbellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14044304820820942823noreply@blogger.com