The morning session I attended on Friday was "Instructional Roadkill: What Didn't Work and Why". (Now as I'm sitting here days afterward, I'm thinking that maybe John mentioned the classroom management challenge at this session rather than the earlier one. In any case, the kinda lack of agreement as it being a problem for others out there remains.) I'm going to have to consult the notes from this one, too, because I didn't take any of my own. I do think that the overall sense of this was again a bit more positive than I was expecting....in other words, some people spoke about things that didn't work but more of the comments ended up being positives, which was good to hear. There were a few tidbits of deadends and lowered expectations which will be good to refer to at some point.
The final session of the conference was our third "megasession" where we all met together, just as we had started the conference two days before. The focus was "Why We Do It: Best Practices and Best Examples of Technology Integration in the Pacific Northwest." Jim Heyndrickx moderated this session and presented three examples gleaned from volunteers among our very own group. I remember seeing Josh's Little School highlighted but have forgotten the others (again I didn't take notes relying on the Wiki or notes sent out). Although a little fatigue/overload was beginning to set in, there was enough energy left to look at these examples as ones to celebrate and acknowledge. It was a great way to end the conference.
We were sent off to head home with much learned, much enjoyed, much experienced, and a box lunch. I think the organizers did a fantastic job of putting together the event, finding such an ideal location for it (okay, I guess I will have to admit that sharing a room was a tiny downside.....I would have gotten better sleep without the company but it could be that Islandwood did not have the extra rooms, or we didn't want to pay the extra cost, or some other reason, but, if it were up to me, that is one thing I'd change for next time), great food, great company, stimulating sessions (almost all of them), and a group that was big enough to have much variety in it but small enough where you could get to know people you didn't already know (having "family style" meals helped a lot in this, too). I hope they make this an annual event.
