Pointers to some great recordings and resources from NECC.

Thank you to Steve Hargadon for making an mp3 of the presentation that Adam Frey and I did about wikis in education.

Some other great listens:

I met Doug Johnson of the Blue Skunk Blog and was, well, totally impressed. Here is a podcast of his lecture, Classrooms and Libraries for the Net Generation. I listen to Doug as do many.

There are a lot of other great podcasts I haven't gotten to yet on the Official podcast channel of NECC and the webcasts are just being posted.

Why I will be quiet for a bit

If I seem quiet, I am. Those who follow me on Twitter, know that my grandmother has taken a turn for the worse (it started the Sunday of NECC), and pretty much any breath could be her last.

It puts things in perspective so I have been been spending time with my kids, my family, and just spending a bit of time alone to think and grieve. We are a very close family and although we knew it was coming, it doesn't make it any easier.

And, although my blog ranking will inevitably suffer (as it already has-- it happens when one blogs a little less frequently thus generating less links) -- then so be it. This is about ranking first things first. My family and my own internal psyche have to come before my blog.

Some of my own personal favorites from this blog

So, to those of you who are recent subscribers or missed these posts. I've pulled out a few of my personal favorites and those that you responded most to. Interestingly, comments and ripples in the blogosphere are highly correlated (but not always) with the amount of time I put into the articles. The pieces I have put a * by represent more than 3 hours of work. (For those who look at things like this.)

• The Essay that Rocked My World
• Violence and Rumors of Violence -- When I wrote about school lockdowns, the amazing part of this was in the 14 comments from educators. They are worth a read.
• The Frontier of Education: Web 3D *- This is my most read post from this school year and will top my list as I'm working to create my own personal list of best posts of the year. Again, great discussion in the comments.
• Including a Classmate with Leukemia Through Skype -- I met Brian Crosby at NECC, he is the real thing.
  
• The Future Wave of School Volunteerism: Be the Textbook*
• Spies Like Us*
• Help Me Pick out a Mac For my sister -- The great help from the blogosphere when my sister picked out a Mac. Great if you're shopping.
• I am Thankful for these Websites* - My favorite websites of 2006. Still up to date.

These give you some things to look on. Each year, I come up with my year's best posts and these are from the list.

The Present is a Present

I hope you're taking time to spend with your family -- the present is a present we should not neglect -- the eyes of one you love full of that spark and gleam are not guaranteed tomorrow but are to be savored and loved today.

I will check in with you soon -- if I'm quiet a while, it is because I have to be. I will return soon enough and hope that some readers will hang around while I'm on a bit of a hiatus to be with my family.

Keep the faith.

tag: teaching, coolcatteacher, education, learning, innovation, tools, Brian Crosby, Doug Johnson