Every year I attend the annual conference of NYSATA, the New York Art Teachers Association. One thing I look forward to is presenting a workshop. I've been doing this for about 8 years, so I know what to expect. I know that when you present a workshop, it's pretty hard to get to a workshop either directly before or after it, unless there is something you want to attend in the same room where you will be presenting.
I'm presenting a 2 hour hands-on workshop (making flexagons & kaleidocycles, what fun!), hopefully on Saturday morning, so I thought "what if I presented ANOTHER workshop directly after it?" Then it would be time for lunch and I wouldn't have time with nothing to attend. So my plan was... (drum-roll please) to present a workshop about BLOGGING! Here's what I had written:
"Enter the world of art teacher blogs to expand your educational horizons. It's easy to share ideas and expertise, and before you know it you'll have a network of new colleagues and will be communicating with art teacher globally. The presenter is an experienced art ed blogger."
So before I submitted the proposal, I called the hotel. It turns out that the LOBBY has free WiFi, but the conference rooms do NOT. The organization would have to pay a fee to set up its availability when planning the conference. This isn't going to happen. :-(
I obviously cannot teach a workshop on blogging without the internet. So I'm bummed...
I guess instead I'll be spending more time at the distributor's booths. Darn. Here's my cat pretending to be grumpy:
Bummer for you! I like the blogging idea. When I give my presentation every year I discuss a unit on a special theme and then I always end with talking about blogging and I have mentioned many of us. You could do a photo grab of favorite blogs too and show that on a slideshow. (just a thought) Good luck with what every you choose. :)
ReplyDeleteThat would be a good workshop. I wish you would teach people first how to be a good blogger. There are a lot of BIG blogs out there where they are more of an isIand rather than a conversation. I don't get that. . . just write in a journal in that case. I have stopped reading those one sided blogs. I also notice there are a lot of people who look at my blog but never comment. There are a lot of people out there reading your blog I'm sure but it's in the commenting and dialogue that the best part of blogging happens. Do you notice this in your stats? Sorry about stealing your flip flop idea by the way. Still looking for it so I can link it:) I also wish there was an easy way to track where ideas were coming from on BLOGGER like on facebook they have LIKE. Wouldn't it be cool if we could press like and that would put the page in a folder for future reference? It all gets confusing and muddled. It is interesting how the mind can start to blend together all these different ideas without you even realizing!
ReplyDeleteOohhhh, I wish blogger had that idea-saving feature! Sometimes Blogger freaks out and won't let me post comments. This is usually after I have typed a long response and don't have time to retype it!
ReplyDeleteToo bad about your conference idea -- I think it would make a great session. And...yes, Erica, I would LOVE a simple way to save blog pages to a folder with one click of the mouse!!
ReplyDeletePhyl,
ReplyDeleteIsn't it just so frustrating that something as simple as Wi-Fi prevented you from presenting? At first I thought,"Why doesn't she just present in the LOBBY?" And then reality hit me upside the head....I would have come all the way from Nebraska to watch that presentation!
:)Pat
Thanks everyone, blogging is imperfect but still GRAND! Guess what, everyone, I sent an email with my "gripe" to the workshop coordinator and discovered that I WILL be able to offer this workshop, as internet access is being paid for in some rooms. YEAH!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteErica, I don't think I ever posted my pics of the flip flop project, but in my comment on your post I left the link where I found the lesson.