Back to the Future?

I am sitting in upstate NY looking outside and seeing snow, lots of snow. At the same time I am attending a conference from over a week ago, somewhere in Texas, I think. I say I think because the podcast introduction was recorded from the Dallas airport. Wesley Friar is conducting a workshop session about Flickr and BubbleShare. The only problem is I can't accumulate frequent flyer miles.

As I'm sitting here I am listening and I am participating as well. I have my laptop on my lap, listening to Wesley Friar discuss Flickr and BubbleShare. I am following along as he navigates the websites. I can see exactly what he is discussing. It is like I am one of the participants in the room. I just can't ask questions. It is a lively group and they are covering all of my questions anyway. Can you believe this? The power of the Web 2.0!

One nice thing about this podcast is I can share it with others who have questions about these tools. Our school district will be conducting our annual technology conference day soon and I intend on sharing this as a resource. What strikes me most about these new tools is the way in which I have discovered them and the avenues available for sharing.

One thing that I was hoping for that Wesley's session did not address is exactly how these tools are being used in the classroom. I think it is easier for many teachers to adapt a lesson using a new tool than it is to come up with a whole new activity. Maybe there is a social network site just for teachers to share in this manner! They could call it MyTeacherSpace. If it's out there please let me know.