Missed #SXSWedu? No worries! Here's my Day 2 Recap

Thank you, Rebecca (@rebeccakingRK), for snapping this!

It has occurred to me that a mind blowing conference like SXSWedu cannot possibly be summed up in a couple of blog posts.  It really can't be summed up in words at all.  However, if the tidbits I provide in these posts aren't enough for you, you can check out ALL of my notes from Tuesday and Wednesday.  Below are my favorite moments from day 2!

Before my first session I had no idea what LRMI (Learning Resource Metadata Initiative) was! While the session was a bit over my head, the overall premise of this seems like a no-brainer. Let's make it easier and more convenient to find learning resources that meet specific student and class needs. Here is a video that explains a little better what LRMI is.

After my first session, I hung out in the Google Lounge for a little while before my presentation on Chromebooks in the Classroom. Wesley Chun shared some cool Google initiatives like Google Developers Academy and Google Scholar. He also shared information on Google Summer of Code targeted at college students and Google Code-in aimed at high school students.

My favorite session of the day BY FAR was New Ecosystems for Education Innovation with these amazing educational innovators:

• Shawn Rubin, Highlander Institute
• Matt Candler, 4pt0 schools
• Heather Gilchrist, Socratic Labs
• Alex Hernandez, Think Schools

I felt like this session was WAY out of my league, but some of the ideas shared were AMAZING and I am dying to try a few of them.  Here were my favorites...

• You don’t teach creativity. You create environments where creativity can happen.
• Move businesses into schools - put them in wings of the school - bring the people with the big brains closer to the places where they need to be seen as possibilities.
• Have a “Power Hour” everyday where students AND teachers can innovate and try out new things - allows you to fail smarter!
• Have dinner to solve a problem. Create a panel that invites a teacher or administrator (or STUDENT!) to talk about solving a problem.
• How do you start innovation in a city...Embrace what’s great about your town. Understand the grain of your local culture. Restaurants - creating the same dish every day to a high level of quality and making it feel special every time … sounds a lot like a good classroom.
• Don’t use the term blended learning anymore. It’s just school.
• Give people an elegant route to help them figure out what the hell they want to do with their life. We have to start thinking in funnels - not garden hoses.
• We need to be ok with young, baby ideas. MOOCs are 18 months old! Let them be baby deer and wander around!

Like I said, this is just a tiny glimpse into the reason I am still amped up at 8:47 on a Wednesday night! I would love to get your thoughts on any of the above and hear how and if you're already doing some of these things!