Virtually at EducampNZ 2010

One of my less useful super powers is getting lost anywhere, which I did remarkably well today. I was planning to attend the unconference EducampNZ 2010. I went to last years one and it was a great place to meet PLN's and share our learning. However, I first managed to get onto the wrong highway then eventually to the right area, but after an hour and a half I couln't take any more traffic and decided to go home.

Dispite my frustration I could not help but do as many others were doing today and attend virtually. These were the options:
- Follow and join individual conversations on Twitter hashtag #educampnz
- Read their wiki page
- Share ideas on the wallwisher
- Or say how you felt about it using AnswerGarden

Nothing can substitute for being physically at a conference but here are my thoughts on what it was like as a virtual participant. I got some great ideas from the sharing on the wallwisher, particularly AnswerGarden which I thought has lots of potential in the classroom as a brainstorming tool. The wiki page was an essential gateway and reference point although was not an active virtual environment.

The main virtual involvement was via the Twitter hashtag #educampnz which you can still search and follow the conversations of the day. However the online conversations were few, mere tantalizing glimpses into the subjects being explored. It left me wondering how we could plan for and ensure a more active virtual presence at conferences like this, so people who cannot physically attend can take a bigger part in the sharing and learning. Any ideas?




What did you think of Educampnz 2010... at AnswerGarden.ch.