Fluff or snuff?

Big Day In: Best Day Ever!

Last Friday I was at the Navitas English Big Day In, and it was fluffin’ amazing! I met hundreds of teachers and people who work in different places, saw heaps of presentations on teaching and technology and even appeared on the big screen myself! How embarrassing!

Prashant Hari

There were so many different presentations and activities I can’t possibly mention them all. There was some great stuff on ‘Digital Literacies’ and mobile learning (mlearning) from my friend Gavin Dudeney, and lots more detail on Personal Learning Networks (PLNs) that Mark Pegrum and I didn’t manage to discuss when we did our interview. There was some fluff-raising research on social media from Prashant Hari too, and heaps of examples from teachers who are using Facebook, wikis, video, social media and all kinds of websites to help their students learn English!

I tried to get involved myself during the day, and tweeted when I could. People also wrote ‘real’ tweets on my tail and some took me home too. I hope their children don’t eat me – eek! I even got a new hairstyle or two once people figured out my fluff isn’t as solid as it looks. Not sure the koala-style is for me!

I listened to a lot of conversations during the day and as well as lots of excitement, there were a few worrying things I heard. Some people think that technology is only for your learners or certain types of students, which seems weird to me – isn’t it part of everyone’s lives now, from job-hunting to finding love online?? I also heard some people complain that there was too much information, which I understand but I think the world moves pretty quick now and we have to find ways of filtering and analysing what’s out there. Imagine what it’s like for me –I’ve only been exploring since March!

On the plus side, I found out that when you dig deep into the fluff, everyone knows something about technology and nobody knows everything. I think what I’ll remember from Friday is that everybody is still learning and anyone can have a go. The most important thing is to keep your ears, eyes and mind open, talk to other people and be part of the conversation, whether it’s online or face-to-face. If I'm not trying it, how can I know if it’s useful or not?

I’d better go as I can hear the cleaner coming with the vacuum and if there’s one thing us dusty types hate, it’s those pesky sweeping things and vacuum cleaners! Oh…wait…*cough*…he’s coming in here? *cough* No one comes in here! Wait! *cough* No…I haven’t finished…turn that thing off! *cough* Help!