Memories of conferences past

I'm up in Sydney this week for the Edutech Conference, I was invited to present on my thoughts to do with Coding and Libraries.

As I got to my hotel, connected to the network and updated my notes; memories of "conferences past" came flooding back and the realisation of just how much has changed in this space. Before I got to Sydney, I had printed out my name tags, registered for sessions and networked with colleagues via LinkedIn and Twitter. On the Darling Harbour promenade conversations about technology and learning is already occurring as people connect with one another after a day of masterclasses.

If I wasn't going to the conference I would probably be keeping an eye on the "back channel" for any snippets of inspiration. The capacity for involvement on multiple levels increases as the technology becomes more and more ubiquitous.

Once upon a time, at the ACCE conference in 2004 in Adelaide, wireless was quite a new thing. 1:1 computers had been in schools for a few years and newest disruptor in the classroom was 'wireless'. I remember having to buy a NCI Wireless card for my laptop for $50 in order to get wirelessly connected at the conference. It was revolutionary! I could be at a conference and look up materials on what the presenters were talking about. We were starting to feel connected and Don Tapscott's "Growing up Digital" was starting to become a reality in the majority of classrooms.

Of course now, everyone will be sitting at conference presentations with their devices. Taking notes, surfing the net, tweeting, snapchatting .... except me.

I have all the best technology in the world with me, but I will probably sit tomorrow through sessions with my trusty notebook, pen and highlighter. My capacity to find "that article" that was talked about in "that important presentation"is high; but I don't need that instant gratification of looking up the article as the person is talking about it. I need to digest the ideas that they are talking about, then I can process it and then act on it.

As for the "old school" handwriting. I can type as fast as I can talk, my capacity add to the digital discourse is not harmed by taking the time to write, reflect then contribute. I have a system of how I do this that works for me and that allows me to give the presenters 100% of my attention before committing my ideas to the digital landscape.