More From the Conference I Didn't Actually Attend

I guess it's not that surprising that I can use technology to enjoy a technology conference. As I posted before, I missed most of the MACUL Conference due to illness, but was able to use the awesome #macul14 hashtag on Twitter to keep up. Many fellow educators are still riding the high from this conference and posting about their favorite speakers and the ideas they brought back to their own classrooms.

So the inspiration continues. The Keynotes are online! I've only watched George Couros so far, but it's probably going to take me some time to digest all he had to say. Our theme at school this week is joy, and I used the "Be More Dog" video from his keynote with my 6th graders. I'm really looking forward to seeing Adam Bellow and Rushton Hurley. I found a few of the Lightning talks as well. Who doesn't want to be the teacher in Trevor Muir's "Hairline Crack"?

Twitter links have led me to amazing websites. One of them is called Two Guys and Some iPads. In addition to the posts and ideas on their site, the two guys do a web show. On the night before MACUL they interviewed Leslie Fisher, and she was as funny and enlightening as always.

Speaking of Leslie, I missed her new Augmented Reality session, but made it to Photo and Video Tips, Tricks, and Apps for Education. I went to the exact same pre-conference workshop last year, but knew that I would come away with familiar ideas reinforced and a head swimming with new information. Leslie did not disappoint. From small tips like placing your lighted phone underneath a drink to more complicated topics like megapixels and focus and HDR, she kept the room fascinated for three and a half hours. Even feeling ill I was sad to see the afternoon end.

There are still more websites to find, more ideas to try, more videos to watch, more edchats to enjoy. The anticipation for these opportunities sure helps when you're trying to "Be more dog."