K12Online Goes Live

The Launch Behind the Scenes
This morning at 6:30 am I log on with one of my co-convener Lani Ritter-Hall to make sure all is ready to launch for the K12Online07 Preconference Keynote (David Warlick's) presentation.  My first stop is Gmail to see if any fires need to be put out. Then I open Skype. Then to Twitter. Interestingly, enough David and others are already Twitting in excited expectation of this year's preconference presentation launch. Lani and I chat briefly and decide that since the virtual line to see David's presentation wraps around the blogosphere- we will go ahead and launch 30 minutes early. And then the fireworks begin!

Twitter and David's back chat channel (pictured above) burst into life with folks comparing download times, asking last minute clarifications, giving a live analysis of the presentation, and seeking helpdesk kind of support. Lani and I were very busy for awhile until everyone got their questions answered and the video downloaded. An international audience of "gotta hear it first" folks grabbed the video and started blogging.  David's chat transcript will be available soon here.

So What Do You NEED to Know this Year?
There are a couple must knows for this year's conference.

1. The conference blog got a face lift. We tried to make it more user friendly. Content is linked in several places so you do not have to struggle to find things.
2. There is a companion wiki that also links to content and information.
3. The conference tag is k12online07 and each presentation has a unique tag. Those can be found on the conference schedule.
4. There is a first time attenders page that give tips and tricks for surviving the conference.
5. There is a video feed and a podcast feed.
6. You can earn PD credit
7. There are live events in Elluminate
8. There is a helpdesk
9. There is a Twitter update line
10. There will be a post conference NING community to keep the vision alive.
11. K12Online07 is totally volunteer. Conveners, keynotes, presenters, and committees all volunteered hours and hours to make this a successful event. So help us spread the word.

So make plans to join us for the K12Online07 Conference. We want you to be part of our online community.

Comments

[Donna]

Hi Sheryl:

I happened upton the k12online conference last year and really enjoyed it. . . learned so much and have been looking forward to another great opportunity to learn and participate this year. I've also been following your blog for the past year.

I wasn't able to be "live" at the David Warlick keynote, but watched and listened to the entirety last evening. Really great.

Just wanted to say "thanks" for all you do for education and the push toward 21 century skills. And especially thanks for the "volunteer" time, effort, and enthusiasm you bring to this important conference. Looking forward to the next two weeks!