The eduFire Blog

Jon Bischke doing a presentation on “Why Web2.0 Missed Education”

Our first “eduConference” has drawn to a close, and we just wanted to thank everyone who made it out! We got to hear about what education on the web is doing, meet education experts, watch a couple presentations, and just get to know each other a little better. Of course, there were people from eduFire in attendance, but we were also lucky to have representatives from TeachStreet, iTalki, Cramster, and more! Also, thank you to education experts Peggy, Jared and Milton for coming as well! (please forgive me or let me know if I forgot somebody!)

After introductions, Jon and Koichi gave their edu-related presentations. Koichi talked about “5 Free Online Collaborative Tools” and Jon, of course, talked about “Why Web2.0 Missed Education.” Unfortunately, we didn’t get to hear the third presentation by teacher Alan Cohen due to technical difficulties, but hopefully next time we can try again. His presentation was on Youtube as a learning tool.

I thought the end was the best part, though, where we got into a really great discussion about matching teachers up with students, and figuring out good ways to do it. Jared, one of the attendees, had some great ideas on this, about how teachers and students can be paired based on teaching style / learning style. One of the great things about online education, I think, is that it’s giving students more opportunity to choose teachers, rather than being forced into classes. Teachers are getting the opportunity to become “rockstars,” and when there’s choice, there’s usually a little more quality involved (and a little more interest from the student’s perspective).

After this (since we were talking about the best ways to match up teachers and students) we started comparing eduFire to e-harmony and acting out the commercials. It was getting late – eduFire lessons always tend to go late, but I think that’s a good thing. It’s a fun place to be! :)

Video will be up soon!

Related posts:

1. Using Google Docs to Collaborate with Students ...
2. eduFire Meets in San Francisco! ...
3. What Will the Future of Education Hold? Let’s Find Out! ...