CRSTE CyberConference (C3) - Free to be You and Me

As online PD has become institutionalized over the past decade, options have become limited and costs have increased exponentially. The ideal of "just-in-time learning" touted ten years ago has morphed into a digitally-delivered set of prescribed course-delivery models where one-size-fits-all is starting to rear its head from the Industrial age. Yes there are exceptions....the K12 online conference....the weekly livechat offerings....free webinars offered by various organizations....these are the current just-in-time efforts that feed educators as they are hungry; pushing the limits of what is possible using social networking tools to reach out, connect and collaborate in real time as there is need and interest. Collaboration....on a level playing field.....without corporate interest or a bottom line....existing and thriving as those involved make it happen.

In an age where much online professional development has gone corporate, we have the tools in our hands to rejuvenate how we learn and grow professionally at a grass roots level. This is so much more than cooperation, the mutual agreement to provide services online in exchange for some form of remuneration. Cooperation always has the aftertaste of self-interest and self-sustenance. It is at the core of the corporate raison d'etre....make money to spend money to make more money. That in itself is not a negative thing.....like any industry educator professional development is a free market enterprise. But by its very definition, the bottom line is making a profit....there is an ongoing cost-benefit analysis by companies that offer PD that does not necessarily include the best interests of educators; market forces are not always consistent with educational values. Princes go up. Offerings become finite. Companies disappear.

February 21 - March 5, 2010 the Capital Region Society for Technology in Education (CRSTE) is offering a free online CyberConference to educators across the region and around the world. Highly-regarded educators and practitioners in the trenches will present live sessions on high-interest topics covering 21st century skills, Web 2.0 applications, innovative instruction, transforming education, emerging technologies, and leadership & vision. Elluminate has donated the virtual environment for the event and registration opens on Friday, January 29th. No one-size-fits all tactics, no cost, and best of all....no funny aftertaste. I hope you will join us for the first ever CRSTE CyberConference (C3). Learn more and register at http://crste.org/events/crstecyberconference.html