Oh, the Possibilites...

The big day came and went. Karl, Maura and I are still living. All is good...

Reflecting back to our video conference with Daniel Pink, I am amazed by all that needed to work and come together to create this possibility; it all worked. Since Karl already posted about all the technological side of things, I thought I would take the time to reflect on what I saw and learned.

• CoverItLive: I have used Blogger so much for live blogging as well as Skype it was fun to try out a new tool. I liked how it worked, although the verdict is still out on whether this will replace Blogger for fishbowl. One aspect I didn't like was that when Karl accepted the comments, they would flood the gates of CoverItLive and it was too difficult to comment on someone's previous thoughts. There simply wasn't enough time to keep up. However, the kids did a great job with it and continue to impress me with their adaptability.
• The kids had to once again share computers with their classmates and did a great job with that challenge. Whenever kids needed to make a comment, they moved next to someone who had a computer and made it work.
• Daniel Pink's energy was contagious. He answered seemingly endless questions dealing with topics ranging from his book to History, Economics, Design, language Arts (of course) education, school budget, the Pledge of Allegiance, Immigration, philosophy, just to name a few... Also, He in turn asked really good thoughtful questions of the students. He gave us a lot to think about as well as showcasing his new book. Business classes and seniors in high school should all take a look.
• We had comments from Bud the Teacher, Carolyn Foote, Will Richardson as well as some parents.
• I also had two previous students, Adam and Ben (thanks guys) stop by to participate in the conversation.

So looking back at the past 7 weeks of craziness, it was quite the experience. I can't really think of how to express all of what I thought about the day other than we survived and I couldn't be prouder of the thinking and curiosity my students exhibited over the past 7 weeks. They accepted this challenge of learning in a different way and have allowed for me to a participator towards that experience. I am so thankful for being part of all of this. So to 110 kids, 2 teachers (Maura and Karl), and Daniel Pink, thanks for showing us all the possibilities. All is good...